Story by Blake Sandlin
Sports Editor
bsandlin1@murraystate.edu
Murray State capped off a two-game road trip in emphatic fashion by throttling one of the OVC’s most potent offenses Saturday night.
Eastern Kentucky was no match for the Murray State team that showed up in Richmond, Kentucky. The Racers weren’t intimidated by the 5,640 opposing fans that packed Paul S. McBrayer Arena – the highest-recorded crowd size at the arena in 10 years – as they sealed a 102-70 win over the Colonels to move to 21-4 (12-2).
“Really proud of our team,” said Head Coach Matt McMahon. “I thought our defensive effort was tremendous. We had a lot of multiple effort possessions where we forced difficult shots. I thought our guys really competed at a high level at that end of the floor that led to some transition where we were able to make a lot of great decisions and get easy baskets in the paint.”
A game of runs
The first face was composed of several mini runs that helped Murray State exercise a healthy lead in the first half. Leading 10-6 with 16:15 remaining, the Racers went on an 11-0 run to claim a 21-6 lead. EKU answered with two threes, which was subsequently met with a 7-0 run by Murray State to aid in a 46-35 halftime lead.
The second half was no different, though the Racers did encounter a scare with 11:12 remaining. Senior forward Nick Mayo, who scored 36 points on Murray State in their last meeting, nailed a 3-pointer that put the Colonels within striking distance at eight points. Mayo ended his night with 26 points and 12 rebounds.
The shot seemed to bring the Racers to their senses, inspiring a final blow of epic proportions. Murray State immediately jumped to a 24-4 run to ignite a commanding lead. The team ended the night on a dominant 39-15 run to conclude the game.
“I felt like we just stopped the run and started to get back to our basketball,” Morant said of the 39-15 run to end the game. “We were able to get some stops and score on the other end.”
“I thought we took some rushed shots when we beat the press; some contested jump shots when we beat the press that led to some baskets for them to get back into the game, and then we just really locked in defensively. Forced a lot of turnovers, and were really active when we got out in the open floor and got back to getting easy baskets.
Eluding the pressure
EKU is highly touted for its aggressive full-court pressure, forcing 10.8 steals per contest (1st in the nation).
While the Colonels did their best to limit Murray State defensively by forcing five steals and 18 turnovers, the Racers seemingly capitalized on EKU’s over-aggressiveness. Murray State had 22 fastbreak points, and ended the night with 54 points in the paint to EKU’s 18.
“We liked our plan of attack from our first matchup,” McMahon said. “The second half we scored 56 at our place and I thought did a really great job attacking it. We wanted to have the floor space so that Ja had a lot of room to operate, and when they came with the traps we wanted to make sure that they were in tough spots to try to rotate and get steals. You still had some turnovers, but the war was worth it with the layups and dunks at the back end of the press.”
Total team takeover
The Racers never trailed in Saturday’s contest thanks to a total team effort that saw five players finish in double figures. Sophomore guard Ja Morant (25 points), senior guard Shaq Buchanan (16), freshman guard Tevin Brown (14), junior forward Darnell Cowart (14) and junior forward Devin Gilmore (12) all registered double-digits in the win.
The team had 25 points off the bench, with junior guards Brion Whitley and Jaiveon Eaves adding six apiece. Freshman forward KJ Williams netted eight points and five rebounds as a starter.
Morant adds to the trophy case
Morant became the recipient of two prestigious honors Saturday night. With 5:16 remaining in the first half, Morant knocked down two free throws, which cemented his spot in Murray State’s 1000-point club.
Ja Morant's free throws with 5:16 in the first half, he officially entered the 1000-point club.
He is the 45th player in MSU history to record 1000 points, and the 11th fastest Racer to 1000 points.
— MSU Sports News (@MSUSportsNews) February 17, 2019
Morant became the 45th inductee into the club, and was the 11th fastest Racer to eclipse the milestone.
One half later, the sophomore guard made history conference-wide. Only 25 games into the season, Morant broke the OVC single-season assist record that has stood since 1987. He passed Middle Tennessee’s Duane Washington’s record of 255 assists by finishing with 256.
“It feels good, just to say there’s a lot of talent that’s been through the OVC, and I really just give most of the credit to my teammates because without them I wouldn’t be able to get the assists. So credit to them for finishing the plays,” Morant said.
Morant flirted with his second triple-double, finishing with 25 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds. Morant did contribute nine turnovers on the night, however McMahon didn’t seem concerned with his point guard’s miscues.
“I don’t really worry about [turnovers] with Ja,” McMahon said. “We’ll look at the film and see where he can make some improvements on a couple decisions, but again, 14 assists, and half of them were probably threes, so you’re talking about probably 35 points in addition to the 25 that he scored. He probably created somewhere around 60 points, so we won’t be too touch on him about the turnovers.”
Playing for the post-season
Saturday’s win enabled the Racers to maintain their grasp on the No. 1 spot in the OVC standings with Belmont. Both teams sit at 12-2 in the conference with four games remaining on the schedule.
If both the Bruins and Racers finish their respective seasons 4-0, then they will share the regular season OVC Championship. However, because Belmont defeated MSU earlier this season, the Bruins own the tiebreaker and would reserve the 1-seed in the OVC tournament.
Those questions will begin to be answered next week when the Racers return home for two games. They’ll be paired with UT Martin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21, at the CFSB Center.