Racer Basketball Celebrates Unforgettable Season

The Murray State men's basketball team gathered with the Racer Club Thursday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky, to honor those who led the way to an amazing season included 28 wins, a 41674

pair of Ohio Valley Conference championships, and the fourth NCAA Tournament win in program history. The Racers had a great team, led by a consensus All-America selection and OVC Player of the Year, Ja Morant, and they thrilled Racer Nation from start to finish.

2018-19 Team Awards
Popeye Jones Mr. MSU Award
The Popeye Jones Mr. MSU Award was given to Ja Morant, who like Popeye, was one of the most dynamic student-athletes to ever wear the blue and gold. Assistant Coach Shane Nichols presented the award.

Morant's career with the Racers only lasted 65 games, but he got the most out of it. He set the MSU career record for assists (532) in 46 fewer games than when Don Mann became the record holder (531) in 1989. Morant was the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and posted three triple doubles including just the ninth in NCAA Tournament play with 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds in the Racers' victory over Marquette. Morant had 331 assists for the MSU and OVC record single-season record and the sixth best assist season in NCAA history. He also became the first player since the assist was made an official stat in 1982 to average 20 points and 10 assists for a season.

The award named after MSU's all-time rebounder Popeye Jones and goes to the student-athlete who displayed excellence in all areas, on and off the court. Jones has enjoyed a long career in the NBA as a player and current assistant coach with the Indianapolis Pacers.

Jeff Martin Class & Character Award
The Jeff Martin Class & Character Award was given to Shaq Buchanan and was presented by assistant coach Tim Kaine.

Buchanan has been known as the "Glue Guy" in his two seasons with the Racers; the player everyone believes has an ability to hold the team together in all areas of the game. Buchanan's calling card was on defense where he was named the OVC Defensive Player of the Year. Buchanan was third in the OVC in steals per game (1.80) and 60th nationally with 67 steals.

Named after MSU's all-time scorer Jeff Martin, Sr., The Martin Class & Character Award is earned from great play and leadership. Martin resides in Houston, Texas and is still a big part of the Racers.

Isaiah Canaan Impact Award
Darnell Cowart is the second recipient of Isaiah Canaan Impact Award as assistant coach Casey Long presented it.

A junior college transfer from Cowley County, Cowart had an impressive transformation after his arrival to MSU in the summer 2018. Cowart lost weight and got his fitness to the level where he could impact games for the Racers. For the first 22 games of the season, Cowart came off the bench and averaged about 17 minutes per game with 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds. He started the final 13 games of the season and he scored 12.8 points per game and grabbed 8.2 rebounds. Cowart was able to become part of the All-OVC Newcomer Team largely on his performance in the final nine games of the regular season.

The award is in honor of the Racer great Isaiah Canaan who had his jersey No. 3 retired and was inducted into the MSU Hall of Fame in 2018. Canaan is one of only six MSU players and one of only 17 in the OVC to reach 2,000 career points.

Garrett Beshear Defensive Award
The award Garrett Beshear Defensive Award was given to Tevin Brown by assistant coach Mike Chapman.

Brown helped the Racers to 87^th in the nation in scoring defense in holding teams to 68.3 points per game and rank third in the nation in defending the 3-point line as they limiting opponents to just more than 28 percent success.

Offensively, Brown was a force in the OVC where teams couldn't forget about him while MSU's other offensive weapons kept them busy. Brown was third in the OVC with 2.7 made 3-point baskets per game and was the top 3-point shooter on the team in hitting 90-of-242 for a percentage of .372. Brown tied a MSU record with nine made 3-point baskets in a game at UT Martin.

The Garrett Beshear Defensive Award is named after one of the greatest defenders in MSU history. Beshear played for the Racers from 1950-53 and his jersey No. 16 is retired.

2018-19 Season Notes

MSU's 28 wins marked the 10th time in 94 seasons that a Racer team posted 25 or more victories. MSU has eight 20-win seasons in the last 10.
The Racers were regular season OVC champions for the 26th time and made their 16^th NCAA appearance after winning the OVC Tournament. MSU was a No. 12 seed and defeated No. 5 Marquette in the first round for the Racers' fourth all-time win in the tournament.
Coach Matt McMahon's last two teams (2017-18 and 2018-19) won back-to-back Ohio Valley Conference regular season championships with an overall conference record of 32-4.
McMahon's 54 victories is the most in a two-year period in MSU history by one coach. The team had an overall mark of 54-11 in the last two seasons.
MSU was ninth in the nation in scoring margin in the 2017-18 season and fifth in 2018-19.
The Racers has back-to-back seasons with 10 road wins.
MSU has back-to-back seasons of one player being the OVC Player of the Year and the OVC Tournament MVP in Jonathan Stark and Ja Morant.
Record numbers of fans flocked to the CFSB Center in the 2018-19 season, including two record-setting crowds.
(Jan. 24) – MSU hosted Belmont and had a record crowd of 8,969, besting the 2012 mark of 8,825 when the Racers hosted Saint Mary's. (March 2) The record was topped again when MSU hosted Austin Peay with a total attendance of 9,012.
The Racers were part of two record setting attendance games at the OVC Tournament in Evansville at the Ford Center.

Student managers make a big difference
Senior student managers Chase McAtee and Drew Waddell were was also recognized for their dedication to the Racer program over the last four seasons.

Murray State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Tevin Brown

Shaq Buchanan

Isaiah Canaan

Darnell Cowart

Ja Morant

Jonathan Stark

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