Tevin Brown converted a runner with 15.9 seconds left Saturday that snapped a late tie as No. 23 Murray State rallied to knock off Morehead State 57-53 in Morehead, Ky.
Trailing 50-42 with 4:24 remaining, the Racers (24-2, 14-0 Ohio Valley Conference) closed on a 15-3 run stay unbeaten in conference play. Brown had five of the 15 points.
The Eagles (19-8, 11-3) had a chance to tie the game with four seconds remaining, but Ta’Lon Cooper missed an off-balance but wide-open layup. KJ Williams grabbed the rebound for Murray State and made two free throws with 3.9 seconds remaining to seal the outcome.
Williams scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Murray State, which maintained a two-game lead over Belmont in the loss column as it aims to go unbeaten in its last OVC season. The Racers are joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022-23.
Justice Hill added 11 points and seven assists for the Racers, who won their 14th straight game despite making only 20 of 56 shots (35.7 percent) from the field. Their last loss was Dec. 22 at No. 1 Auburn 71-58.
Johni Broome scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for Morehead State, while Jake Wolfe added 12 points. The Eagles were outrebounded 36-29 and committed 16 turnovers that became 19 points for Murray State.
Morehead State set an immediate tone, establishing a 13-5 lead just over five minutes into the game when Wolfe made a short jumper. That bucket capped a 10-0 Morehead State run in a span of 3:16.
Turnovers became an issue for the Eagles. In one four-minute stretch, Morehead State turned the ball over six times helping Murray State to grab a 24-23 edge on Williams’ three-point play with 2:30 left in the first half.
But the Racers didn’t score again in the half while Morehead State managed a 3-pointer from Skyelar Potter and Broome’s only bucket of the first half. That was enough to give the Eagles a 28-24 edge at intermission.
Murray State took 12 more total shots in the half but failed to take advantage of its nine offensive boards before the break, going just 10 of 32 from the field.
–Field Level Media
