Evansville, ID- There is nothing quite like a statement victory in March during a conference tournament.
No. 22 Murray State (29-2) got their statement victory as they beat SEMO (14-18) in the OVC Tournament semi-finals 88-74. The Racers and Redhawks played just six days ago and Murray State came away with just a two-point victory, they flipped the script on Friday and got the blowout victory. With the win, Murray State extends their winning streak to 19 and punches their ticket to the OVC Championship on Saturday night.
OVC Player of the Year KJ Williams and his co-star Tevin Brown led the way for Murray State. Both players were incredible from the start. Williams finished with yet another double-double as he scored 29 points and grabbed 11 rebounds.
Brown added 26 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and dished out three assists. The big games were a huge reason as to why Murray State walked away victorious.
Murray State had control of this one from the start, seemingly laser-focused. They would open the game on a 17-1 start and never look back. Williams scored six of the first eight points for the Racers, setting the pace for his big game. They were able to play suffocating defense and get easy buckets on the other end.
Murray State held a 51-31 advantage at the break. It was the fourth time this season the Racers scored 50 or more points in the first half. The second half was more of the same as Murray State extended their lead to nearly thirty points.
SEMO has to be given credit though as they refused to roll over and accept the blowout loss. They would claw black, even using a late 8-0 run to make the score look much more respectable. DQ Nicholas provided a great spark off the SEMO bench. Nicholas scored a team-high 20 points. He also grabbed five rebounds and dished out four assists.
The rally from SEMO was commendable, but it was too little too late. The lead Murray State built in this game was simply too much. The Racers overwhelmed SEMO and ended their season in the OVC semi-finals.
Racers Back in Finals
It seems very fitting that in their final season in the OVC, Murray State is set to play in one last OVC Championship. They have also won all nineteen of their conference games this season, with one final OVC game on Saturday.
The Racers will be making their return to their conference championship for the first time since 2020. If the Racers can play with the same intensity as they did on Friday there is a good chance they could be cutting down the nets on Saturday.
They will no doubt look for big games from Williams and Brown again to win their 18th and final OVC Tournament.
Murray State will play either Morehead State (22-10) or Belmont (25-6) in Saturday’s OVC Championship.
 got their statement victory as they beat SEMO (14-18) in the OVC Tournament semi-finals 88-74. The Racers and Redhawks played just six days ago and Murray State came away with just a two-point victory, they flipped the script on Friday and got the blowout victory. With the win, Murray State extends their winning streak to 19 and punches their ticket to the OVC Championship on Saturday night.){kind=link}