Racers Push Past MTSU - Put Five In Double Figure Scoring

Saturday, December 4

Murray, Ky.

7 p.m.

Murray State

7-1,0-0OVC

Middle Tennessee

-72,00 CUSA

Middle Tenn.

Murray St.

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racers Push Past MTSU - Put Five In Double Figure Scoring

12/4/2021 4:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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On Cal Luther Day, the Racers started the second half on a 28-15 run and held on to beat MTSU

The Murray State Racers won for the fourth-straight time Saturday in a 93-87 victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

On a night when each team had rightly earned a reputation of possessing shutdown defensive abilities, offense reigned and the Racers (7-1) scored their season-best in points against NCAA D-I team and put five players in double-figures. Trae Hannibal scored 19 points, while KJ Williams and Justice Hill each

scored 18 points and Tevin Brown 15 points. DJ Burns added 12 points. Williams and Burns each had a double-double and combined to haul in 27 rebounds.

Leading 44-40 at the intermission, the Racers began the second half with a 28-15 run including a 3-pointer from Hill and dash of quick scoring from Brown and baskets from Nicholas McMullen, Burns and Hannibal. The Racers built a 72-55 lead with 10:12 left. The Racers cooled off with a 1-of-8 shooting stretch and MTSU cut the lead to 73-63 with 7:53 left. When the Racers scoring drought went to four minutes, the Blue Raiders got as close as 74-69 at 5:57. The Racers salted the game away by making 12-of-15 from the free throw line to secure the win.

Game Notes

The Racers entered the contest ninth in NCAA D-I in field goal percentage (.516). They raised that tonight with 55 percent shooting on 31-of-63.
Williams and Burns combined for 27 rebounds, nearly as many as MTSU had as a team (33).
The double-double for Williams is his second this season and 19^th in his MSU Career.
Burns gets his first Racer double-double. His 15 rebounds is tied for the 13^th best rebound game by an MSU player in the 24 seasons of the CFSB Center.
The Racers' five players in double-figure scoring is the first since Jan. 16, 2021 when MSU did it at UT Martin. In that game the scoring included: KJ Williams (17), Tevin Brown (13), Dionte Bostick (11), Demond Robinson (10), Chico Carter (10).
Tevin Brown draws closer to the MSU and OVC record for career made 3-point baskets. He hit a pair tonight and has 273 for his career. Isaiah Canaan made 304 for the MSU record from 1009-13 and Austin Peay's Joe Sibbitt has held the OVC record of 319 since 1998.
KJ Williams is making a run at becoming the 10th Racer to score 1,000 points and grab 700 rebounds. After his 18 points and 12 rebounds today, he has (1,198) points and is up to (661) rebounds.
Williams and Brown have 490 and 483 made field goals in their careers to rank 20^th and 21^st in MSU history.
Both Brown (99 games) and Williams are (98) nearing 100 games played at Murray State.
Racer fans honored the late Coach Cal Luther during the contest after one of the greats in MSU basketball history pass away in May of 2021. Luther coached the Racers for 16 seasons 1958 to 1974 and served as director of athletics from 1967-78. He is a member of the MSU Hall of Fame and also UT Martin and the Ohio Valley Conference.
Coach Luther is the first of two special days at Racer Basketball in which a legend will be honored.
Coach Ron Greene Day at the CFSB Center is set for Jan. 22 when Murray State hosts UT Martin.
The series with MTSU is now 107-37 in the Racers' favor.
The series with the Blue Raiders is the fifth-longest the Racers have played over the years.
After taking most of next week for semester final exams, the Racers get back to action Friday (Dec. 10) with a game against the Memphis Tigers at the FedExForum.
The Racers 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.

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.