Without Murrell, Whitehaven grinds out win over White Station

<p>For one of the very few times this season, Whitehaven had to finish a game without junior combo guard <strong>Matthew Murrell</strong>.</p> <p>But with junior guards Ragi Phillips, Kavion McCain, and Jesse Payne Jr. on the floor, the Tigers would be just fine without their best player. Payne Jr. had 18 points, Phillips added 10 as Whitehaven slides past White Station, 68-62 Friday night.</p> <p>The Tigers (18-6, 6-2) had to fight off the Spartans after giving up their 14-point first-half lead. Whitehaven’s defense allowed junior point guard Amauri Abner to get nice looks at the basket in the third quarter that started White Station’s comeback. Abner’s first 3 of the quarter was in the corner, right in front of McCain’s face.</p> <p>Abner’s other two 3-point attempts were uncontested. In between those scores, Abner nailed a running floater, and the Spartans were down 42-36. After Abner’s last 3 of the third quarter, Payne Jr. picked up a foul, then a technical for exchanging words with one of the referees on his foul call against senior wing <strong>Brandon Brown</strong>.</p> <p>Brown made all four free throw attempts, then <strong>Willie Foreman</strong> got a layup to tie the game 42-all heading into the final eight minutes.</p> <p>White Station (16-10, 5-3) grabbed the lead off a 3 from junior shooting guard Kolby Hillson, then a score from Brown made it 47-44. Hillson made another 3 to build the Spartans’ lead to 52-46. After that, McCain, Phillips, and Murrell scored on three straight possessions to tie the game at 54-all.</p> <p>Brown and sophomore wing <strong>Davon Barnes</strong> had costly turnovers as their team held the lead. Both were stripped of the basketball after trying to wrap it around their backs in traffic. Moments later, Phillips knocked down a 3 to put Whitehaven up 57-54.</p> <p>Murrell fouled out at the 2:53 mark of the fourth quarter, sending Barnes to the free throw line where he missed two foul shot attempts. But, Brown kept White Station’s hopes alive with a 3 to cut it to 63-59, then another one to make it 64-62.</p> <p>Phillips admitted it was tough not having Murrell out on the floor to finish the game.</p> <p>“Everything goes through him, so we just gave the ball to Jesse, one of the team’s captains, and he created everything Matthew does,” he said.</p> <p>Payne Jr.’s two foul shots gave the Tigers a 66-62 lead. The Spartans’ next offensive possession quickly ended with a turnover, and Payne Jr.’s final two foul shots sealed the win.</p> <p>Payne Jr. was big for Whitehaven on the offensive end after Murrell went to the bench. Phillips was the one who called his number once Murrell, who played with a groin strain, fouled out.</p> <p>“In the fourth quarter with like two minutes to go, I told him he had to take over,” Phillips said about Payne Jr., who went 9 for 10 from the free throw line.</p> <p>Brown is one of the most underrated scorers in the city of Memphis and in the state of Tennessee. He had a game-high 26 points, and converted on 11 of 12 shots from the free throw line. Abner added 13, and Foreman finished with 10.</p> <p><strong>3 takeaways</strong></p> <ul> <li>White Station shoots the ball well from 3-point range. The Spartans made 10 3s against Whitehaven. Those 3s helped White Station stay in the game.</li> <li>Brandon Brown is a solid scorer, and efficient from the free throw line. He can’t get wide open looks from three. If he does, he’s going to make that team pay.</li> <li>Without Matthew Murrell being on the floor, the Tigers showed a lot of heart and composure. The team didn’t panic with Murrell on the bench, because Whitehaven has other guys that can make plays.</li> </ul>