OVC Unbeatens Meet Thursday - MSU at JSU - Murray State University Athletics

MURRAY STATE RACERS (7-8, 1-0 OVC)
Head Coach: Matt McMahon (Appalachian State, 2000)
Career Record: 24-22 (2nd season) • At MSU: Same • OVC: 10-6 (2nd season)

JACKSONVILLE STATE GAMECOCKS (8-7, 2-0 OVC)
Head Coach: Ray Harper (Kentucky Wesleyan, 1985)
Career Record: 440-134 (18th year) • At JSU: 8-7 (1st season) • OVC: 2-0

Date-Time: Jan. 5 - 7:30 p.m. CT Site: Murray, Ky. Arena: CFSB Center
TV: None Radio: Racer Radio - WFGE 103.7 FM - Neal Bradley & Dave Winder
Web Streaming: Audio: GoRacers.com & Froggy103.com Video: OVCDN Live Stats: GoRacers.com & StatBroadcast.com
Twitter In Game: @RacersHoops @RacerDave23

Series History: Overall: MSU 19-1 Home: MSU 10-0 Away: MSU 8-1 Neutral: MSU 1-0 Overtime: MSU 1-0
2006 MSU won at home 72-71 OT

First Meeting: 2004 Home - MSU won 89-84 Last Meeting: 2016 Home - MSU won 69-54

MSU Next: Away (Jan. 7) Tennessee Tech JSU Next: Home (Jan. 7) Austin Peay

Fresh off winning back-to-back games for the first time this season, the The Murray State Racers set out this week to win on the road for the first time when they travel to play the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in Jacksonville, Alabama at Pete Mathews Coliseum in a Thursday game at 7:30 p.m.

Froggy 103 (WFGE 103.7 FM) airs every MSU game with "Voice of the Racers" Neal Bradley, in his 26th season calling the action. Dave Winder, MSU Assistant AD provides commentary. Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com has free online streaming audio. Free online streaming video is available at OVCDigitalNetwork.com.

The Racers have won 19 of the 20 meetings in the series that dates back to JSU's entry as an Ohio Valley Conference member in 2004. JSU scored it's first win over MSU in 2013 at Mathews Coliseum. The Racers again face Coach Ray Harper who is in his first season with the Gamecocks. MSU faced him many times over the years when he was an assistant and then head coach at Western Kentucky.

MSU played its best game of the season Saturday in a 92-83 win over Tennessee State at the CFSB Center. The Racers opened the 69th season of collegiate basketball in the OVC by taking their ninth-straight opener. A lineup changed made the team click for Coach Matt McMahon when seniors Damarcus Croaker and Bryce Jones came off the bench to score a combined 46 points to go with Jonathan Stark's 26 points as the Racers posted the victory.

The Racers defeated Brescia 99-83 last week and then TSU 92-83. It marks their first back-to-back 90-point games since beating Belmont 92-77 (1-15-15) and Tennessee State (1-17-15) 91-72. Both games were at home. As the week begins, MSU is one of 47 teams in NCAA D-I that are scoring 81 points per game or better. MSU is taking care of the ball and ranks 61st in the NCAA with an assist/turnover ratio of 1.25.

MSU enters the JSU game with three of the top-18 scorers in the OVC with Jonathan Stark second at 21.0 points per game, just a tick behind Austin Peay's Josh Robinson who is at 21.6. Terrell Miller is 14th (13.7) and Bryce Jones is 18th (12.7).

The game at JSU, marks the start of a four game road trip over the next two weeks. Saturday the Racers travel to Cookeville and face the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. MSU returns home (Jan. 19) to host Eastern Kentucky.

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Players Mentioned

Damarcus Croaker

Bryce Jones

Jonathan Stark