other Racer in double figures with 12 points, 11 in the second half. Guards Alexis Burpo (nine points) and Sanders-Woods (eight) were big in other areas as Burpo had seven rebounds and six assists, while Sanders-Woods ended with five assists.

Racer men build big early lead in win

Do not tell Murray State Men’s Head Basketball Coach Matt McMahon that Thursday night’s 67-44 win over TSU was “ugly” or “sloppy.”

Sometimes, games in which points are a premium are works of art on the defensive side. Thursday night, the host Racers (13-2, 3-0 OVC) crafted a de-fensive masterpiece putting the clamps on a team that had been averaging 89 points in its last five games.

“I don’t call that sloppy. It’s a great win for our players. I thought we had a great week of practice and, obviously, de-fense was a big emphasis for us,” McMahon said. “They were a top-20 team in the country in 3-point shooting. Also, in three of our four halves this year so far in league play, we had given up 40 or more points, so we spent a lot of time on defense in practice and I thought our guys did an awesome job carrying that over to the game.

To limit them to 44 points on 3-of-16 from three and allow-ing two assists to 16 turnovers, I thought was a fantastic effort.”

Murray State shot from the starting gate int this one, scoring the first 11 points of the game en route to leading by as many as 23 points before settling for a 35-16 lead at halftime.

That start could be attributed to the efforts of guard Carter Collins, who accounted for all 11 of those points. He opened the game with a driving scoop layup, assisted forward KJ Wil-liams hook shot bucket, then added two 3-point bombs with one of those coming as a result of his steal at the defensive end.

“I guess the ball just kind of found me early,” said Collins, who ended his night with eight

points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal. “I was able to make plays at the beginning of the game and gave us a lift to start off.”

Steadily, though, as the first half continued, Murray State be-gan to lose its shooting touch and that carried over to the second half. Eventually, the Tigers be-gan to find their shooting stroke and the Racers’ once-huge lead suddenly started getting smaller.

It would drop to only 10 points at 35-25 when forward Kassim Nicholson scored on a layup with 15:47 remaining. However, the first 3-pointer of the season from guard Trae Hannibal, then a dunk by guard Justice Hill off a nifty pass from forward Jordan “Skipper” Brown restored order at 40-25.

After the Tigers cut the lead to 40-28, the Racers went on the decisive run as Skipper-Brown scored a basket off a Tevin Brown pass, followed by three free-throws by Brown as he was fouled on a three try, then a dunk from Skipper-Brown as Hill re-turned the favor from earlier. That left the Racers up 47-28 with 13:41 to go.

Skipper-Brown had eight points, two rebounds and an as-sist as he continues to improve as a valuable bench player.

“I’m getting real comfortable with it,” Skipper-Brown said, smiling as he talked about his fa-vorite way of scoring, the dunk.

He has wowed Racer fans with some dazzling slams this season, including a breakaway windmill job against Southeast Missouri in the OVC opener about two weeks ago. He had three more Thursday, two off loose-ball scrambles.

“Just get up and tear the rim off,” he said.

Williams had a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, Brown had 11 points and five boards and Hannibal had 11 points, four boards and two as-sists. Forwards DJ Burns and Nick McMullen also had six re-bounds apiece.

•••Look for previews of Satur-

day’s big OVC doubleheader between Murray State and Bel-mont on the Ledger & Times website later today. n

for more effort, he is always ready to battle. Matt Ray was right at his nightly double-double. I thought Jonah Butler had a breakout game on both ends of the floor with several big-time blocks and on-the-money passes. Finley is a

big-time shot-maker that contin-ues to deliver every single outing. We had the ball with a shot to win the ballgame in a state tournament game against a really good team.”

The Lakers have had two up-coming games canceled. Callo-way’s next scheduled game is a 7:30 p.m. tip-off at Marshall County on Friday, January 21st. n

Weekend sportsslate

No activities scheduled

All-A Classic Region 1 Boys Basketball Tourna-ment semifinals... vs. Pa-ducah St. Mary, 6 p.m., Mayfield Sports Arena, Mayfield. With win, Murray High would play in cham-pionship game Saturday (scheduled for 7:45 p.m. but could be moved due to winter weather condi-tions).

Schedules are subject to change after press time, fans are advised to con-sult their programs for up-to-date schedules

Today: Women’s track and field at Commodore Chal-lenge, Vanderbilt Universi-ty, Nashville, Tennessee

Saturday: Basketball at Belmont ... women at 2 p.m., men at 4 p.m., Curb Events Center, Nashville, Tennessee

Rifle at Jacksonville State, 9 a.m.,, Jacksonville, Ala-bama

From Page 8An Lakers

Murray Ledger & Times Friday-Monday, January 14-17, 2022 • 9A

Kentucky’s elk lottery scheme is open for businessStep right up ladies

and gentlemen! For a mere ten bucks,

that’s right folk, for a mere 10 U.S.A. dollars (why, that’s less than you’d pay for two pounds of ground beef) you can enter the 2022 edition of the Great Kentucky Elk Lottery! Live on the opposite end of the com-monwealth from the critters? No problem! Live in Timbuktu? Visa and Mastercard accepted! Ten dollars, come one, come all.

