Story by Blake Sandlin, Assistant Sports Editor
A balanced effort by Murray State’s men’s basketball team helped it secure a 76-66 win over Eastern Illinois.
Thursday’s win allowed the Racers to claim sole possession of the No. 1 spot in the OVC standings with a 15-2 record. They were previously tied with Belmont for first, but the Bruins forfeited their share of the top spot with a 78-67 loss to Jacksonville State later that night.
The Racers opened the first half hot, shooting 52.9 percent in the first half on 9-of-17 three-point shooting. Eastern Illinois hung around with Murray State for the majority of the first half, only finding themselves down by 44-36 at the halftime break.
Both teams struggled to hit their stride in the second half, with scoring droughts plaguing both the Racers and the Panthers early on. Murray State made a push to break the game open, going up by as much as 16 with 13:25 remaining, but EIU didn’t concede.
Looking to avenge a 28-point loss against Murray State earlier this season, EIU’s Mack Smith knocked down a three with 3:26 remaining to give his Panthers a glimmer of hope for a comeback, bringing them within seven. But their comeback efforts fell short, and the Panthers suffered a 10-point loss to fall to 10-18 (6-11) on the year.
The Racers had four players finish in double figures. Senior forward Terrell Miller recorded a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Three other players tallied 15 points – senior guard Jonathan Stark, junior guard Shaq Buchanan and freshman guard Ja Morant. Morant’s performance was perhaps the most impressive, as he nearly recorded his second triple-double with nine assists and nine rebounds.
Smith led the way for the Panthers, scoring 22 points. Montell Goodwin netted 16 points of his own, while Ray Crossland had 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
Morant now sits at fourth in Murray State history in single-season assists. He needs only 30 more to become the program leader. Stark lies just 19 points shy of becoming the all-time leading two-year scorer for the Racers. Miller’s 20 points extended his two-year point total to 948. With 52 more points, Miller can cement his spot in the Murray State 1,000-point club.
The Racers now have just one game remaining on their regular season schedule before postseason play. They’ll hit the road for Austin Peay for a game that tips-off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, in Clarksville, Tennessee.
If the Racers win Saturday, they will become OVC regular season champions, their 25th OVC title in program history. If they lose and Belmont beats Tennessee State, the Racers and Bruins will both win a share of the regular season title.
