Story by Keith Jaco
Staff writer
A hint of deja vu has set in for the Murray State men’s basketball team as the Racers find themselves in a familiar place compared to last season, nearing the postseason on a seven-game winning streak.
Looking Back:
The Racers completed a season sweep of UT Martin and Southeast Missouri State at home over the weekend, moving to 14-2 in conference and 23-4 overall.
Sophomore guard Ja Morant had two more commanding performances this week, earning “Player of the Week” honors from the OVC for the eighth time this season. Morant is now tied with Morehead State’s Kenneth Faried for most POTY awards in a season. Morant averaged 26.5 points, 10.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds, managing to turn the ball over just three times in wins over the Skyhawks and Redhawks.
Redshirt freshman guard Tevin Brown stayed hot for the Racers in the win over SEMO, knocking down 5-9 three-pointers en route to a 21-point performance.
Junior forward Darnell Cowart continued to impress for the Racers this week, averaging 17 points and 12.5 rebounds in the wins over UT Martin and SEMO, earning “Newcomer of the Week” honors from the OVC.
Looking Ahead:
Head Coach Matt McMahon stressed the importance of keeping his players’ minds set on the week ahead.
“We always just focus on the task at hand,” McMahon said. “We’re running out of days to get better. We have four practices this week and we need to take advantage of those and keep improving our team. We’ve gotta be focused in on trying to find a way to win at Morehead State in what’ll be a very challenging game on Thursday.”
Murray State will spend time both on the road and at home this weekend, traveling to Morehead State on Thursday, Feb. 28, and returning home for an important senior night matchup with Austin Peay on Saturday, March 2.
The Racers handled Morehead State with ease last time out, defeating the Eagles 90-69 after a 20-point effort from junior forward Darnell Cowart. The Eagles will look to cool down a red-hot Racer team in hopes of keeping a share of fifth place in the OVC.
The final home game of the season for Murray State will take place Saturday, March 2, as the Racers look to take their winning streak into OVC tournament play following a matchup with the Governors of Austin Peay. Murray State escaped Clarksville with a 73-71 win on Feb. 14, following a tip-in buzzer beater that was waved off after review.
Austin Peay has rattled off three straight wins since their Valentine’s Day loss to the Racers, posting victories over Morehead State, Southeast Missouri State and UT Martin.
Morant and company will have their hands full with Governors’ sophomore forward Terry Taylor. Taylor is averaging 20 ppg and 8.6 rpg on the season and will look to up those numbers when the Governors travel to Murray this weekend.
When and where:
Murray State will hit the road for its final matchup with Morehead State on Thursday, Feb. 28, and will return home for the final home game of the season as they host Austin Peay on Saturday, March 2, at the CFSB Center.
