Basketball Recap: Roman Israyelyan's Big Game Can't Quite Lead Murray over Cyprus + How To Watch

Murray was the 75-59 winner over Cyprus when they last played one another back in December of 2024, but their luck changed this time around. The Spartans fell just short of the Pirates by a score of 66-63 on Friday.

Roman Israyelyan

Field Goal Percentage

12/05/25 @ Cyprus	60%
12/03/25 vs West	47%
12/02/25 @ Taylorsville	46%
11/25/25 vs Woods Cross	41%
11/21/25 @ Highland	45%
+ 1 more games

Murray lost despite a true team effort on offense. The best among them was Roman Israyelyan, who went 6-for-10 to rack up 17 points and six assists. Thanks to that strong game, he now owns an excellent 45.1% field goal percentage. Naish Hinckley was another key player, putting up seven points in addition to seven rebounds and five assists.

Cyprus' success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Beckham Bayles led the charge by shooting 5-for-9 from deep and almost dropping a double-double with 22 points and nine assists. Bayles' big performance that evening made it three games in a row in which he has scored at least 18 points. Another player making a difference was Koli Fosita, who shot 64% from the field en route to 18 points.

Murray's loss dropped their record down to 2-4. As for Cyprus, the victory (which was their third in a row) raised their record to 3-0.

Both teams will have to hit the road in their upcoming matchups. Murray will venture away from home to take on Judge Memorial Catholic at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The game will give the Spartans their first taste of in-conference action this season. As for Cyprus, they are packing up and heading out on the road for their first away game of the season: they will square off against Mountain Ridge at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.