Murray State roared into the OVC Basketball Tournament semifinals. Defending champion Morehead State will join them after a narrow win.
# 1 Murray State 88 – # 4 Southeast Missouri 74
Murray State raced to a 17-1 first-half lead and was never countered. The Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champs (29-2) scored 51 first-half points and defeated Southeast Missouri 88-74.
OVC ‘Player of the Year’ K.J. Williams dominated with a 29-point, ten-rebound performance. Winning the war on the glass was huge for MSU who outrebounded SEMO 44-27 as Nicholas McMullen came off the Murray bench to grab eight caroms.
Murray State’s two All-OVC guards, Tevin Brown and Justice Hill stood out. Brown added 26 points while Hill contributed 10 and ‘Juice’ handed out five assists.
Southeast’s All-OVC guard Eric Reed was one of two Redhawks to reach double-figure scoring. DQ Nicholas came off the bench to score 20 points and Reed finished with twelve. SEMO finishes the season with a record of 14-18.
# 3 Morehead State 53 – # 2 Belmont 51
The defending champs will return to the OVC finals. Morehead State overcame Belmont in an extremely low-scoring game. In a game exactly like one lost by the Eagles to Belmont earlier in the season, Morehead prevailed.
Morehead (23-10) led 30-21 at the half, but Belmont turned up the defensive pressure to catch and pass the Eagles. The Bruins took the lead 40-39 with 9:51 left. The two teams battled back and forth with neither leading by more than three points during that final quarter of the game.
All-OVC center and prolific shot-blocker Johni Broome led MSU with 13 points, eleven rebounds, and three blocks, including a game-saving blocked shot as time expired. Skyelar Potter added twelve points and Tray Hollowell added ten.
Three Bruins reached double figures. Ben Sheppard (19), Nick Muszynski (14), and Will Richard (11) accounted for all but seven Belmont points. The Bruins (25-7) are known for their efficient offense and ability to score from long distance, but Friday the Bruins made just two of twelve shots from deep.
Belmont’s latest NET rating was 65, so their NCAA Tournament hopes appear to have ended. One of the other post-season tournaments could still await.
Murray State and Morehead State meet Saturday night at 7:30 on ESPN2.