Racers Run Past Long Beach At Naples Invitational

Tuesday, November 23

Naples, Fla.

1:30 p.m

Murray State

4-1,0-0OVC

Long Beach State

1-4,0-0Big West

Long Beach St.

Murray St.

Photo by: Bob Callighan

11/23/2021 11:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers got a combined 45 points from Tevin Brown and KJ Williams in a game two victory in Naples, Fla.

The Murray State Racers broke from the gate against the Long Beach State Beach and never slowed on their way to an 80-43 victory in their second game at the Naples Invitational at the Community School of Naples Fieldhouse in Naples, Florida.

The Racers (4-1) bounced back from a game one loss to East Tennessee and claimed a win in their first meeting against LBSU in program history. MSU closes out their three-game appearance in Naples against James Madison Wednesday. The fifth-place game tips at 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time in Southwest Florida.

KJ Williams scored a game-high 29 points for the Racers, while Tevin Brown added 16 points as 11 different MSU players made a dent in the scoring column. Williams and Brown were particularly accurate against the Beach in combining for 45 points on 19-of-28 from the field for 67 percent and 8-of-14 from the 3-point line for 57 percent. Nicholas McMullen led the Racers with five rebounds and Brown led the team with five assists.

The Racers hit the Beach with a 12-4 start only four minutes into the contest with Brown and Williams each getting early baskets. The Racers kept their forward momentum going when Williams missed a 3-pointer, but secured his own rebound and scored. Carter Collins and Jordan Skipper-Brown added a 3-pointer and a slam dunk to put the Racers in front 19-4 at 11:43. The lead went to 20 at the 5:06 mark when Justice Hill hit one of nine 3-pointers for the Racers in the first half for a 30-10 lead at 5:06 before halftime. Brown and Williams each hit another 3-pointer and the Racers finished out the first twenty minutes with a 43-16 lead.

The Racers cruised from there for their fourth win in five games to start the season.

MSU scored 31 points off 26 LBSU turnovers and the Racers assisted 16 times on their 30 field goals. MSU shot 50 percent from the field (30-of-60) and were 12-of-26 from the 3-point line for 46 percent.

Game Notes

The Racers and LBSU met today for the first time in history.
Counting today's win, the Racers have won six-straight games against teams from the Golden State. The streak began in 2010 when the Racers defeated Stanford at the 76 Classic in Anaheim and beat San Francisco at the Great Alaska Shootout in 2011. In 2012, they hosted Saint Mary's at the CFSB Center when Dick Vitale attended the game and were victorious in a season of 31 wins. In 2014 and 2015 at neutral site events, the Racers had wins over Pacific and Pepperdine.

Recent MSU Games vs Teams From California
11-10-06        #San Diego State     N       L       84-87
11-11-06        #Seattle-Pacific      N       L       68-76
11-12-06        #St. Mary's (Cal.)     A       L       44-62
11-09-09       !California                 A       L       70-75
11-25-10        ()Stanford                 N       W      55-52
11-25-11        &San Francisco        N       W      70-67
02-18-12       ^Saint Mary's           H       W     65-51
11-01-14        $Pacific                    H       W      98-75
11-24-15       $Pepperdine             N       W      59-55
11-23-21        @LBSU                     N       W      80-43
#Saint Mary's Classic – Moraga, Calif.
!Season Opener in Berkeley, Calif
() 76 Classic – Anaheim, Calif.
& Great Alaska Shootout – Anchorage, Alaska
^ ESPN BracketBuster – Murray, Ky.
$ Gulf Coast Showcase – Estero, Fla.
@ Naples Invitational – Naples, Fla.

When the Racers meet James Madison in Wednesday's fifth-place game, it will mark the second time they have played the Dukes. The first was in 2010 at the Coaches vs Cancer Classic in Miami. The Racers won that game 71-43.
A day after Tevin Brown saw his 21-game stretch of making at least one 3-point basket end with a 0-of-6 night against ETSU, he went 4-of-8 today to hopefully begin another long run of great shooting.
Brown now 265 career made 3-pointers as he chases the all-time records at MSU by Isaiah Canaan (304 from 2009-13) and the OVC by Austin Peay's Joe Sibbitt (309 from 1994-98).
MSU hit 12 3-point baskets today, one short of their season-high of 13 against Cumberland in the season opener (Nov. 9).

