Story by Blake Sandlin
Interim Editor-In-Chief
Murray State concluded its regular season the same way it did last season: with an Austin Peay win to clinch the OVC regular season championship.
The Racers topped the Governors 94-83 to win a share of the OVC regular season title alongside Belmont, who beat out Southeast Missouri State Saturday night to tie the Racers with a 16-2 conference record. The title marks the 26th regular season OVC Championship in program history.
“I’m so proud of our players,” McMahon said. “This isn’t easy. You see a lot of banners here at Murray State, and winning them is hard. These guys have been awesome this year. They’ve overcome a lot of adversity, we’ve lost guys to injury for the year, obviously we lost two of the great players in Murray State history off last year’s team. These guys have just worked like crazy.”
In addition to clinching the regular season title, Murray State also locked in a double bye in the OVC Tournament next week, a luxury they wouldn’t have been afforded had they lost. The team will be a 2-seed and play in the semi-finals on Friday, March 8.
Tale of two halves
What goes down as a double-digit win for the Racers was anything but for most of the game. Austin Peay spent 18:47 of the first half leading the Racers, leading by as much as eight. They even carried over much of that momentum to the first part of the second half.
The Govs leaned on the services of senior guard Steve Harris and sophomore guard Terry Taylor, going for 16 and 12, respectively, in the first half. Taylor was lights out in the first, shooting 4-for-5 from the 3-point line to give Austin Peay a 46-42 edge at halftime. The team nailed 7-of-12 3-pointers in that half.
“They were up most of the game,” McMahon said. “They’re a really good team. That was as high level of a game as I’ve been a part of in a long time. They’re really good; Terry Taylor could start anywhere in America. The guy’s phenomenal. They play extremely hard; Coach Figger’s done a phenomenal job building the program.”
Unfortunately for the Governors, the luck behind the arc would eventually wear out. The team shot 1-for-11 from three in the second half, and as they struggled, Murray State capitalized.
Sophomore guard Ja Morant, who struggled in the first half on 2-for-9 shooting and seven points, made up for lost time by scoring 14 points in the first eight minutes of the second half alone. The Racers forced the Govs into nine second-half turnovers to fuel a second half controlled by fast-pace transition play.
Fueled by Morant’s offense, the Racers overcame a six-point second-half hole to tie the game with 15:58 remaining. They would go back and forth with Austin Peay for the next two minutes, but the Racers ultimately exercised a stranglehold on the lead and never relented until they sealed an 11-point win over the OVC’s No. 4 team.
Record-breaker
Lost in the pageantry and fanfare of the championship win was a monumental record set by Racer fans Saturday night. A new attendance record was set during the season finale, as 9,012 fans packed the CFSB Center, beating out the previous record of 8,969 that was set earlier this season against Belmont.
“They’re equally fun,” McMahon said. “At 1:30 in the morning after a tornado came through on the road, no one will ever forget that one. But to do it here in front of 9,000 plus people, the historic day that our University had yesterday. With all that’s on the line, it’s hard – and our guys stepped up and delivered.”
Gilmore and Eaves step up
Sophomore forward Devin Gilmore and junior guard Jaiveon Eaves were instrumental off the bench to push the Racers to a victory. Gilmore’s athleticism was on full display in the first half as he kept the game within reach.
The sophomore scored 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting and added four rebounds (three offensive) and two blocks in the first half alone.
“It’s one of the great parts of coaching,” McMahon said. “Devin didn’t play in November, December or the first part of January, and here he is just because he stayed the course and just kept working, stayed bought into the process.”
On a night where freshman guard Tevin Brown went 0-for-5 from behind the arc, Eaves filled in the cracks. He went 2-for-2 from three in the first half, and nailed another pivotal triple to fuel a big Racer run in the second half to end his night with nine points.
What’s next
The field for the OVC Tournament is officially set, and the Racers have plenty of time to prepare with a double bye. The team won’t take to the floor until Friday, and will match up with either Jacksonville State or the winner of UT Martin and Eastern Illinois.
The semi-final game will tip-off at 9 p.m. on Friday, March 8, at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
