The 24th chapter of the Murray State versus Belmont men’s basketball rivalry was written on Saturday, Jan. 25, when the Bruins came to the CFSB Center.

This meeting was the fifth time the two teams met as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). Belmont won three of those four matchups and entered Saturday as winners of the last two.

Murray State got off to a hot start, jumping out to a 18-14 lead thanks in part to senior guards JaCobi Wood and Terence Harcum hitting two 3-pointers each in the first 6:58 of the game. The lead didn’t last for the Racers, however, as Belmont went on an 8-0 run to take a four-point lead.

The scoring run by the Bruins got their offense going on as they finished the half with a 55-37 lead, while their defense held Murray State to only 17 points in the last 10:27. The Racers also turned the ball over nine times while Belmont only turned it over three times.

The second half saw Belmont continue to dominate the game. Wood achieved a personal milestone at the 17:58 mark of the second half when he hit his third 3-pointer of the game, which made him the 48th player to reach 1,000 points while wearing the blue and gold.

Wood’s accolade was the only positive as Belmont jumped out to as large as a 23-point lead and never gave the Racers a chance at a comeback. The Bruins beat the Racers 95-77 behind the play of redshirt freshman Drew Scharnowski, who finished with a game, season and career high 20 points and eight rebounds. Belmont’s overall record moved to 15-6 and 7-3 in MVC play.

Murray State was led by Wood, who transferred from Belmont before the 2022-23 season, as he put up 19 points, six assists and four rebounds. The Racers fell to 11-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play.

Murray State’s next game is against the Evansville Purple Aces in Evansville, Indiana, on Wednesday, Jan. 29, at 7 p.m. Murray State won the first meeting of the season between the two teams at the CFSB Center on Dec. 3 by a score of 62-60.