It was a back and forth battle as No. 3 seed Murray State took on No. 6 seed University of Texas-El Paso Tuesday night at the CFSB Center. With 12 lead changes in the first half, the game stayed neck-in-neck before the Racers began to pull away at the end of the first half.
Senior forward Jarvis Williams was the Racer standout as he racked up 16 points and six rebounds in the first half with huge slams and a SportsCenter Top 10-worthy layup off a lob by sophomore point guard Cameron Payne. Williams’ four-point run in the last minute of the half took the Racers to the locker room with a 37-32 lead.
The Racers continued to pull away in the second half as they maintained the lead throughout. Williams racked up a double-double with 10 minutes to play, finishing the game with 25 points and 14 rebounds. Senior guard T.J. Sapp put up 21 points as well. The Miners had four players in foul trouble with just over six minutes to play.
The Racers continued to thrive in the second half as they bettered the Miners 81-66. They are now set to face the University of Tulsa in Tulsa during the second round of the NIT.