Murray clutch when it counts in win

At Highland on Tuesday, the Highland Rams shut down Region 6's leading scorer, Murray's Markus Duran, in the first half, but he exploded out of the gate after halftime and hit some big free throws down the stretch to lead the Spartans to a 56-54 victory.

"We've got to get better about closing out second halves and making smarter decisions down the stretch," Murray coach Jason Workman said. "Anytime you win on the road in this league, you've got to take it and run, though."

The Spartans held a slim 11-10 lead at the close of the first quarter behind senior Tanner Carr's five points. In the bruising second quarter, Rhett Gardner and Cameron Hodges, both senior starters for Murray, went down with ankle injuries. Hodges only tweaked his ankle and he was able to return to the game after half, but Gardner's night ended early with a more serious sprain.

The Murray bench, including junior Ken Masic who hit 5 of 6 free throws, picked up the slack in the quarter and the Spartans took a three-point lead into half.

In the first part of the third quarter, it was all Duran for Murray and all James Angstman for Highland. Duran got on the board with a three-point play immediately following halftime and followed it up with a up pair of free throws and another three-point play to score Murray's first eight points (and Duran's first eight points of the night).

Highland's Angstman hit a bucket every time it looked like Murray might put the game out of reach, scoring eight points in the quarter, to keep the Rams in the game.

In an intensified fourth quarter, the Rams battled hard and cut the Spartans lead from 10 at the start of the fourth to three with less than a minute remaining. The Spartans, led by Duran's 5-of-6 showing, went 8-for-10 from the line in the final minute, but Angstman answered right back with a layup to cut the lead to three again after nearly every trip from the line.

Masic hit the game-clinching free throw with four seconds to solidify the win for Murray.

"They had a good game plan on defense, and they came with a lot of pressure, but with that much pressure, you often get fouls, and we were able to capitalize," Workman said.

Carr led the Spartans with 17 on the night, while Duran added 14. Angstman put in a game-high 20 for the Rams.

---

E-mail: hbruce@desnews.com