NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Holding No. 1 Murray State to 55 points was ideal for the Eastern men’s basketball team.

That amount, though, stood firm as the Racers beat No. 4 Eastern 55-51 in the OVC Tournament semifinals Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.

The game was 54-51 Racers as junior guard Tyler Laser pushed the ball upcourt and shot the ball with 10 ticks left.

Laser’s shot was promptly blocked by Racers’ senior forward Tony Easley. Center Ousmane Cisse rebounded the loose ball only to be soundly denied again by Easley.

Murray State junior guard B.J. Jenkins got the rebound and was immediately fouled by senior guard T.J. Marion. Jenkins split his free throws as sophomore guard Jeremy Granger fruitlessly shot the ball as the season ended.

“I’ve been doing that the whole season,” Easley said of the blocks. “It’s all I know. I was just stepping up and doing my job and helping.”

Easley led the Racers with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting, nine rebounds and three blocked shots.

Rebounding was the largest disparity in this match-up. The Racers pulled down 43 boards and 24 offensive rebounds. The Panthers had 32 boards and 11 were offensive.

Cisse had five total rebounds and four offensive, though he was not satisfied with his effort.

“The story of the day was offensive rebounds, and I personally think I didn’t do a good job on that today,” Cisse said. “(The game’s pace) just went too fast for us.”

Eastern head coach Mike Miller said rebounding and securing offensive possessions were the two goals for Murray State.

“Tonight was about the rebounds, not the shooting,” Miller said.

Murray State (29-4, 17-1 OVC) was held to 19-of-59 from the field for 32.2 percent, which is about 19 percent below its seasonal average.

Racers’ head coach Billy Kennedy said this game was so bad, fans should get their money back.

“It was by far the ugliest game we played offensively, but we do play ugly sometimes,” Kennedy said. “Offensively, we made some bad plays and you have to give Eastern some credit for it.

“Eastern Illinois came in ready to play.”

Murray State was missing shots, but Eastern got in its face frequently.

“Anytime a team doesn’t shoot it well, it is probably a combination of both,” Miller said. “Our guys did a good job and they missed some shots. However, they have so many things they can do.”

Eastern led as late as 10 minutes into the second half. They led 39-37 as Cisse scored three quick baskets. But Racers’ freshman guard Isaiah Canaan and sophomore guard Donte Poole hit consecutive baskets and led the rest of the way.

Miller’s squad had no one score more than nine. Cisse and freshman forward Shaun Pratl each added nine. Granger, Laser and red-shirt freshman James Hollowell had eight.

Hollowell made his defensive presence felt, blocking a game-high five shots and having eight rebounds.

The Racers will face No. 2 Morehead State (22-9, 15-3 OVC) tomorrow at 7 p.m. for the OVC Tournament title and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Bob Bajek can be reached at 581-7944 or [email protected].