Story by Blake Sandlin
Sports editor
The record books were rewritten Thursday night during the Racer men’s basketball team’s first road victory against UT Martin.
Both sophomore guard Ja Morant and freshman guard Tevin Brown etched their names in Murray State lore with historic performances. Morant mustered 18 assists in the 98-77 win over UT Martin, breaking the all-time single game assist record of 16 set by Chad Townsend.
“I think that’s one thing I probably love to do is see my teammates’ success,” Morant said. “They delivered a lot and finished a lot of plays for me tonight. Credit to them for the assist record, really. I just like sharing the ball; it’s just my game.”
The recipient of nearly half of those assists went to Brown. The freshman made the most of his touches, shooting 9-for-14 from the 3-point line to finish with a career high of 31 points.
Brown’s nine threes tied the single game 3-point record. Eight of Brown’s nine threes were assisted by Morant.
“I feel like I’m throwing a rock in the ocean right now,” Brown said. “With Ja being able to find me and get me the ball I have to reward him with the assist. There’s been a lot of great shooters to come through Murray State, and for my teammates to help me break the record, it feels good.”
Also registering in the 20-point column was senior guard Shaq Buchanan. Buchanan finished with 21 points, as he knocked down three 3-pointers and had a game-high four steals in the win.
What ended as a convincing showing by Murray State didn’t truly materialize until the second half. The Racers traded punches for most of the first half with the Skyhawks, as Morant’s four turnovers in the first 4:15 of play prevented the team from getting into a flow.
Those mistakes were compounded by poor defensive rebounding by the Racers that allowed the Skyhawks to claim 11 first-half offensive rebounds and enter halftime within striking distance at 49-42.
Thankfully for Murray State, the team that showed up to Martin, Tennessee, in the first half was nowhere to be found.
Morant opened the half quickly with a three, and after that Murray State never trailed by less than eight. After committing those four turnovers in the first half, Morant turned the ball over just one more time in the game. His teammates even surpassed him, combining for just three total turnovers in the entire game.
With 12:22 remaining, the Racers used a 9-2 run to pad their lead and secure a commanding lead over the Skyhawks. The lead wouldn’t stop growing, ultimately reaching its apex at 21 with under a minute to play.
Despite the impressive accolades set by the Racers Thursday night, the most notable unarguably came with just under four minutes left to play.
As the Racers pushed the ball in transition, Morant caught an up-court pass from Brown on the baseline, elevated, and completely cleared the head of UT Martin forward Quintin Dove for a monstrous slam that left the internet, the Murray State bench and the crowd of 3,114 in disbelief.
Morant’s dunk even registered as No. 1 on Thursday’s SportsCenter Top-10 plays, his second feature in the No. 1 spot.
For all of the Racers’ offensive success, they succeeded in limiting the Skyhawks defensively as well. UT Martin, which averages six players in double figures, was limited to just two big outings from its players.
Dove and center Jailen Gill recorded 27 and 21 points, respectively, for a Skyhawk team that was otherwise neutralized for most of the second half. The team’s leading scorer, guard Preston Parks, was held to just two points while committing six turnovers.
“I thought our defensive energy and focus was much improved in the second half,” McMahon said. “It led to some transition opportunities that we converted.”
Murray State will look to remain undefeated in conference play and continue its road trip when it meets up with Southeast Missouri State at 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12, at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.
