Murray State University Athletics
Thursday, January 9
Jacksonville, Ala.
8 p.m.
Murray State
10-5,3-0OVC
72
at
68
Jacksonville State
7-9,2-1OVC
1
2
F
Murray St.
35
37
72
Jacksonville St.
30
38
68
Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics
Racers Win At JSU Move To 3-0 In OVC
1/9/2020 11:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Murray State Racers won for the first time this season on the road Thursday with a 72-68 victory over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama.
The win pushed the Racers (10-5) to 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference as they won for a fifth-straight time on the road in league play.
Tevin Brown notched his fourth game in the last five with 20 or more points with and effort of 24 while playing all 40 minutes in the game. KJ Williams gave the Racers two double-figure scorers with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Anthony Smith led the way eight rebounds and Jaiveon Eaves dished out four assists.
The defining momentum swing started with 13:37 remaining in the contest with the Racers staring at a five-point deficit (48-43). The Racers found a way to handle JSU's full court press and hit 6-of-8 shots in a 14-2 run that saw them go in front 57-50 with 7:37 left. When JSU made another push to get to within two points with 2:14 left, the Racers went back in from by seven on a 3-pointer by Brown and a 70-63 lead.
In the first half, freshman Demond Robinson scored five quick points to give the Racers a 13-11 lead at the under-12 media timeout. The Racers defended the hot shooting Gamecocks very well from the 3-point in the opening 20 minutes and held JSU to 2-of-11 and enjoyed a 35-30 lead at the halftime intermission.
The Racers travel Saturday to the Eblen Center in Cookeville for a 7:30 p.m. battle with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. The women's game between the Racers and TTU starts at 5:30 p.m.
Game Notes
The Racers have won four of the last five with JSU including a thriller last March in the OVC Tournament semifinals. MSU gets back on the winning track at Mathews Coliseum after losing here the last two seasons. MSU leads the all-time series with JSU 24-3 and are 10-3 on the road.
Murray State coach Matt McMahon is 97-47 (.673) in his fifth season as he closes in on becoming the third-consecutive Racer coach to reach 100 wins and the ninth overall. McMahon is 52-18 (.742) in OVC games.
McMahon is 6-2 against JSU in his fifth season.
Today's meeting is the only one for the Racers and Gamecocks this regular season.
The Racers overall win streak is four since their last loss (Dec. 21) at Evansville. They snapped JSU's win streak, which was three in a row.
The win for the Racers pushes their road win streak in the OVC to five in a row since their last loss here at JSU (1-31-19).
The Racers led 35-30 at the half tonight and are now 10-1 when leading at halftime. The only loss was at Tennessee (Nov. 12).
The Racers moved to 3-0 at the start of the OVC season as they try for their third-straight regular season title. The Racers have had lots of early success in the league race recently. In 2015, they became just the fifth undefeated champion in OVC history at 16-0. 2018, MSU started 4-0 before a loss at Jacksonville State slowed them, as did a loss at home to Belmont in 2019 did after a 5-0 start.
MSU's Tevin Brown continued his excellent run of play in his sophomore season with 24 points. Brown played in his 48th game as a Racer tonight and now has 649 points.
The win pushed the Racers (10-5) to 3-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference as they won for a fifth-straight time on the road in league play.
Tevin Brown notched his fourth game in the last five with 20 or more points with and effort of 24 while playing all 40 minutes in the game. KJ Williams gave the Racers two double-figure scorers with 13 points on 6-of-8 shooting. Anthony Smith led the way eight rebounds and Jaiveon Eaves dished out four assists.
The defining momentum swing started with 13:37 remaining in the contest with the Racers staring at a five-point deficit (48-43). The Racers found a way to handle JSU's full court press and hit 6-of-8 shots in a 14-2 run that saw them go in front 57-50 with 7:37 left. When JSU made another push to get to within two points with 2:14 left, the Racers went back in from by seven on a 3-pointer by Brown and a 70-63 lead.
In the first half, freshman Demond Robinson scored five quick points to give the Racers a 13-11 lead at the under-12 media timeout. The Racers defended the hot shooting Gamecocks very well from the 3-point in the opening 20 minutes and held JSU to 2-of-11 and enjoyed a 35-30 lead at the halftime intermission.
The Racers travel Saturday to the Eblen Center in Cookeville for a 7:30 p.m. battle with the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. The women's game between the Racers and TTU starts at 5:30 p.m.
Game Notes
The Racers have won four of the last five with JSU including a thriller last March in the OVC Tournament semifinals. MSU gets back on the winning track at Mathews Coliseum after losing here the last two seasons. MSU leads the all-time series with JSU 24-3 and are 10-3 on the road.
Murray State coach Matt McMahon is 97-47 (.673) in his fifth season as he closes in on becoming the third-consecutive Racer coach to reach 100 wins and the ninth overall. McMahon is 52-18 (.742) in OVC games.
McMahon is 6-2 against JSU in his fifth season.
Today's meeting is the only one for the Racers and Gamecocks this regular season.
The Racers overall win streak is four since their last loss (Dec. 21) at Evansville. They snapped JSU's win streak, which was three in a row.
The win for the Racers pushes their road win streak in the OVC to five in a row since their last loss here at JSU (1-31-19).
The Racers led 35-30 at the half tonight and are now 10-1 when leading at halftime. The only loss was at Tennessee (Nov. 12).
The Racers moved to 3-0 at the start of the OVC season as they try for their third-straight regular season title. The Racers have had lots of early success in the league race recently. In 2015, they became just the fifth undefeated champion in OVC history at 16-0. 2018, MSU started 4-0 before a loss at Jacksonville State slowed them, as did a loss at home to Belmont in 2019 did after a 5-0 start.
MSU's Tevin Brown continued his excellent run of play in his sophomore season with 24 points. Brown played in his 48th game as a Racer tonight and now has 649 points.
Coach McMahon post-game comments following Racers' 72-68 win at Jacksonville State to move to 3-0 in OVC. pic.twitter.com/6FwTc6dJCl
— Murray State MBB (@RacersHoops) January 10, 2020
Tevin Brown post game comments after Racers get a win at JSU 72-68. Brown scored 24 points. pic.twitter.com/VgUNveFrCe
— Murray State Sports (@MSURacers) January 10, 2020
Team Stats
MSU
JSU
FG%
.500
.350
3FG%
.200
.250
FT%
.680
.792
RB
34
36
TO
17
16
STL
9
7
Game Leaders
Pts
24
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
13
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
9
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballCoach Jody Wright | Racer Football Press Conference | 10/06/2025
Tuesday, October 07
Coach Rechelle Turner | Women's Basketball Press Conference | 9/29/2025
Monday, September 29
Players Briley Pena & Haven Ford | Women's Basketball Press Conference | 9/29/2025
Monday, September 29
Coach Jody Wright | Racer Football Press Conference | 9/29/2025
Monday, September 29
