By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

Toledo, Ohio---The No. 15 Express men's basketball team built a 25-point first half lead before cruising to a 100-87 win over Edison Community College tonight in the SHAC.

With the win, the Express improved to 17-4 overall and 4-0 in OCCAC play. They remain in sole possession of first place in the conference heading into Saturday's road tilt at Columbus State Community College.

John Murry (North Central/Indianapolis, Ind.) was a big part of the Express building their 25-point lead as he scored 19 of his 26 points in the first half. 

In fact, Murry tallied 13 of his team's first 20 points as the Express opened up a 20-6 lead with 14:46 left in the first half. 

Later, Shaakir Lindsey's (Teaneck/Teaneck, N.J.) 3-pointer in transition gave the Express a 38-13 lead with 9:12 left in the half. 

Edison wouldn't give up, however, as their offense gave the Express defense fits throughout the game. They cut their deficit to 19 at the half.

In the second half, Edison continued their surge. They scored on their first four possessions of the half, prompting Express head coach Dave Clarke to substitute his entire second half starting five for a new lineup during a timeout.

Despite the lineup adjustments, Edison cut their deficit to as little as 12 at 79-67 with 7:58 left, but that's the closest they would get.

The Express got a 3-point play from Markese Allen (Crockett/Detroit, Mich.) to put them up 100-84 with 1:26 left before Edison scored the final three points of the game.

The game featured several dunks, and the highlight of them all may have been Murry's one-handed flush in traffic, in transition, with 5:42 left in the first half. Shavon Gayle (Windsor Catholic Central/Windsor, Ontario, Canada) also had a two-handed put back dunk late in the game.

Murry, as mentioned earlier, finished with a game-high 26 points, while adding three rebounds, three assists and two steals. He finished 9-for-14 from the field and a perfect 7-for-7 from the foul line.

Bikramjit Gill (Our Ascension of the Lord/Toronto, Ontario, Canada) added 15 points, seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks and one assist on 7-for-13 shooting. 

Off the bench, the Express got 11 points from Allen and 10 from Edmond Early Jr. (Thurgood Marshall/Dayton, Ohio). Lindsey had a team-high eight assists, along with nine points and three steals.

Edison, who was led by Brandon Ervin's 19 points, shot 38-for-66 (57.6 percent) from the field as a team, which is the highest percentage the Express defense has given up this year. Lyle Cole and Aaron Bellegraph each added 18 points, while Chandon Williams had 13. Bellegraph also had several thunderous dunks in the game.

The Express offense finished 39-for-83 (47 percent) from the field as the two offenses traded baskets. The big differences in the game came in the turnover battle as the Express had 16 compared to 28 for Edison and the foul line, where the Express finished 16-for-22 (72.7 percent) compared to 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) for Edison.

The Express will begin their Saturday matchup against Columbus State at 3 p.m. Edison fell to 0-11 overall and 0-5 in OCCAC play with tonight's loss.

Notes

Murry's 26 points tied his season high that he set on Dec. 7 in an 82-81 win over Erie Community College. 

Lindsey's eight assists put him one short of his season-high of nine set on Dec. 18 at Lorain County Community College.

The game was broadcasted on local TV station, BCSN.