Racers Rescue Historic MVC Opener with OT Victory

Thursday, December 1

Murray, Ky.

7 p.m.

Murray State

4-3,1-0MVC

Illinois State

2-6,0-1MVC

OT 1

Illinois St.

Murray St.

Photo by: Stephen Furst

12/1/2022 10:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Photo Gallery

The first game for the Racers as members of the Missouri Valley Conference produced an overtime win over Illinois State

The Murray State Racers came away with a 70-67 overtime victory against the Illinois State Redbirds in their historic first game as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. The win for the Racers (4-3) came on their home court at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.

The Racers' second Valley game is on the road against the Valparaiso Beacons in a Sunday 1 p.m. Central Time tip in Valparaiso, Indiana.

Rob Perry led the Racers with 20 points, including the big basket, a 3-pointer with 1:25 left in overtime. Jamari Smith added 16 points and JaCobi Wood scored 12 points, as Kenny White, Jr.'s 11 points gave MSU four players in double-figures.

Battling a scoring drought that began with the Racers in the lead 57-52 with 5:08 left in regulation time, ISU (2-6) tied the game with 11.9 seconds left on a 3-pointer by Malachi Pointdexter. The Redbirds 10-5 run in the final minutes sent the Racers into their first overtime home game since 2015. ISU took a one-point lead, but White's rebound and score with 3:02 left gave the Racers the lead for good.

It was a big night and history was made.#GoRacers #TheRaceIsOn 🏀🏇 pic.twitter.com/odvZdy6fdI
— Murray State MBB (@RacersHoops) December 2, 2022

Game Notes

This was MSU's first overtime game since they defeated San Francisco last March in the NCAA Tournament 92-87 and it was MSU's first home OT game since December 2015 when Evansville beat the Racers 85-81.
MSU's last home OT win was in January of 2015 against Eastern Kentucky 85-78.
Since 2015, the Racers are now 5-7 in overtime games.
Tonight's crowd was 5,471 at the CFSB Center.
The Racers have won their last 15 league openers dating back to their last loss in 2008 against Eastern Kentucky at home.
Quincy Anderson scored nine points and now has 934 career points.
DJ Burns had his second 10-plus rebound game this season with 10 and it was the seventh of his career.
Coach Steve Prohm is 2-0 all-time against Illinois State.
Of the many firsts that occurred in the Racers' MVC opener, among them was the first basket by the Racers. That came from Wood at the 19:10 mark.
MSU's first made 3-point basket was by White, who banked it in from the wing with 14:13 on the first half clock.