Racers To The Rescue – Post Amazing Victory At UTM - Murray State University Athletics

Saturday, February 19

Martin, Tenn.

3:30 p.m.

Murray State

26-2,16-0OVC

UT Martin

8-20,4-12OVC

Murray State

UT Martin

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racers To The Rescue – Post Amazing Victory At UTM

2/19/2022 12:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Racers win their 26th game of the season and clinch a share of the OVC regular season title

The Murray State Racers clinched a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship Thursday with a come-from-behind victory at UT Martin 62-60 at the Elam Center in Martin, Tenn. The 21^st ranked Racers (26-2) are 16-0 in the OVC and two wins from becoming the sixth team in league history to go undefeated.

Tevin Brown hit five 3-pointers on the day and scored 18 points, while KJ Williams scored 16 and grabbed nine rebounds and Justice Hill added 10 points and five assists.

Trailing the Skyhawks by five points with 3:18 remaining, the Racers overcame a late run by UTM to score the winning basket by Williams on a bullet pass from Brown from the wing with 10 seconds remaining. Williams was fouled and made the free throw for a 3-point play. But still, the Racers had to defend a last second 3-point try by KJ Simon and the upset win, but it hit the rim and fell off.

Trailing 33-27 at halftime, the Racers started the second half with a 15-5 run powered by three-point baskets by Hill and Brown. The two combined to hit seven of the Racers' 10 threes in the game, for a 42-38 MSU lead at 14:25. MSU's first lead of the day came at the 16:36 mark.

In the first half, the Racers were down 7-0 when a 4-point play by Tevin Brown cut the UTM lead to 10-9 at 14:47. It was his 3rd such play this season. Brown hit another three at the 12:48 mark, but the Skyhawks still had the lead at 14-12. At the 6:53 mark, MSU's Carter Collins cut it to 21-19 UTM lead on one of MSU's six first half threes, but the Racers still trailed 33-27 at the halftime intermission.

The Racers have found a way to win on the road in conference play in three-straight games in which they trailed at the half. MSU ended the day shooting 34 percent (20-of-59) while UTM hit 22-of-51 for 43 percent. The Racers hit 10 3-pointers and made 12-of-15 from the free throw line.

Game Notes

MSU is now 57-7 all-time against UTM and 26-5 at UTM.
Brown has made a 3-pointer in 24 straight games. The last time he failed to make at least one three was against ETSU (Nov. 22).
Brown has now hit five 3-pointers in a game 19 times at MSU and the Racers have won 17 of them.
Brown continues to extend his record for made 3-point baskets in the OVC. After a 5-of-12 today, he has 337
Trailing 33-27 at the half, this was MSU's ninth time this season being behind at the intermission and they have come back to win seven of them.
McMahon's outstanding success for the Racers now has him at 149-66 (.693) in seven seasons and 91-31 (.745) in OVC games. In his last five seasons, McMahon's Racers are an incredible 116-35 (.768).
McMahon and his staff are the first in the history of the program to have three seasons of 25 or more wins. The Racers were 26-6 in 2017-18 and 28-5 in 2018-19.
Tonight's game was McMahon's fourth game as a head coach with his team ranked. He is 4-0.
Tonight's game was MSU's 43rd all-time game as a ranked team.
The Racers have the most wins of any team in the nation with 26.
The Racers remain a part of a group of three teams that are undefeated in their conference. The others are: South Dakota State (Summit) and Gonzaga (West Coast).
Gonzaga hosts Santa Clara on Sunday, while South Dakota State is home to Western Illinois also Saturday.
The Racers have won eight in a row on the road and are 10-1 this season. Their only road loss was at Auburn (Dec. 22).
The Racers began the day sharing the nation's longest win streak with Gonzaga and South Dakota State at 15 in a row.
MSU's longest program winning streak is also the OVC record of 25-straight by the 2014-15 team.
The Racers host Belmont Thursday in an 8 p.m. tip on ESPNU. It's the final home game of the 2021-22 season and the Racers are 14-0 and have won 15 in a row since a loss to Eastern Illinois on Feb. 18, 2021.
The Racers will be honoring their academic seniors Thursday. Included are MSU student-athletes Tevin Brown, Carter Collins, Jordan Skipper-Brown and KJ Williams and graduate assistant manager Jack Seltsam.

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.

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.