Story by Blake Sandlin
Editor-in-Chief
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Keep your dancing shoes on.
The notorious 5-12-seed NCAA Tournament matchup claimed its first victim Thursday night at the hands of the assist assassin, Ja Morant. The sophomore guard recorded his fourth career triple-double as Murray State demolished Marquette University 83-64 to seal its largest NCAA Tournament victory in school history and continue its Cinderella dreams.
How they did it
The Marquette team that handled power-five teams like Louisville, Kansas State and Villanova looked lost against mid-major Murray State. Tied at 10 more than four minutes into the first half, the Racers went on an 10-0 run before Marquette answered again.
The Golden Eagles tied the Racers at 20, but Murray State had another run in them. Freshman guard Tevin Brown powered the Racers when they needed him most, shooting 4-for-4 from behind the arc for a 12-point first half.
“I knew once we got here Ja wasn’t going to be able to do everything by himself,” Brown said. We needed the three-point shot in order to space the defense out, and when they started falling it just felt good.”
They used an 8-0 run to take a 36-28 lead, and didn’t look back. Sophomore guard Ja Morant put the final touches on an inspiring first half display by knocking down a contested three with four seconds remaining, to go into the locker room with a 42-35 lead.
If onlookers thought the first half was simply a fluke, Murray State left no doubt in the second half. A 7-0 run to open the half served as a preview of what was to come. The Racers went on a 20-7 run in the next nine minutes to open up a 62-42 lead on the Golden Eagles.
Marquette guard Markus Howard said once Murray State got rolling in the second half, they couldn’t be stopped.
“I think they got a lot of momentum on offense,” Howard said. “They had some big plays that they made, and it kind of gave them some juice and stuff like that; they’re a hard team to stop. So I just think, yeah, they got on a bit of a run and we weren’t able to respond.”
Marquette shot 10-for-39 in the second half at a 26 percent clip, and were out-rebounded 21 to 12. After finishing the first half with eight points in the paint, the Racers muscled their way to 32 points in the paint in the second half on 53 percent shooting.
Perhaps more importantly, the Racers limited Howard – who averaged 25 ppg – to just 3-for-13 shooting and 10 points. Howard ended his night with 26 points on an inefficient 9-for-27 shooting – a result senior guard Shaq Buchanan was more than happy with.
“He hit a couple tough shots in the first half,” Buchanan said. “I just stayed focused on defense. He scored [26] points on 27 shot attempts, so I’d say I did my job.”
Morant shines on the national stage
Murray State fans have witnessed the Ja Morant show all season long, but the world had a front-row seat to Morant’s outlandish athleticism Thursday night – and he did not disappoint.
Morant made history against arguably the most talented team Murray State has faced all season, recording his third career triple-double on the big stage.
He recorded 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds in the winning effort. With that performance, he became just the eighth player in history to record a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament. Marquette’s own head coach, Steve Wojciechowski, admitted he had no answer for Morant on defense.
“[Murray State] would be good without [Morant], but with him, they’re pretty unique,” Wojciechowski said. “I have a ton of respect for him. He’s a big-time, big-time player. I mean, the triple-doubles, 16 assists in an NCAA Tournament. It’s crazy. You can’t speed him up. You can run two people at him, you can switch, try to get the ball out of his hands. There’s nothing that we found that could speed him up or shape his decision-making.”
Yo this man @igotgame_12 can hoop!!! ??
— Patrick Mahomes II (@PatrickMahomes) March 21, 2019
Congrts to Murray State and much respect to @igotgame_12 on joining the triple double family in the tourney!
— DWade (@DwyaneWade) March 21, 2019
If the stat line alone wasn’t enough to command the attention of the country Thursday night, he also made waves when he threw down a monstrous slam on Marquette in the opening minutes of the second half, prompting everyone from Dwyane Wade to Patrick Mahomes to sing his praises.
JA JAM! ?#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/aNiZCNwFah
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 21, 2019
“I really don’t pay too much attention to the hype,” Morant said. “I just try to go out and play the same game every night. Just try to do whatever I can to help my team come out with a win.”
Both Morant and Murray State were the No. 1 and No. 2 trending topics on Twitter Thursday night during the game.
World, meet Murray State. pic.twitter.com/CncjzgJgqN
— Blake Sandlin (@BlakeSandlin) March 21, 2019
More than Morant
Morant will justifiably get the acclaim for his masterful performance against the Golden Eagles, but his teammates answered the call when it mattered most. Brown ended his night as the team’s leading scorer with 19 points on 5-for-9 shooting and added six rebounds.
Freshman forward KJ Williams followed with 16 points, and Buchanan pulled in six rebounds to go with 14 rebounds. Lastly, junior forward Darnell Cowart pitched in with nine points and eight rebounds in the win.
“They’re a great team,” Wojciechowski said. “They have an incredible player in Ja Morant, but they are far from a one-man band. They are an outstanding team that played an outstanding game today.”
The show goes on
The Racers will have a short turnaround before their next opponent, as they now await Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament after it defeated Vermont Thursday afternoon.
For senior forward Brion Sanchious, a native of Pompano Beach, Florida, the matchup with the Seminoles is a bit personal.
“I’ve been a fan since I was little, so it’s going to be a great game for me,” Sanchious said. “It’s going to be a personal game for me, but I’m just here to get the win.”
Murray State will face Florida State in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, March 23, in Hartford, Connecticut. The time of the game has yet to be announced.
