Last Saturday on senior night, the Murray State Racers men and women’s team defeated the Austin Peay State Governors in the rematch of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border. Murray State now leads the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border 24-9.

A record crowd of 9,012 showed up to watch Shaq Buchanan and Brion Sanchious be honored before their final game at the CFSB Center. The Racers also earned the honor of regular season champs. The Racers share this award with the Belmont Bruins, who both have a record of 25-4(16-2, OVC).

Ja Morant posted a double-double on 27 points, 13 assist, and six rebounds. Shaq Buchanan posted 19 points, and Darnell Cowart scored 15 points. Sophomore, Devin Gilmore came off the bench to add 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting.

While MSU had a good shooting night, so did the Governors. Sophomore, Terry Taylor hit four straight three’s and senior, Steve Harris, who only averages 10 points, scored 26. At halftime, the Govs led the Racers 46-42.

Rallying back from a deficit is nothing new for the Racers, with 15:59 left in the second half, with the dish from Sanchious, Morant hit a three to tie the game at 54. While the game stayed close, the Racers win became more clear around the five-minute mark when Cowart hit a layup, got a foul, and hit the free throw as they took the 80-72 lead. The Racers proceeded to outscore the Govs 14-11 to achieve the 94-83 win.

“The field is set for the OVC Men’s Basketball Championship Presented by Visit Evansville at the Ford Center next week. The Racers are the No. 2 seed and play Friday (March 8) at 9 p.m. CT time. MSU is in the same side of the bracket as Jacksonville State (No. 3), Eastern Illinois (No. 6) and UT Martin (No. 7).” -goracers.com.

OVC tournament bracket:  https://goracers.com/documents/2019/3/3//03_02_19_OVC_Men_s_Basketball_Bracket.pdf