Ed Daniel could be turning into this season’s Kenneth Faried in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Daniel went full-on Faried for Murray State, scoring 20 points, pulling down 18 rebounds and swatting five shots in helping the Racers get past Lipscomb on the road, 88-79.
The 18 rebounds were a season-high for Daniel, a 6-7 senior from Birmingham, Ala. He’s been on a tear on the glass lately though after a 15-board effort in a win over Old Dominion on Saturday. It makes four straight double-digit rebounding games for Daniel, too.
Canaan had another monster night himself, going for 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting, including 6-for-11 from three-point range, with six boards and four assists. Stacey Wilson chipped in 21 points in the win as well.
While the result is a lot closer than most thought, having two other players go for 20-plus is a big positive for coach Steve Prohm. Though these does leave a few questions about their depth. Zay Henderson was the lone player to score on the bench, with just two points, one of just three shots taken by non-starters. No doubt Zay Jackson would be a big help with that, but he’s suspended for the season.
It’s the early season, and after losing three starters, no one is expecting the dominance of the conference like last season’s Racers had. But bench production is an issue. While nine players average double-digit minutes for Murray State early on, only one player outside of Canaan, Daniel and Wilson is averaging above nine points per game, that’s Dexter Fields’ 9.2.
David Harten is the editor of The Backboard Chronicles. You can follow him on Twitter at @David_Harten.
