Story by Blake Sandlin
Interim Editor-In-Chief
Murray State piggybacked off a rout of Southeast Missouri State last week by sealing another commanding win against Morehead State on Thursday to propel its win streak to eight.
After flirting with triple-doubles all season long, sophomore guard Ja Morant finally got his second of the year by totalling 11 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Morant’s performance puts him in elite company as one of only two players in the country of record two triple-doubles this season (Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ).
Morant had plenty to work with as a distributor Thursday night, as the Racers rolled with past the Eagles’ defense with relative ease all game long.The team led by as much as 32 points with 13:22 left in the second half.
Murray State shot 42 percent from the field while four players finished in double figures. Morant (11), freshman guard Tevin Brown (11), junior forward Darnell Cowart (11) and freshman forward KJ Williams (10) added critical performances as starters, while junior guard Jaiveon Eaves (9) and sophomore guard Brion Whitley (8) contributed off the bench.
While scoring came in bunches for Murray State, the Eagles weren’t as lucky. The team scored just 14 points in the first half of the contest, and didn’t knock down a three until 11:15 in the second half.
Morehead State shot just 25 percent from the field on the night and 14 percent from behind the arc, numbers that are even still deceiving considering Morant and many of the Racer starters left the game midway through the second half.
With the win, Murray State sits at 15-2 in conference play and remains in the hunt to clinch a share of the OVC regular season championship if both they and Belmont win their remaining games.
The Racers will have their final curtain call at the CFSB Center this season, as they welcome Austin Peay in a battle of conference superpowers. The game tips-off at 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 2.
