The Murray State Racers clinched their 24th OVC regular season championship last Saturday against the SEMO Redhawks after some intense shooting in overtime, winning 94-92, pushing their winning streak to 21, the second-longest in the nation. With 13-0 in the OVC, they have three more games before reaching a perfect 16 and Voice of the Racers Neal Bradley says at least one could be a real challenge. He stops by Sounds Good with a recap and a look ahead with Tracy Ross.
VS Southeast Missouri, February 5 (82-72)
Bradley says this game had intrigue right off the bat. One of SEMO's lead players Jarekious Bradley was out due to an injury, but they gave the Racers a good battle for a while. In the last few minutes of the game, SEMO had some success, but Murray put their starters back in and ended up winning. Jarvis Williams scored 23 and 11 rebounds, TJ Sapp picked up 19 points, Cam Payne had 16, Jeffery Moss had 10. Regarding Moss, Bradley remarks "just seeing the ball go through the basket builds confidence."
VS Austin Peay, February 7 (82-72)
Kind of a repeat of the SEMO game, three of Murray State's starters were benched eraly in the game. TJ Sapp came in with 22 points in the first half, building out a comfortable lead. Austin Peay caught up a little bit in the second half, but the Racers pushed back in the final minutes. Sapp scored 27, Cam Payne finished with 27. For six-straight times, they've won in Clarksville.
VS SIU Edwardsville, Feburary 12 (78-46)
Bradley says this is a team that's so incredibly good at home, but on the road they've only had one win (at SEMO). Racers handled them easily. Jeffery Moss had 16 points, Cam Payne had 20 points and six assists. The Racers were so far ahead at halftime, the fans were yawning by the one-sided ballgame, he says, adding that it's a good problem to have when you bore your fans with a great lead.
VS Southeast Missouri, February 14 (94-92)
Arguably one of the most exciting games of the season, ending in overtime at 94-92. It was a tough game, Bradley says, the Racers were down at the half. They were down by 10 points with five minutes to go. Cam Payne had his fifth foul with 2:42 left. TJ Sapp and Justin Seymour battled the Racers back with some big shots. Jeffery Moss put them within three points with 7.9 second to go. Sapp came in and set the game into overtime. In some last minute shooting, the Racers pulled ahead to win an OVC championship for the 24th time. Bradley says it was "one of the most memorable games I've ever seen as a Racer fan."
LOOKING AHEAD
VS Austin Peay, February 21
APSU is all but mathematically eliminated, he says. He can't see them pushing ahead, they've lost too many games. However, they are a rival with one thing to play for, which is to make the headlines by beating the Racers.
VS Eastern Illinois, February 26
They haven't been the same team since the Racers last played them. Their forward developed a sickness and has been out of the team since. Bradley says they aren't a major threat, however they have a terrific coach and are still in a spot where they're playing for one of the buys for one of the top four spots. They have a lot more to play for than people might think.
VS UT Martin, February 28
Bradley says that if this is a 16-0 game for the Racers, a bunch of fans will be in the audience so UT Martin might not have a large home game advantage. It'll be a difficult game, UT Martin has a great coach, but a win would be a terrific way to end the season. The Racers will certainly have to earn this win.
