January 9, 2012

Murphy receives weekly award from College Sports Madness

Tennessee Tech senior guard Kevin Murphy has been named Player of the Week in the Ohio Valley Conference by CollegeSportsMadness.com, the web site announced Monday.

Senior guard averaged 26.5 points over two Tech victories

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech senior guard Kevin Murphy has been named Player of the Week in the Ohio Valley Conference by CollegeSportsMadness.com, the web site announced Monday.

Murphy averaged 26.5 points over the Golden Eagles’ two games, a 92-86 win over Tennessee State on Thursday and a 66-55 victory over Morehead State on Saturday.

The weekly honor was the third the web site has bestowed on Murphy this season – he was also named the league’s Player of the Week on Dec. 19.

Murphy shot 44 percent from the field last week, was a blazing 9-for-16 (.563) from three-point range and was nearly automatic from the free-throw line, going 12-for-14 (.857). He also dished out seven assists (3.5 per game), grabbed three steals and averaged four rebounds per contest.

He came up a bucket shy of his career-high, scoring 29 points against Tennessee State. He then dropped 24 in a victory over Morehead State, a game in which he hit six three-pointers and also dished out six assists.

When Morehead State cut the TTU lead to five with 2:38 to play, Murphy hit his fifth three-pointer to extend the lead to eight. One minute later, he delivered his sixth triple to put the Golden Eagles’ lead into double digits and secure the victory.

Against TSU, Murphy went 8-for-10 from the free-throw line and 3-for-6 from three-point range.

The Fairburn, Ga., native is the OVC’s leading scorer and ranks 26^th in NCAA Division I, averaging 19.7 points per game. He is also among the league’s best three-point shooters – he has hit 37 triples this season (2.2 per game) and is shooting 44.6 percent from beyond the arc.

Murphy and the Golden Eagles return to action on Saturday, traveling to No. 18 Murray State for a 5 p.m. tip-off. The game will be nationally televised on ESPNU.