Gage Johnson
Editor-in-Chief
Junior guard Tevin Brown drilled a three to kick off the Racers’ matchup with UT Martin and they never looked back, never losing the lead and lighting it up from the field to grab a 84-55 win.
Murray State wasted no time asserting its dominance offensively, jumping out to a 17-7 lead thanks to a 7-9 start from the field.
The Racers continued to build on this momentum, taking a 29-17 lead with 7:35 left to play in the first half, thanks to winning the points in the paint battle 16-4 and shooting 63% from the field.
Brown was a huge factor offensively. He came into the game shooting 32% from three on the season but turned it around against the Skyhawks.
Brown looked like he was tossing a rock into an ocean, going 6-7 from the field and 5-6 from three in the first half, nabbing 20 points.
After struggling to find the bottom of the net from deep to start the season, Brown said it was great to finally see the ball tickle the twine.
“It definitely felt like a relief,” Brown said. “I feel like I’ve been in a slump all my life, but it finally felt good to knock some shots down.”
Add an eight-minute long field goal drought for UT Martin and Murray State was sitting pretty at 46-23 heading into the locker room.
The Racers carried their lights out shooting into the second half and that was all they needed to grab their first three-game winning streak of the season with a 84-55 win.
Murray State had four players finish in double figures as Brown finished with a team-high 25 points, sophomore guard Chico Carter Jr. finished with 17 points, junior forward KJ Williams finished with 15 points and 16 rebounds and sophomore forward Demond Robinson finished with 10 points.
The Racers’ offense has been very tough to stop as of late and Brown said it all comes down to taking care of the ball.
“I feel like we’ve gotten a lot more connected now that we’re taking care of the ball,” Brown said. “Taking care of the ball was one of our main problems and I feel like we’ve fixed that and it’s making us better offensively.”
On the defensive end of the floor, Murray State had UT Martin struggling to move the ball, only assisting on three baskets the entire night.
Head Coach Matt McMahon said cutting off ball movement and forcing difficult shots allowed them to get out in transition and really capitalize on the offensive end.
“It’s an important state, it’s something we’ve really put a big emphasis on over the last four years,” McMahon said. “I’m a big believer in if you’re getting assisted baskets and your opponent is not, you’re probably getting a higher quality of shot.”
Now Murray State turns its attention to SIUE. The Racers will travel to take on the Cougars at 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 15, in Edwardsville, Illinois.
“The coaching staff has really upgraded their talent,” McMahon said. “Sydney Wilson was a top-50 player in the country coming out of high school and transferred in from UCONN… I think they’re a very talented team and we’ll have to do a good job in our preparation tomorrow.”
