Murray State holds off ETSU 61-57 Eds: APNewsNow. Murray State 61, ETSU 57.

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (AP) Ivan Aska tallied a double-double and Danero Thomas added 12 points, leading Murray State over East Tennessee State 61-57 on Saturday.

Aska led the Racers (8-1) with 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, going 7-for-11 from the field. The Racers have won eight straight since losing 75-70 at California on Nov. 9.

Murray State missed six straight foul shots midway through the second half, letting the Buccaneers (5-6) back in the game. ETSU put together a 9-0 spurt powered by a Jarvis Jones 3-pointer, as well as a steal and layup from Adam Sollazzo, giving the Buccaneers a 54-53 advantage with 2:06 left in the game.

But that would be ETSUs only lead of the contest, as Murray State answered by outscoring the Bucs 8-3 the rest of the way to seal the win.

Micah Williams paced ETSU with 18 points and Bruce Grimm added 11.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 12-12-09 1816CST | save this article / add to your favorites list