University Heights Academy opened defense of their Second Region basketball title with a 77-59 win over Murray Monday at Blazer Gym in a contest that was not as close as the final score showed.
The Blazers ended the first quarter on a 17-2 run, sparked by seven points from Kyky Tandy and five from Drew McGowan on a 3-pointer and fast break dunk to lead 26-13.
UHA outscored Murray 19-5 in the second quarter and built their lead to 43-15 before settling on a 45-18 halftime score.
The Blazers would extend their lead to 57-27 with 3:01 left in the third quarter. Blazer Coach Grant Shouse used his bench extensively in the second half, but the Blazers could not recapture their first half energy.
Murray would whittle the deficit to 72-59 with less than a minute left.
University Heights shot 50-percent from the field in the first half and was 11-of-12 at the free throw line in building a 27-point advantage.
In the second half, it was Murray that shot 50-percent, including 5-of-10 from 3-point range. The Blazers shot 38-percent in the second half.
The Blazers held a 32-28 advantage on the boards, but Murray grabbed 11 offensive rebounds that led to 14 second chance points.
UHA scored 29 points off 23 Murray turnovers and committed just 12 themselves.
Tandy hit 8-of-18 shots and finished with 22 points. He also had five rebounds and four steals and dished out a team-high eight assists.
McGowan knocked down four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points and a team-high eight rebounds. K.J. Crump contributed nine points, four assists, and four steals, while TaQuan Hollowell had eight points and six rebounds.
Murray, who was 14-18 last year, got 12 points from Ra’Vichael Strickland.
The Blazers return to action Friday when they play Callaway, Mississippi in the Marshall County Hoop Fest. Callaway advanced to the Mississippi Class 5A state semifinals last year.
