Prairie State Challenge Beckons Racers - At EIU Thursday

Game 27 - Eastern Illinois - Lantz Arena - Charleston, Ill. - Feb. 20, 2020 - 7:30 p.m.

Murray State Racers (19-7) Ohio Valley (12-1) Last: 02/15 H Morehead State Won 85-57 Next: 02/22 A SIUE 02/27 H Eastern Kentucky Eastern Illinois Panthers (12-14) Ohio Valley (5-9) Last: 02/15 A UT Martin Lost 80-79 OT Next: 02/22 H Austin Peay 02/27 A Southeast Missouri

Coaches
Matt McMahon 5th Season Alma Mater: Appalachian State (2000) Career Record: 106-49 (5th) At Murray State: Same Ohio Valley: 62-20 Home: 62-11 Away: 32-30 Neutral: 12-8 vs Eastern Illinois: 8-2 Jay Spoonhour 8th Season Alma Mater: Pittsburg State(1994) Career Record: 211-170 (12th) at Eastern Illinois: 105-138 (8th) Ohio Valley: 56-74 vs Murray State: 2-14

Series
MSU leads EIU 49-11 H: 27-3 A: 19-7 N: 4-1 OVC: 38-9 OVC Tournament: 5-1 1st Game: 1981 H Won 71-70 1st OVC: 1997 A Lost 76-64

Racers Hit The Road For The Prairie State
The Murray State Racers (19-7, 12-2 OVC) have four games remaining in the Ohio Valley Conference regular season and are squarely in the hunt to earn their third consecutive championship. The Racers' next challenge in the 18-game OVC season is against the Eastern Illinois Panthers (12-14, 5-9) Thursday at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill. The Racers won the first meeting in Murray (Jan. 30), EIU made a furious rally and twice in the final 18 seconds, had the ball with a chance to tie, but the Racers survived to get the win 73-70. The Racers have won their last three games at Lantz Arena since their last loss there in 2016.

Froggy 103.7 FM - Flagship Station For Racer Basketball
In his 29th season, the "Voice of the Racers" and Murray State Hall of Famer, Neal Bradley is on the call again for the 2019-20 season. Former MSU assistant coach Kenny Roth provides expert analysis and commentary. All MSU games can be heard over the air on 103.7FM and online at Froggy103.com and GoRacers.com. ESPN+ has online television coverage.

OVC Battle Offers High Drama
As the OVC race enters the final two weeks of the nine-week grind, all teams have four games remaining and at the top are the Racers and Austin Peay, each 12-2. Belmont is one game back at 11-3 and Eastern Kentucky sits in fourth place at 10-4. Tennessee State is lurking at 8-6. The Racers and APSU are travel partners and each play at EIU and SIUE, while Belmont and EKU play Saturday in Richmond. Next week, the Racers host EKU and APSU and plays TSU in the final game of the regular season of the 72nd season in the OVC.

Super Sub Gilmore Making An Impact
Murray State junior Devin Gilmore us in his second season of producing in a big way off the Racer bench. In games with APSU and Morehead State last week, Gilmore 26 minutes, hit all four of his shots, grabbed 11 rebounds and blocked three shots and only committed one turnover. In the Racers' 85-57 win over Morehead State Saturday, Gilmore had his second double-double this season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. In 14 OVC games, he is making an amazing 84 percent from the field on 33-of-39 shots.

Defense Wins Championships
In 14 games of OVC play, the Racers are one of the top defensive teams in the league as they only give up 68.1 points per game. Generally, the Racers don't give up a lot of 3-pointers either as opponents only hit at a 30 percent rate.

Prairie State Challenge Beckons Racers - At EIU Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Devin Gilmore

Murray State University Athletics