Solid Defense & Balanced Attack Leads Racers Past Bears

Saturday, January 28

Murray, Ky.

1 p.m.

Murray State

12-10,7-5MVC

Missouri State

11-11,7-5MVC

Missouri St.

Murray St.

Photo by: (c) {year 4} David Eaton

Solid Defense & Balanced Attack Leads Racers Past Bears

1/28/2023 4:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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The Murray State Racers received a surprise visit from Ja Morant and defended their home court with a 74-71 victory over Missouri State

Ja Morant Poster Day was made better when the Memphis Grizzlies NBA All-Star made a surprise visit and the Murray State Racers earned a 74-71 win over the Missouri State Bears at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.

The Racers (12-10) pushed their mark in the Missouri Valley Conference to 7-5. MSU remains at The Bank Wednesday when the Belmont Bruins visit for a 7 p.m. tip.

Brian Moore, Jr., and Rob Perry each scored 17 points, while MSU got 16 points from Jamari Smith and 12 from DJ Burns to help the Racers improve to 8-1 this season at the CFSB Center.

In a game that had nine tied scores, the Racers created separation in the final three minutes of the first half and the first three of the second. Kenny White scored down the lane to put the Racers in front 37-35 at halftime and Burns scored a three-point play when MSU began the second half on a 7-3 run to lead 44-38 with 16:36 remaining. Tied 53-53 at 11:39, the Racer defense performed well and held the Bears scoreless for the next five minutes. White scored four points and Burns had another three-point play and the Racers were in front 66-58 with 3:02 left. The Racers made six-of-seven from the free throw line to finish the win.

Game Notes

Moore made his fourth-straight start and has settled in as one of MSU's big contributors.
In those four starts, Moore is 21-41FG (.512), 4-8 3PT (.400) and 14-18FT (.777) with seven rebounds and three assists.
Burns' 8-8 day at the free throw line puts him with the 9-9 JaCobi Wood had against Texas A&M as the best of the season for a single game for MSU.
MSU went 21-24 (.875) from the free throw line today, their best percentage for any game this season.
In MVC play, the Racers have outscored opponents 95-66 from the free throw line.
The Racers entered the game 34^th nationally and first in the MVC in giving up only 11.1 turnovers per game. They gave it up 12 times today while forcing the Bears into nine.
The 6,712 in attendance got a thrill when Ja Morant made a surprise visit on the day when the Racers gave out 3,000 posters of him.
The Racers have back-to-back game attendances of 6,000 or as 6,006 also watched the Racers defeat Indiana State last Saturday.
It's the first consecutive home games of 6,000 or more since last season when 6,217 watched the Racers win over Austin Peay (02-17-2022) and MSU drew 8,041 in a win over Belmont (02-24-2022).
MSU has defeated MOST in each of the games they've played in the CFSB Center after the first win in 2018.
The Bears are the final team in MVC play the Racers had not faced yet.
The second meeting with MOST is in Springfield, Mo., is Feb. 21.