Racers Grind Out Victory at SIUE

Saturday, January 8

Edwardsville, Ill.

3 p.m.

Murray State

12-2,2-0OVC

SIUE

6-8,0-1OVC

Murray St.

SIUE

Photo by: Patrick Clark/Athlete Eye Photography

1/8/2022 9:01:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Playing their first game in nine days, MSU handled the Cougars to improve to 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference

The Murray State Racers scored a 74-69 victory over the SIUE Cougars at the First Community Arena in Edwardsville, Illinois Saturday afternoon.

The Racers (12-2) moved to 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference as they played their first game since Dec. 30. The Racers begin a stretch of six games in two weeks Thursday when they welcome the Tennessee State Tigers to the CFSB Center for a women's and men's doubleheader at 5 p.m./7p.m.

Murray State put five players in double-figure scoring starting with Tevin Brown with 18 points. KJ Williams had his fourth double-double this season (20^th in MSU career) with 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Justice Hill added 12 points. MSU also got 10 points from Carter Collins and DJ Burns.

Coming out of halftime with MSU in front 42-27, SIUE used a 24-7 run to take the lead with 12:29 left at 51-49.

One craziest plays you will ever see got the Racers back into the game. With 12:09 remaining, Tevin Brown was fouled on a 3-point attempt for the third time this season. He made 1-of-3 free throws, but his miss on the third was rebounded by Williams and he was fouled on a shot. He hit his first free throw, but missed the second. Trae Hannibal secured the rebound and fired the ball to Brown on the wing and he hit a 3-point basket to put the Racers back in front 52-51 with 12:07 left. Indeed, it was the rarely seen five-point play.

However, SIUE rallied to tie the game with 8:25 remaining 60-60. Moments later, Brown put the Racers in for good with a pair of free throws and a 63-62 lead.

The Racers didn't have a great game shooting, but their 23-of-62 (37 percent) was enough. They were 9-of-23 from the 3-point line (39 percent) and they shot 76 percent from the free throw line (19-of-25).

In the first half with the game tied 16-16, the Racers went on an 18-8 run on back-to-back 3-pointers from Collins and Brown. With 2:55 left, Jordan Skipper-Brown's blocked shot started a run the other way that ended with an alley oop from Justice Hill and a slam dunk by Tevin Brown for a 36-24 Racer lead. MSU led the Cougars 42-27 at the halftime intermission.

Game Notes

The 5-point margin of victory for the Racers was their second game of five or less this season. The other was the 74-72 win they had at Memphis (Dec. 10).
MSU's largest lead of the night was 15 points with 1:09 remaining in the first half.
The 15 rebounds by KJ Williams is his season-high and one off his career-best. His previous best was 12 rebounds (Dec. 4) against Middle Tennessee. His career-high is 16 and has been accomplished four times
Tevin Brown had an impressive stat line for 36 minutes of playing time. 18 points, four rebounds and five assists. He also had two big time blocked shots.
Brown's three 3-point baskets gives him 297 for his career as he chases down Isaiah Canaan (2009-13) who has the MSU record with 304 and Austin Peay's Joe Sibbitt (1994-98) who has the OVC top mark with 319.
The Racers begin a busy two-week stretch of games in which they will play six games. It all starts at home Thursday vs TSU. MSU has two Monday games (Jan. 17 at Eastern Illinois) and (Jan. 24 vs Tennessee Tech) as both were pushed back when EIU and TTU had Covid problems.
This was MSU's first game since the big news of the week as Murray State University accepted an invitation to begin life in the Missouri Valley Conference on July 1, 2022.
A public celebration is planned Monday at noon at the CFBS Center to celebrate this historic happening.

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.

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.