Ivan Aska came off the bench to post his first double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 rebounds as Murray State held off Chattanooga 73-65 on Saturday.
The Racers (5-4) broke open a close game with a 13-0 run to lead 29-13, holding the Mocs scoreless for 3:46. Murray State led by as many as 19 in the first half before taking a 45-30 lead into the break.
Then it was the Racers' turn to go cold. Leading 50-33 with 16:09 to go, Murray State allowed Chattanooga (4-6) to close to 54-50 with 8:15 left.
Aska made a layup 35 seconds later and the Racers maintained a lead of at least four points the rest of the way while hitting 9 of 10 free throws in the final 3:34.
Murray State hit only 6 of 19 from the field in the second half (31.6 percent), but made 14 of 16 free throws.
The Mocs, whose two-game winning streak ended, were led by Omar Wattad with 23 points.
