Story by Blake Sandlin
Sports Editor
Murray State’s men’s basketball team handed Missouri State a 77-66 loss on Saturday, Nov. 24, but it was the historic play from sophomore guard Ja Morant that commanded all the attention.
Morant erupted for a stat line of 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists for his second career triple-double, and the third triple-double in school history.
Morant’s performance solidified him as the only player in Murray State history to record two triple-doubles. He is one of just five players in the country who have recorded the accolade so far this season.
The last triple-double before Morant came in 2009, when Isaac Miles recorded 13 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against UT Martin. Morant paid homage to the former Racer following his historic showing.
“It’s an honor,” Morant said. “I mean, I’m excited. I don’t know; I’m just speechless. I mean, it’s an honor to be the only one with two triple-doubles in Murray State history, let alone be in the category with Isaac Miles, and I’m excited for it.”
The non-conference test against the Missouri Valley’s premiere team was controlled entirely by the Racers. Murray State led through the entirety of Saturday’s night contest, at one point going up by as much as 16 points with 13:27 in the second half.
Already sitting in double-double territory for most of the first half, Morant lacked just one assist with more than 10 minutes left in the second half. Morant said senior guard Shaq Buchanan told him his stat line during that stretch, inspiring Morant to dish out his 10th assist to Buchanan himself with 9:30 left in the game.
“[Shaq] was like ‘Hey man, you need one more assist. Keep attacking and I’m gonna get it for you,’” Morant said. “I drove, and he cut baseline so I could drop it off, and he finished the play for me.”
The Bears threatened to challenge Murray State’s lead late in the game with a 12-3 run that had them within six with 3:39 left in the game — but Morant had other plans. Poised to carry his team through a drought, the sophomore rattled off two consecutive threes to push the Racer lead to 10.
Morant added one final three with 11 seconds remaining to add to his already exceptional stat line to help the Racers cap a double-digit 77-66 win over a Missouri State team that was picked to finish first in its conference this season.
Overshadowed by Morant’s antics on the night was the critical play of senior guard Shaq Buchanan, who added a 20-piece of his own on 7-for-13 shooting. Murray State Head Coach Matt McMahon praised the play of his senior, who almost matched his career high of 21 points during the 2017-18 season.
“It’s really interesting; I think in the first game, and even some in practice, I thought he’d really be pressing and really trying to force the offense,” McMahon said. “I thought tonight he just played. He played like he always plays – a lot of confidence, relaxed, took what the defense gave him, and look at the results: 20 points on 13 shots. That’s very efficient.”
For all of the offensive accolades the team amassed, it was Murray State’s suffocating defense that was arguably just as critical to the win. The Racers held the Bears, who average 7.6 threes per game, to just 1-for-16 shooting from behind the arc.
Missouri State’s leading scorer, junior guard KeAndre Cook (19 ppg), was held to just five points on just 2-for-6 shooting. McMahon was quick to identify Missouri State’s scoring prowess coming into the game, and said he was proud of his team’s defensive execution.
“Our effort, especially on the defensive end of the floor, was outstanding,” McMahon said. “We really wanted to focus on defending the three-point line, because for them with Cook, [Jarred] Dixon, [Ryan] Kreklow off the bench, guys who have really been shooting the ball well. I felt like we were really able to do that.”
With the win, Murray State moved to 3-0 on the season. They’ll be hoping to carry over that execution when it faces its first power-five test of the season on Monday against the University of Alabama. The Racers will tip-off at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 26, in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
