NCAA Basketball: Best games from 2019-20 season – Belmont vs. Murray State

The Ohio Valley Conference gave us an incredible title game between Belmont and Murray State; let’s relive one of the finest moments of the postseason.

This past college basketball season was obviously greatly stunted by the cancellation of the NCAA Tournament and much of postseason play. Fortunately, there were a few conferences who managed to complete their entire postseason tournaments before the national pandemic worsened. Next up in our top 40 games of the 2019-20 season is perhaps the most exciting of those postseason games.

6. Belmont 76, Murray State 75 (OVC Tournament Championship Game)

March 7, 2020, Ford Center in Evansville, IN

While there may be twelve teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, everyone knows that the two premier programs are Belmont and Murray State. Ever since they joined the league nearly a decade ago, those Bruins have become a natural rival for the Racers, with both putting together some quality teams. Both programs won NCAA Tournament games in 2019, though lost plenty of talent from those teams. Regardless, they were set to face off in the OVC title game for the third straight year.

Belmont entered the year adjusting after the retirement of longtime coach Rick Byrd and the graduation of stud Dylan Windler. They didn’t play the toughest schedule in the world but took care of business for the most part, including a long stretch of winning at the end of the year. Including their semifinals win over Eastern Kentucky, they entered said title game on an 11-game winning streak, including a home win over the Racers.

Murray State’s schedule wasn’t anything impressive either, but they used their own 11-game winning streak to put themselves in great position. With Ja Morant off to the NBA, there was clearly a big transition happening for this Racers team; but another regular-season title (they tied with the Bruins) is another impressive display of coaching and roster construction from coach Matt McMahon. The Racers took care of a talented Austin Peay team in the semifinals, but now it was time for another battle with Belmont.

This game was going to be a closely-contested fight between two rivals and that’s exactly what we got. Belmont took the advantage early, getting four early points from Nick Muszynski, before Murray State’s offense got going as well. A few minutes later, another shot from Muszynski gave the Bruins a 6-point lead, though a big 3-pointer from Jaiveon Eaves kept Murray State right in the game.

Belmont had their chance to run away with it late in the second half, but Murray State wouldn’t let that lead get larger than eight points.  In fact, a late offensive run actually gave the Racers the lead briefly before the half. DaQuan Smith hit a big 3-pointer, while Tevin Brown’s and-1 gave Murray State that lead. It was Adam Kunkel’s 3-pointer in the final minute that gave Belmont their 33-32 lead at the half.

With twenty minutes separating these teams and an NCAA Tournament bid, it was Murray State who got the second half off to a hot start. The Racers scored on their first three possessions, with Browns’ 3-pointer giving them a sudden 6-point advantage. The lead grew to seven, but was quickly erased as Belmont’s shooters awakened; back-to-back 3-pointers from Tyler Scanlon returned the lead to Belmont.

After Scanlon’s personal 8-0 run, Murray State stayed in the game with offense of their own. Muszynski and Racers forward Demond Robinson traded dunks, but soon after the Belmont lead was three possessions again. By the halfway point of the second half, the Racers were carving into the lead again, and this back and forth affair was set up for ten final exciting minutes.

Some sharp shooting got this game tied again on another 3-pointer from Brown with under eight minutes to play. Murray State retook the lead, but it would change hands several times in the final minutes. Brown’s dunk and free throw with just under three minutes left gave the Racers a 73-69 lead, but Belmont wasn’t finished.

Muszynski would knock down a pair of layups on the ensuing possessions, and after being fouled on the second one, his free throw gave Belmont a 1-point lead again. After a sloppy series of possessions, Murray State pulled back in front on a pair of free throws from Brown, coming with just 11 seconds left in the game, though Belmont still had their chance.

After a flurry of timeouts, Belmont had the perfect play, as the Bruins found Scanlon on the backdoor feed, hitting what would be the game-winner with three seconds left in the game. Murray State’s ensuing possession led to a missed shot at the buzzer, and after falling just short the last two seasons, Belmont had won the OVC Tournament again.

Scanlon’s game-winning shot made him the hero, and the Bruins certainly needed all 17 of his points to win this conference championship. Muszynski had 25 points and 8 rebounds in what was a fantastic effort. These two teams shot similarly well, but a 17-point effort from Brown wasn’t enough, nor were the 14 points and 6 blocks provided by Robinson.

Obviously, neither team played another game after this, but we’re very fortunate that this one took place. In a season ravaged by cancellations, we got a fantastic back and effort that ended on that memorable Belmont play and Scanlon layup. While it’s disappointing that Belmont didn’t get a chance to return to the NCAA Tournament, these teams will both be back in contention in the OVC on a regular basis and are sure to providence plenty of exciting moments going forward.