The application period ex-tends from Jan. 1 until April 30 each year. Last year there were 594 permits available, includ-ing 150 bull firearm, 244 cow firearm, 175 either sex archery, and 25 either-sex youth permits. KDFWR reports 95,000 entries were received for those 594 permits in 2021. Unlike deer and waterfowl quota applica-tions that allow hunters to apply as a group, the elk drawing requires hunters to apply indi-vidually.

This whole business started back in 1997 when the depart-ment hatched a plan to release elk into the mountains of east Kentucky. From 1997 through 2002, 1,541 elk were relocated to the restoration area from Arizona, Kansas, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah. Having few natural predators in the area of the Boone National Forest and throughout the vast expanse of abandoned strip-mined coal-company lands, the elk had little to disrupt their daily routine, save for the occa-sional coal truck or a few hun-gry hillbillies. This newfound idyllic lifestyle allowed the elk the freedom to eat, breed, and grow large antlers.

The herd grew so fast that hunting opportunities were increased dramatically during the early years, and the state became the favorite wild-elk dealership for other eastern states seeking a seat on the restoration bandwagon. The elk in east Kentucky are not native elk, however. The elk that once roamed the Kentucky mountains were the Eastern subspecies (Cervus canadensis canadensis) which was offi-cially declared extinct in 1880, although some sources cite the existence of Eastern elk in Missouri in the 1890s. The elk we have today are of the Rocky Mountain Elk subspecies (Cer-vus canadensis nelsoni).

In those wonderful early days of the elk restoration, a hunter fortunate enough or connected enough to draw a tag in the lottery was all but assured of a record-book quality bull on public land for little more than gas money. It was too good to last, however. Within a year or two, hunters who drew a cov-eted bull tag started reporting locked gates and limited access to public hunting areas. As applications soared, there were people who defied the ever-in-creasing odds by drawing a tag in consecutive years, sometimes several consecutive years. Even

as new areas were added to the restoration zone, the number of tags available through the lottery began to fall. A deal was struck with big landowners and coal companies who would receive one transferrable elk tag per year for every 5,000 acres they enrolled in the project. The resource shifted away from the run-of-the-mill Kentucky hunter and began to favor big money. Yes, you can still enter the elk lottery for a 10-dollar bill and, if drawn, plunk down another hundred for a resident bull permit. Then you can embark on a do-it-yourself hunt on public property, sleep in your truck, eat bennie-weenies, and commune with nature for pocket change. You may or may not find elk, however. What you will find are thousands of acres under lease to outfitters who charge from $5,000 to $20,000 for 3 or 5 day guided hunts, and a lot of dubious characters trying to convince you that the public hunting ground you are standing on somehow belongs to them.

If you don’t get drawn or just want to bypass the whole lot-tery thing, the department doles out up to 10 special tags each year to non-profit organizations for their fund-raising purposes. These tags are typically offered

at auction by the organizations and sell for big money, many of which are purchased by outfitters and resold for bigger money. Remember the land-owners who receive elk tags for allowing the department to grow elk on their property? You can buy a tag from them, too. They are not shy about demanding $20,000 or more for a tag, however. Just so you know, before you drop your last 10-spot in the department’s slot machine, this lunch ain’t free anymore.

Kentucky’s deer season will end at sundown next Monday, Jan. 17. From then on, it’s see you in September. Tennes-see ended their deer season last Sunday. Duck season will run through Jan. 31 in Ken-tucky, Jan. 30 in Tennessee. In Illinois and Missouri, only the south waterfowl zones are open. The Illinois South Zone remains open through Jan. 25 and Missouri’s South Zone through Jan. 31. Be aware of the zone boundaries in these states, especially in Missouri, where the Central Zone extends below the South Zone in some areas.

As I predicted last week, waterfowl hunters received a late Christmas present in the form of a cold front that brought snow and a lot of ducks to our area. The sudden success has also sent water-fowl hunters scurrying about in search of steel or non-tox-ic shotgun ammunition, the supplies of which have been extremely tight. Manufacturers are cranking out ammo as fast as they can, but are still facing a tremendous backlog of orders. On top of that, your local ammo

dealers are having to deal with some of their suppliers rerout-ing shipments to other clients for a premium. Bottom line on waterfowl ammo is get it where ever you can find it.

