Defense Travels - Racers Lock Down UTM - Murray State University Athletics

Saturday, February 3

Martin, Tenn.

6 p.m.

Murray State

18-5 (10-2OVC)

UT Martin

8-17 (3-9OVC)

Murray State

UT Martin

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Defense Travels - Racers Lock Down UTM

2/3/2018 2:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers pushed their winning streak to five with a 66-53 victory Saturday against the UT Martin Skyhawks at the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee.

Also having won their last three road contests, the Racers (18-5) kept their spot in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference with a record of 10-2.

The Racers come home to the CFSB Center Thursday to renew one of the best rivalries in the game when the Austin Peay Governors visit in the next chapter of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border. The CBS Sports Network will televise the 6 p.m. game to a national audience.

MSU had four players in double-figure scoring including 18 points from Ja Morant, on a day when he again flirted with a triple-double with eight rebounds and five assists. Jonathan Stark added 17 points, while Terrell Miller, Jr., and Shaq Buchanan each had 10 points.

In a game where offense was hard to come by, the Racers turned in perhaps their best defensive effort of the season when they held the Skyhawks to their final field goal at the 9:41 mark to the end and recorded 12-straight stops in the final 7:20 to finish the game on a 12-0 run.

Ja Morant's 3-point basket with 9:07 left gave the Racers the lead for good at 52-51. The Racers hit 7-of-8 from the free throw line down the stretch, but it was back-to-back scores by Miller (a layup and a 3-pointer) with 1:39 left that put the game away at 64-53. Morant got the capper with a slam-dunk that made the final score with four seconds left.

MSU had a rare offensive night in shooting 38 percent on 21-of-55 and 30 percent on 9-of-30, but they locked down UTM to the tune of 38 percent from the field (20-of-53) and 24 percent from the 3-point line (7-of-29). MSU had only seven turnovers and forced UTM into 15. The Racers also have five steals in the game with Miller and Buchanan each getting a pair.

The first half was a back and forth affair with UTM having a biggest lead of four and MSU getting in front by three points. The half had five tie scores with the Racers inching in front 35-33 at the intermission on a Stark 3-pointer with three seconds before the buzzer.

Game Notes
MSU sweeps the season two-game series with UTM and leads the all-time series 49-7 and are 22-5 at the Elam Center.

MSU has won three in a row on the road and are 7-3 overall away from home and 4-2 in OVC games.

Jonathan Stark surpassed the 2,000 point mark in his collegiate career that featured two seasons at Tulane before arrived at Murray State. From 2013-15, Stark scored 823 points at Tulane. After his 17 points tonight at UTM, Stark has scored 1,190 points at Murray State. Through 121 games at Tulane and MSU, Stark now has 2,013 points. Considering his entire four seasons, Stark has an amazing run going. His 2013 points would rank him seventh all-time if all of his scoring had come with the Racers and his 545 assists would be the all-time best at MSU.

With the win, the Racers carry a ton of momentum into Thursday's clash with rival Austin Peay. The women's/men's doubleheader has tip times of 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. The Heritage Bank Battle of the Border gets another chapter added to it as the Racers and Govs meet for the first time since November when MSU beat APSU in volleyball. In its second school year, the Battle of the Border pits the two schools in all sports with a point system that determines the winner of the traveling trophy. Murray State won the inaugural season of the Battle of the Border 46.5 to 17.5 points. Heading into the doubleheader Thursday, the competition in 2017-18 is tied 9-9. Thursday night, three points will be awarded to the winner of each game.