Isaiah Canaan came off the bench and scored 16 points, and Murray State earned its 14th trip to the NCAA tournament by beating Morehead State 62-51 Saturday night for the Racers' 14th Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship.
The Racers (30-4) set a school record for wins in a season and became the first Division I team to 30 wins this year. Their first NCAA berth since 2006 didn't come easily in a grudge match between the league's top two seeds who split the season series.
Morehead State (23-10) came in as the defending tournament champion and with Kenneth Faried, the OVC's player and defensive player of the year. Faried had 10 points and 12 rebounds, and Demonte Harper scored a game-high 20. But Murray State held the Eagles to their lowest point total of the season.
