Racers Over Omaha - Net First Win in Miller Era - Murray State University Athletics

Monday, November 3

Sioux Falls, S.D.

12:30 p.m.

Murray State

1-0,0-0MVC

Omaha

0-1,0-0Summit League

Omaha

Murray St.

Photo by: Dave Winder-Murray State Athletics

Racers Over Omaha - Net First Win in Miller Era

11/3/2025 3:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

MSU won the season opener in Sioux Falls at the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon

The Murray State Racers gave rookie head coach Ryan Miller an 85-77 win in the 2025-26 season opener over the Omaha Mavericks at the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Hired in March as MSU's 18^th head coach, Miller had the Racers playing in his home state. From nearby Mitchell, Miller's first win as the Racers' head coach came in front of a large crowd of family and friends at the Sanford Pentagon.

The Racers (1-0) play their home opener Friday (Nov. 7) at the CFSB Center against Mississippi Valley State at 7 p.m. The night is also a time to honor MSU Hall of Famer, Lamont Sleets, who will have his jersey No. 10 retired and raised to the rafters of The Bank.

Playing the season opener at a neutral site for the first since 2006, the Racers saw Javon Jackson lead the way with 24 points, while Roman Domon added 14. The MSU duo combined for 20-of-20 from the free throw line. MSU had four in double-figure scoring including Mason Miller and Layne Taylor each with 12 points.

Trailing in the first half from the first bucket, the Racers tied it at 20-20 on a 3-pointer from Brayden Shorter with 8:03 before half and took their first lead of the day with 40 seconds in the Miller 3-pointer to make it 34-31 Racers at the intermission.

In the second half, the Racers started the second half on a 36-21 run to build an 18-point lead with 7:44 left.

Game Notes

In a day of firsts, the Racers fielded a team that had 15 newcomers and nine played their first game for the Racers.
MSU's starting five was JJ Traynor, Dylan Anderson, Mason Miller, KJ Tenner and Javon Jackson.
The Racers shot only 39 percent (23-of-59), 28 percent (9-of-32) from the 3-point line, but were outstanding from the free throw line in hitting 30-of-33 for a clip of .909 percent.
The Racers' topping 90 percent from the free throw line in more than 30 attempts is the first since 2010 when the Racers went 28-of-31 (.903). (01-11-2010).
Jackson and Domon each went 10-of-10 from the free throw line.
Jackson surpassed the 1000-Point mark in his career that has spanned 92 games at Southern Nazarene, Southern Utah, UIC and Murray State.
Jackson has scored 1,012 points in his career for an average of 11.0ppg.
Mason Miller was 4-of-9 from the 3-point line.
MSU won the rebound battle 36-25 and limited the Mavericks to 10 offensive rebounds for the game.
JJ Traynor blocked three UNO shots in the game.
The Racers have eight steals
Dylan Anderson led the Racers of a positive 17 rating in plus/minus.
In the modern era that began with the Racers helping form the Ohio Valley Conference in 1948, MSU is now 63-15 in season openers.
MSU is 26-13 in season openers vs NCAA D-I opponents.
The last time MSU played at a neutral site for the season opener, it was 2006 and the first game (Nov. 10), 2006 for head coach Billy Kennedy against San Diego in the Saint Mary's (CA) Tournament.
The game vs Omaha marked the second meeting with MSU after the first that occurred in 2014 in Murray in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament that the Racers won 86-62.

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