Story by Blake Sandlin, Assistant Sports Editor
Murray State basketball weathered a late Jacksonville State run on Friday night to cement a 70-63 win and advance to the OVC championship.
The seven-point win doesn’t accurately detail the turmoil Murray State found itself in midway through the second half.
The Racers led by as much as 20 points in the first half, entering halftime with a 37-25 lead.
Murray State’s lead wouldn’t be safe for long. Jacksonville State employed an aggressive full-court press minutes into the second half, helping the Gamecocks curtail the Racer lead. Jacksonville State had the Racers deflated through the back end of the second. After going down 20, they utilized a 32-11 run to claim their first lead since 19:03 in the first half.
Down 63-62 with 2:41 remaining and with the fate of their season in the balance, the Racers resurrected their offense.
Senior guard Jonathan Stark came back on the other end and knocked down a crucial three-pointer to give his team a 65-63 edge. In the following Racer possession, Stark was fouled and cashed in both free throws to extend the lead to four with 1:19 remaining.
Murray State forced another stop on Jacksonville State’s end, and Stark took one more jumper to attempt to keep the game out of reach. He missed, but junior guard Shaq Buchanan was there to clean up the miscue.
His bucket, plus a made free throw with seconds remaining helped the Racers squeak out a 70-63 win and keep their championship aspirations alive. Also surviving was Murray State’s 12-game win streak, the nation’s longest winning streak.
Head Coach Matt McMahon said his team got rattled after Jacksonville State’s big run, but their perseverance and senior leadership ultimately prevailed.
“You see it all the time; A team gets a big lead, then another comes back and takes the lead and the team that was leading the whole game just wilts and just gives in and gets their butt kicked,” McMahon said. “I was really proud of our guys because in the last three minutes they stepped forward, as Jonathan [Stark] hit a big time shot, Terrell Miller got every rebound and we got the stops whenever we needed them. You don’t get extra credit in tournament play; you’ve just got to win and advance, and that’s what these guys did.”
Senior forward Terrell Miller was pivotal for the Racers in Friday’s semifinal win. He recorded a performance for the ages, tallying 18 points and 18 rebounds. He managed to record a double-double in just 11 minutes. His 18-rebound game is tied for the fifth-highest single-game rebounding outing in program history.
Miller said his mindset going into the game was to match Jacksonville State’s intensity.
“I just knew Jacksonville State was going to be a real physical team, so I just wanted to get every rebound,” Miller said. “I was taking rebounds from even Brion [Sanchious] and even Ja [Morant] sometimes. I didn’t ever see who it was, I was just trying to take every rebound. I knew that the points would come, but I just focused on trying to get every defensive rebound on every shot.”
McMahon said Miller’s veteran leadership showed all season and proved to be pivotal in the win.
“Terrell Miller has been the voice of our team,” McMahon said. “And tonight, when things got tough and we made some mistakes out there, Terrell put his arms around the guys and told them we were going to get it done and finish the deal.”
Senior guard Jonathan Stark added 22 points of his own, while freshman guard Ja Morant added 11 points and a team-high eight assists.
Racer fans showed out in abundance for Friday’s win, and McMahon urged them to do the same for Murray State’s championship game against OVC-rival Belmont Saturday.
“[The crowd] was awesome,” McMahon said. “I think all of Murray was here. If you’re listening to this and you’re not here, you need to get in the car and get to Evansville tomorrow. It was an unbelievable atmosphere, and we knew it would be. But we’re so thankful for the Racer fans; there were times you couldn’t hear anything out there. They were trying to make play calls and you couldn’t hear anything. I think their energy really gave us a big lift really when we needed it there in the final three minutes when it was winning time.
Murray State now finds itself in the OVC championship for the first time since 2015. They’ll be looking to extend their streak to 13 and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2012 when they meet the Bruins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 2, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. The game will also be broadcast on ESPN2.
