Second Half Comeback At Memphis Pushes Racer Win Streak To Five

Friday, December 10

Memphis, Tenn.

7 p.m.

Murray State

8-1,0-0OVC

Memphis

5-4,0-0AAC

Murray St.

Memphis

Photo by: Curt Hart

Second Half Comeback At Memphis Pushes Racer Win Streak To Five

12/10/2021 6:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Racers net their biggest halftime comeback since 2007

Trailing by 14 points at halftime, the Murray State Racers nipped the Memphis Tigers 74-72 Friday night in front of 13,607 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee.

The victory pushes the 8-1 Racers to a five-game winning streak as they host Tennessee Wesleyan and Chattanooga next week.

Tevin Brown and Justice Hill scored 22 and 20 points and combined for 11 of the team's 14 3-point baskets (10 in the second half) to lead the Racers. Carter Collins and KJ Williams each added 13 points to the Murray State attack.

Having gone the final 4:28 of the first half without a field goal, MSU got off to a hot start to the second half. They outscored Memphis 30-14 and when they got 3-point baskets from Hill and Brown to retake the lead with 8:52 remaining, the Racers were in front 56-54 and never trailed again.

When Memphis cut the Racer lead to one point with 2:55 left, MSU held them off with some heroic baskets. Hill made his fifth 3-pointer for a 69-65 lead at 2:17 remaining. After a Racer miss, Memphis cut the MSU lead to 69-67 with a rebound and score with 59.4 left. The Racers handled the Tigers' full court press and ran the clock down to 31.7 seconds when Hill was fouled on a 3-point attempt. Hill set a new career-high when he made all three free throws to put the Racers in front 72-67. It was a runout dunk by Williams that sealed it for Murray State with 11.3 seconds left.

The Racers shot 47 percent (27-of-58) for the game, but were great in the second half in shooting 53 percent (16-of-30). After going 4-of-14 from the 3-point line in the first half, they came back in the second half and hit 10-of-15 for 68 percent. MSU won the battle of the boards 31-30 as Williams and DJ Burns each hauled in eight rebounds.

Coach Matt McMahon comments after Murray State's 74-72 win at Memphis. pic.twitter.com/2SY8XATH1n
— Murray State MBB (@RacersHoops) December 11, 2021

Game Notes

The combined effort by Brown and Hill is simply amazing. 14-of-29 FG (.482), 11-of-19 from the 3-point line (.578), 42 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Murray State trailed by 14 at the half. Their comeback win represents the largest halftime deficit Murray State has overcome since they came back from down 16 at the half to win at Tennessee State on Jan. 4, 2007.
The Racers have won back-to-back non-conference road games. They also won at Illinois State 77-65 on Nov. 17.
The Racers came into the game seventh in NCAA D-I in field goal percentage (.513). Tonight, they were 27-of-58 (.466).
Memphis is the 11^th most-played series in Racer history (62^nd meeting) and the top-non-conference series in Murray State history since their first meeting in 1929.
The Racers have won the last two meetings with the Tigers and three of the last four with wins at Memphis in 2011 and in Murray at old Racer Arena in 1994.
KJ Williams and Tevin Brown began the night ranked 20^th and 21^st in MSU history in made field goals. They now have 496 and 491 and soon will pass MSU hall of famer Jim Jennings who made 524 from 1961-64.
Brown passed MSU hall of famer Claude Virden (1967-70) for 14^th place on the MSU all-time scoring list with 1,506. Williams surpassed Chris Shumate (1999-04) for 32^nd place with 1,211 points.
Brown continued his chase of the MSU and OVC all-time made 3-pointer record. After a 6-of-13 game tonight, Brown has 280. Isaiah Canaan had 304 from 2009-13 and Joe Sibbitt of Austin Peay has the OVC record of 319 from 1994-98.
The Racers return to action Tuesday (Dec. 14) when they host the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan at the CFSB Center. The day is a doubleheader day at The Bank with the Racer women's team hosting North Alabama at 5 p.m. and the men's team tipping at 7 p.m.
The Kindergarten-through-College ticket promotion is back for the next four dates at the CFSB Center general admission ticket.

Harlem Globetrotters Coming To CFSB Center – Feb. 2
The worldwide sensation Harlem Globetrotters have announced they will return to Murray State University for an eighth time on February 2, 2022 beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. Guests may also visit the CFSB Center ticket office, located at 1401 State Route 121 North, Murray, Ky 42071 (Lower A Entrance). For more information, please contact the CFSB Center ticket hotline at 270-809-3000.

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.

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.