The recent rains and melting snow have caused the big rivers to ease out of their banks. This is a good thing for waterfowl hunters unless they had planned on hunting the Ballard or Boatwright WMAs. Ballard WMA is now closed until fur-ther notice due to the flooding. Hunters who were drawn for the waterfowl quota hunts will receive a refund of their prefer-ence points. Boatwright WMA has suspended online hunting applications this week, but are conducting daily in-person drawings for sites. All the sites in the Boatwright WMA now require boat access.

Most waterfowlers have duck boats and are experienced in the proper use thereof. As a matter of fact, hunting from a boat is an integral part of duck hunting on the big lakes and rivers. Several years ago, at an informational meeting between waterfowl hunters and Depart-ment personnel, the question was asked as to why the Ballard WMA would be closed to boat access during periods of high water. The reply from one of the refuge managers at that time left the room in stunned silence. He answered that they just couldn’t have a bunch of duck hunters running around out there in the backwater in boats. I’m guessing he thought the idea of duck hunting from a boat sounded unsafe, but then you never know. All you duck hunters, let’s be safe out there! n

byKenny Darnell

Ledger & Times Outdoor Columnist

Murray State Athletics

MURRAY — Murray State Women’s Tennis is ex-cited to announce the spring 2022 schedule on Thursday (Jan. 13) per Racer head coach Jorge Caetano.

The 18-game slate is scheduled to begin on Jan. 28 against Eastern Michi-gan before playing Marshall University on the following day with both matches be-ing played in Huntington, West Virginia.

Rounding out opening weekend, Murray State will take on Bellarmine on Jan.

30 in Louisville.The Racers first home

match comes in the form of a doubleheader versus NAIA opponent Cumber-land (Tenn.) on Feb. 6 at the Kenlake Tennis Center.

Following the brief home stint, MSU hits the road for a month with a match in Nashville, Tennessee on Feb. 11 against Lipscomb before traveling to Ruston, Louisiana for matches with Sam Houston and Louisi-ana Tech on Feb. 19 and 20. The Racers then take a trip to Dayton, Ohio for a match with the Flyers on March 5 with a match against Cin-

cinnati coming on March 6.

Murray State then takes on in-state rival West-ern Kentucky in Bowling Green on March 12.

The Racers re-turn to Bennie Purcell Courts on March 13 for a match with Chattanoo-ga for the final non-confer-ence match of the season.

MSU will travel to Nash-ville, Tenn. for a match on April 1 with Belmont to open OVC play before trav-eling across town the fol-lowing day for a match with

Tennessee State.Racer tennis

hosts Eastern Illi-nois and SIUE on April 8 and 9 for their conference home openers be-fore traveling to Southeast Missou-ri and UT-Martin

on April 15 and 16.The final regular-season

match will be on April 23 against rival Austin Peay at Bennie Purcell courts.

Finally, Evansville, In-diana will play host to the OVC Tournament from April 29- May 1 at the Wes-selman Tennis Center. n

Murray State tennis announces ‘22 spring schedule

Murray State Athletics

MURRAY — Offensive line-man Levi Nesler of the Murray State football team added another honor to his distinguished career Wednesday when he was named to the 2021 FCS Athletic Directors Association Academic All-Star team.

Nesler was one 50 individuals selected from a pool of over 113 applicants. He was just one of three OVC players to earn the honor along with linebackers Seth Car-lisle of Tennessee Tech and Jack McDonald of Austin Peay.

Nesler currently has two degrees from Murray State graduating with a bachelor of science in agriculture

systems technology and a master’s in science and agriculture. When classes resume, Nesler will begin work on a human development and leadership certificate with an antici-pated completion date of December 2022.

Football players from all FCS institutions are eligible for the award. Each of the nominees were required to have a minimum grade point average of 3.20 (on a 4.00 scale) in undergraduate study and have been a starter or key player with legitimate athletics creden-tials. They must have reached their second year of athletics and aca-demic standing at the nominated institution and have completed a minimum of one full academic year

at the nominated institution. The former walk-on from May-

field High School is a two-time first team All-OVC selection and was a 2019 Freshman All-American ac-cording to Phil Steele.

Over the past two seasons, he anchored an offensive line that al-lowed the emergence of a strong Racers run game and also one that has limited sacks by the opposing team. In Nesler’s first two seasons, the offensive line allowed 2.1 sacks per game, however in his final two the Racer line allowed just 1.1 per game.

Nesler now joins James Sapping-ton (2019), Zach Shipley (2017) and Christian Duncan (2013) as re-cent Racer winners of the award. n

Nesler named as FCS ADA Academic All-StarFrom Page 8An Racer