KJ’s Second Half Heroics Keeps Racers Undefeated In OVC

Thursday, February 10

Nashville, Tenn.

7:30 p.m.

Murray State

23-2,13-0OVC

Tennessee State

10-15,5-8OVC

Murray St.

Tennessee St.

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

KJ’s Second Half Heroics Keeps Racers Undefeated In OVC

2/10/2022 2:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Racers won their 13th straight Ohio Valley Conference game with a come from behind win at Tennessee State on the strength of 39 points from KJ Williams

Behind 31 second half points from KJ Williams, the Murray State Racers erased a seven point halftime deficit and ran away with a 73-62 win Thursday over the Tennessee State Tigers at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

The win pushed the Racers to 23-2 overall and to 13-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference. With a debut of No. 23 this week in the Associated Press Top-25, the Racers have won six consecutive games away from home as they travel to Morehead State Saturday for a 3 p.m. Central Time game.

Williams' heroics saw him score a career-high 39 points on 15-of-22 shooting with six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. His game was the 11^th best scoring game in Murray State history and the best since Ja Morant scored 40 against SIUE in 2019. Williams was MSU's only double-figure scorer, but there were other supporting players that helped the Racers tough out a road win against the Tigers. DJ Burns scored nine points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Justice Hill added nine points and five assists. Tevin Brown scored seven points and had seven rebounds.

A late first half run allowed the Racers to trim their largest deficit of the game when they were down by 13 points with under nine minutes in the half. A 9-5 run to end the half cut the Tigers' lead to 36-29 at the intermission. The second half was a thing of beauty for the Racers when they hit the Tigers with a 55 percent shooting half on 16-of-29. Williams gave the Racers the lead for good with 12:02 left with a layup that was assisted by Brown. The Racers won the second half 44-26 and remained in first place in the OVC.

The Racers face a Morehead State team that lost 48-47 at Belmont Thursday night. This means when Saturday's OVC play commences, the Racers will be atop the league at 13-0 with Morehead State and Belmont sharing second place each at 11-2.

Game Notes

With the win, the Racers are part of a group of six teams that are undefeated in their conference. The others are: Vermont (America East), Longwood (Big South), Wagner (Northeast), South Dakota State (Summit) and Gonzaga (West Coast).
Brown has made a 3-pointer in 21 straight games. The last time he failed to make at least one three was against ETSU (Nov. 22).
The Racers have a string of nine-straight games with double-digit offensive rebounds. They had 10 tonight vs TSU with five coming from DJ Burns.
The Racers have won six in a row on the road and are 8-1 this season.
The Racers have won the last eight games vs TSU since the Tigers' last win in 2016.
MSU is 24-8 all-time at TSU.
McMahon's outstanding success for the Racers now has him at 146-66 (.688) in seven seasons and 88-31 (.739) in OVC games.
In his last five seasons, McMahon's Racers are an incredible 113-35 (.763).
Tonight's game at TSU was McMahon's first time as a head coach to lead a ranked team into a game.
It was MSU's first game as a ranked team since the 2015 OVC Tournament championship game in Nashville against Belmont at Municipal Auditorium.
This was MSU's first win as a ranked team since beating Morehead State in the semifinals of the 2015 OVC Tournament.
MSU's first game as a ranked team was under Coach Harlan Hodges when the Racers were No. 16 and defeated Kentucky Wesleyan at home 66-64 (01-03-1952).
Tonight's game was MSU's 40^th as a ranked team.
For the moment, the Racers have the most wins of any team in the nation with 23. Auburn and South Dakota State each have 22 wins.

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.

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.

About Murray State Athletics
Located in Murray, Kentucky, the athletics department of Murray State University is a NCAA Division I member and plays in the Football Championship Subdivision. The Racers have 15 programs including men's teams for baseball, basketball, cross country, football and golf and women's teams for basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball, as well as a mixed gender rifle team. The Racers are a charter member of the Ohio Valley Conference and are currently one of just two original members from the conference's first season in 1948.