Terrance Harcum scored a career-best 31 points and set the Missouri Valley Conference single-game tournament record for 3-point field goal percentage by draining all seven of his attempts from beyond the arc, leading seventh-seeded Murray State (16-16) to a 74-53 win versus No. 10 seed Evansville (11-21) in the third game of first-round action at the 2025 State Farm MVC Tournament Thursday night at Enterprise Center.
Murray State advances to the Arch Madness quarterfinals and a 6:00 pm matchup against No. 2 seed Bradley (24-7).
Harcum’s 7-for-7 effort from 3-point range topped the previous record, set 23 years earlier by Illinois State’s Shawn Jeppson, who was 6-for-6 March 2, 2002 versus Drake. His 31 points were the most scored in an Arch Madness game since Bowen Born dropped in 34 versus Bradley March 3, 2023.
Kyler Milton joined Harcum in double-figures with 14 points, while Nick Ellington shared game-high honors with nine rebounds.
Tayshawn Comer led Evansville with 22 points, draining 12-of-13 free throw attempts. Connor Turnbull added 16 points for the Purple Aces, while Joshua Hughes snared nine rebounds.
Murray State used a 7-0 run pull away from a 6-6 tie for a 13-6 advantage with 14:42 left in the first half, but Evansville rebounded minutes later with a 7-0 run of its own to pull back within 16-15 on a nifty Tayshawn Comer up-and-under layup with 8:46 remaining before the break. Kylen Milton buried a 3-pointer out of a timeout at 8:26 and Terrance Harcum’s 3-pointer for a 31-20 lead with 5:07 left in the half gave Murray State 11 assists on its first 11 baskets.
The assists streak ended when Alden Applewhite drained a corner jumper before the shot clock expired for a 33-23 Murray State lead with 3:09 left in the half. Applewhite’s bucket also ended a streak of 10 consecutive Racers points scored by Harcum, who finished the first period with 13 points.
Evansville used a 6-0 run to pull within 33-29, but Nick Ellington’s tip-in bucket at the buzzer gave Murray State a 35-29 halftime lead.
Murray State ended the half with 11 assists on 13 field goals, while Evansville assisted only four of its 11 first-half field goals. Although Murray State committed only one more personal foul than Evansville, 7-6, the Purple Aces ended the half with a 6-2 scoring advantage from the free throw line.
While Murray State did not start the second half hot, making two of its first six field goal attempts and missing a pair of free throw tries, the Racers took advantage of Evansville’s colder start – 0-for-8 from the field and 0-for-2 from the stripe with two turnovers – to stretch its half-ending bucket into a 10-0 run and a 43-29 lead on a Justin Morgan triple with 15:35 left in the game.
Evansville clawed back to within 49-41 after Tanner Cuff split a pair of free throw attempts with 11:08 remaining. It appeared the Purple Aces might pull even when Turnbull scored on a driving layup with 10:37 left, but his basket was waived off for a charging foul, his fourth personal, and Milton converted a pair of free throw attempts on Murray State’s ensuing possession to push the lead back to double digits, 51-41, with 10:05 left.
Those Milton free throws launched a sudden Murray State outburst, a 10-2 surge in a span of just 1-minute, 53-seconds for a 59-43 lead with 8:12 left. The wave continued when Harcum drained his sixth triple for a 62-43 lead with 7:07 to go and he set the record with his seventh triple in as many tries for a 65-45 lead with 5:21 remaining.