2021 Naples Invitational
Community School of Naples Gymnasium
Naples, Florida – Nov. 22-24, 2021

Nov. 22
12 p.m. ET – Kent State 74 James Madison 69
2:30 p.m. ET – Wright State 63 George Washington 74
5:30 p.m. ET – ETSU 66 Murray State 58
8:00 p.m. ET – Missouri State 92 Long Beach State 66

Nov. 23
12 p.m. ET – James Madison 78 Wright State 76
2:30 p.m. ET – Murray State 80 Long Beach 43
5:30 p.m. ET – Kent State vs George Washington
8:00 p.m. ET – Missouri State vs ETSU

Nov. 24
12 p.m. ET – 7^th place game – Wright State vs Long Beach
2:30 p.m. ET – 5^th place game – James Madison vs Murray State
5:30 p.m. ET – 3^rd place game
8:00 p.m. ET – Championship game

Murray State Spirit Night With Memphis Grizzlies
return to Memphis for another Murray State Spirit Night at the Grizzlies game Saturday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. when the Grizzlies and former Racer and NBA all-star, Ja Morant, host the Houston Rockets at the FedExForum. A pre-game party will be held at the brand-new location of Ghost River Brewing Co. on Beale Street, directly across from FedExForum, from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Free food (while it lasts), loads of swag and a cash bar will be provided. To add a bit of sparkle to the celebration, the annual Memphis Holiday Parade will also take place on Beale Street at 3 p.m. and Ghost River Brewing Co. will be the perfect viewing location.

Also that weekend at the FedExForum, the Murray State Racer Men's Basketball team will take on the University of Memphis Tigers Friday, Dec. 10. Tickets can be purchased through the University of Memphis box office.

Make plans to spend the weekend as Racer Nation takes over Bluff City! For more information on either game, call (270) 809-5600.

Racers Selected For Two Home Games On ESPNU
The Murray State men's basketball is hosting a pair of televised home games on ESPNU as announced by the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2021-22 season. The Racers will appear on ESPNU (Feb. 17) when they host the Austin Peay Governors at the CFSB Center in a 6 p.m. tip. The second game happens at home (Feb. 24) against the Belmont Bruins in a tip off of 8 p.m. Both of the TV games for the Racers come on Thursday nights. The OVC schedule has a total of nine total men's basketball televised games (six regular season contests and three OVC Tournament games) to be aired by one of the ESPN networks during the 2021-22 season. This includes three nights of coverage at the OVC Tournament (March 4-5) at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.

Mini-Ticket Plans Available
Fans can purchase season tickets and the Navy & Gold Mini ticket plans at Racer Mania. The mini plans are a great way for Racer Nation to enjoy Murray State games with general admission tickets. Each mini plan is $50 for one general admission ticket to five games. All of the games offered in the ticket plans are doubleheaders except for the stand-alone men's game vs Middle Tennessee (Dec. 4). Call the ticket office at (270) 809-3000 to purchase a ticket plan.

NAVY TICKET PLAN
Dec. 4, 2021     Sat.     Middle Tennessee
Dec. 30, 2021   Thu.     Southeast Missouri (DH)
Jan. 22, 2022   Sat.     UT Martin (DH)
Jan. 29, 2022   Sat.     Morehead State (DH)
Feb. 17, 2022    Thu.     Austin Peay (DH)

GOLD TICKET PLAN
Dec. 18, 2021    Sat.     Chattanooga (WBB vs Lipscomb)
Jan. 1, 2022      Sat.     Tennessee Tech (DH)
Jan. 20, 2022   Thu.     Eastern Illinois (DH)
Feb. 5, 2022     Sat.     SIUE (DH)
Feb. 24, 2022   Thu.     Belmont (DH)

Racer Basketball Legacy Fund
The new fundraising initiative invites Racer supporters to have a lasting impact on the Murray State men's and women's basketball programs. Those interested in learning more about how you can support the Racer Basketball Legacy Fund initiative may contact Director of Development-Athletics, Taylor Mudd at (270) 809-3517 or tmudd3@murraystate.edu for more information.