No. 19 Murray St tops Belmont for OVC regular-season title

MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Forward KJ Williams had 30 points on 12-for-19 shooting and added five rebounds, and No. 19 Murray State claimed the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title with a 76-43 win over Belmont on Thursday night.

The Racers (27-2, 17-0) have won 17 straight games.

Belmont (24-6, 14-3) had its 10-game winning streak halted after being limited to 32.1% shooting from the floor, 19.2% from beyond the arc and getting outrebounded 40-22.

In the final regular season meeting before both teams join the Missouri Valley Conference this summer, Williams was one of nine Racers to score.

Tevin Brown added 15 points, eight rebounds and three assists, Justice Hill had eight points, seven assists and four rebounds and DJ Burns had four points and nine rebounds. Trae Hannibal finished with seven rebounds, six assists and four points.

Freshman Will Richard was the only Belmont player to reach double figures, scoring 10 points on 4-for-11 shooting with two 3-pointers. Grayson Murphy, Ben Sheppard and Nick Muszynski each had eight points.

Brown and Williams combined to score the Racers’ first 18 points and Murray State jumped out to a 20-13 lead.

Belmont closed within three poiints before the Racers closed the first half on a 19-4 run for a 35-17 halftime lead.

Murray State’s defense held the Bruins to 7-for-27 shooting from the field and 1 for 12 from long distance in the first half.

That defensive effort continued into the second half, as the Racers stretched their lead to 66-33.

Murray State coach Matt McMahon won his 150th career game, all with the Racers.

BIG PICTURE

Murray State: The Racers pick up a quality Quad 1 win for their NET standings, and stayed within the Top 25 of KenPom rankings. A conference tournament championship is the goal, but the resume remains strong for an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Belmont: The Bruins scored their fewest points of this season. Their previous low was 53 points in a Nov. 22, 2021, loss at LSU.

UP NEXT

Belmont: Host Tennessee State on Saturday.

Murray State: At Southeast Missouri on Saturday.

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