Jakob Milani
Sports Editor
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The 2021-22 regular season for the Murray State men’s basketball ended with an undefeated conference record as the Racers defeated SEMO 70-68 on Saturday, Feb. 26.

The team is the sixth team in OVC history to go undefeated in conference play and the first to win 18 games in an OVC season. They also finished the regular season with a 28-2 record overall.

Junior KJ Williams led the Racers this season, being named the OVC Player of the Year for the season. Head Coach Matt McMahon also took home an award, being named the OVC Coach of the Year.

Williams spoke postgame about his season with the Racers and how he got to where he is now with being named OVC Player of the Year.

“It is what it is,” Williams said. “Of course I feel like I am, but I’m just here to play basketball. I put in the work to win in big moments, go up against those big players. I think I’ve proved my point.”

SEMO grabbed a quick lead with a three-pointer from freshman guard Phillip Russell, but a three from Williams kept the Racers close. A three and a free throw from junior guard Tevin Brown put the Racers on top 8-4 with 14:46 left in the first half.

A layup from senior forward Manny Patterson kept the Redhawks close, but another three from Brown extended the Racers lead to five points. 

Throughout the first half, the teams continued to trade baskets with a three-pointer raining in from junior guard Nana Akenten, bringing the Redhawks within one point of the lead. Then, back-to-back layups from Williams put the Racers back up by five points.

Midway through the first half, the Redhawks began to put together a run and take the lead with layups and threes from Patterson and threes from junior guard Chris Harris.

The run continued with more points from Phillip Russell and Patterson as well as layups from freshman forward Sam Thompson. After going up by 11 points over the Racers, sophomore guard Justice Hill ended the run with a layup but the Redhawks led 30-21.

A layup for sophomore guard Trae Hannibal and free throws from Brown and Williams started to bring the Racers back, but a three from Akenten pushed the Redhawks lead back to nine points. Hannibal closed the half with a four-point run, and the teams went into halftime with the Redhawks up 37-32.

The second half continued to see the teams battle with back-and-forth baskets, with a layup from Williams starting the half being answered by a three-pointer from junior guard Nygal Russell. 

Layups from Akenten and junior guard Eric Reed Jr. pushed the Redhawks lead to 10 points with 13:04 left to play, but the Racers cut the lead to four points with a layup from Brown and another four points from Hannibal.

The Redhawks pushed the lead back to 12 points with 6:38 left to play with points coming in from Nygal Russell and Harris as well as three-pointers from Reed Jr. and sophomore guard DQ Nicholas. 

With the clock dipping below six minutes, the Racers began to put together a run, with a layup from Williams to get it started. It was followed up by a jumper from Williams, a layup from Brown and a free throw from Hannibal, bringing the Racers within five points of the lead.

Another layup from Williams and a three-pointer from Hill brought the Racers within one point of the lead. Then, a layup from Hill gave the Racers a one point lead with 2:33 left.

After a layup from Nygal Russell tied the game at 65, Hill made a three-pointer and a free throw to put the Racers up by four points with 24 seconds left. 

Another free throw from Hannibal gave the Racers some cushion as Reed Jr. made a three-pointer with seven seconds left. The Racers held the ball until the clock ran out and escaped Cape Girardeau with a 70-68 victory over the Redhawks.

Williams led the Racers with 23 points and eight rebounds on 10-21 shooting from the field. Hannibal finished with a season-high 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. Brown had 15 points and six rebounds, while Hill had 11 points and five rebounds.

Patterson led the Redhawks with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Phillip Russell had 10 points followed by Reed Jr. with nine points. Nygal Russel, Nicholas and Akenten all had eight points, and Harris had seven points, eight assists and four rebounds.

Coach McMahon was on ESPN’s Sportscenter with Scott Van Pelt on Tuesday night to discuss the Racers season. He said the Racers have struggled on the road this season but just keep winning.

“It really is tough to play on the road in the OVC,” McMahon said. “But we went 11-1 in road games this year with our only loss coming to a ranked Auburn team. There have been nights we haven’t played well offensively but we find a different way to win.”

Murray State finished the season with an 18-0 conference record and 28-2 record overall. The Racers next stop is Evansville, Indiana, for the OVC tournament. The Racers will play Friday at 7 p.m. with their opponent to be determined on Thursday.