Hill’s Monster First Half Pushes Racers To Victory In OVC Opener vs SEMO

Thursday, December 30

Murray, Ky.

7 p.m.

Murray State

11-2,1-0OVC

106

Southeast Missouri

5-9,0-1OVC

Southeast Mo. St.

Murray St.

106

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Hill’s Monster First Half Pushes Racers To Victory In OVC Opener vs SEMO

12/30/2021 11:26:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Racers began the 74th season of basketball in the Ohio Valley Conference at home in the CFSB Center

The Murray State Racers broke from the gate and never looked back in winning their 2021 Ohio Valley Conference opener 106-81 over the Southeast Missouri Redhawks at the

CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The 100-point effort by the Racers (11-2, 1-0 OVC) saw them shoot 56 percent for the game (36-of-64) and 48 percent from the 3-point line (11-of-23).

Justice Hill topped his career-high in the first half alone with 22 points. His 26 points against SEMO topped the 20 he scored at Memphis (Dec. 10). KJ Williams notched his third double-double this season (19^th of his career) with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Tevin Brown added 17 points and Trae Hannibal scored 15 points. Hill and Brown led the Racers with five assists each.

The hot hand belonged to Hill who made the first four 3-pointers he attempted to put the Racers in front 15-6 in the first 4:30 of the game. When Hill hit his fifth 3-pointer, the Racers pushed to a 15-point lead at 4:28. He hit his sixth long range jumper with 2:11 in the half and the Racers were in front 50-36. By the time the halftime intermission arrived, Hill had a new career-high of 22 points and the Racers led 59-40.

Murray State started the second half on an 11-0 run to get a 74-45 lead. MSU's largest lead was 29 points with 16:05 remaining as they opened OVC play in front of 3,630 at The Bank.

Game Notes

After snapping a seven-game win streak, the Racers have won 8-of-9 since a loss at the Naples Invitational (Nov. 22) to East Tennessee.
The Racers have won eight in a row at the CFSB Center. They are 7-0 this season and won their final game of the 2020-21 season over SIUE.
The 59 points for the Racers in the first half was the highest scoring half in an OVC game since they scored 60 against Tennessee State in the first half at home in a 100-62 win on Jan. 26, 2019.
The game marks the sixth 100-point game for MSU in OVC play in Coach Matt McMahon era. Their last was against SEMO at home in a 103-67 win on Feb. 23, 2019.
In OVC openers, the Racers are now 56-18 (.750) all-time with a home mark of 35-5 (.875).
Since 1981, the Racers are 30-7 (.805). The Racers have won 14 straight OVC openers since their last loss to Eastern Kentucky in 2008.
MSU has started the same lineup in all 13 games this season. Brown, Hill, KJ Williams, DJ Burns and Carter Collins.
Tevin Brown's career 3-point total is now up to 294. Isaiah Canaan (2009-13) has the Murray State record of 304 and Joe Sibbitt of Austin Peay (1994-98) has the Ohio Valley Conference record of 319.
MSU's KJ Williams is closing on becoming the ninth Racer to score 1,000 career points and grab 700 rebounds. After his 11 boards tonight, he has 699 rebounds. Williams scored 21 points and has 1,271.
The other members of this exclusive club in Racer history include: Popeye Jones (1988-92), Jim Jennings (1961-64), Stewart Johnson (1963-66), Isaac Spencer (1997-01), Cuthbert Victor (2000-04), Marcelous Starks (1971-74), Antoine Whelchel (2000-04) and Jesse Williams (1972-76).
The Racers' scheduled Saturday game with Tennessee Tech at home has been pushed to Jan. 24 because of current health and safety protocols.
The second game between the Racers and SEMO is at the Show Me Center (Feb. 26).
Next week the Racers hit the road for Eastern Illinois (Jan. 6) and SIUE (Jan. 8).

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.