Murray State wins, becomes first team invited to the big dance

At 30-2 and on the heels of an 18-0 run through conference play that got them up to No. 22 in the country, the Racers would've certainly earned an at-large bid if they hadn't won the OVC tournament. But thanks to an impressive grind-it-out performance, they won't have to worry about that and kept one of their conference rivals out for now in the process.

The two teams were tied at 34 a piece at halftime, and things weren't much different in the second half. Murray State began to take command with about seven minutes to play, going up six, but Morehead State clawed its way back in to make it a close one down the stretch.

With two minutes left, the Eagles trailed by two. KJ Williams then hit a jumper to put the Racers up four, and Justice Hill hit a free throw a bit later to make it five. Morehead State responded, though, finding Tray Hollowell open for a three to cut the deficit to just two.

After an intentional foul, Williams could only hit one free throw, keeping it to a one-possession game. The Eagles again turned to Hollowell, but he couldn't connect on his attempt from deep and the Racers corralled the rebound. Tevin Brown hit one free throw but missed the second, making it a four-point game with 14 seconds left.

Hollowell wasn't ready to give up just yet, though. He drilled a three to make it a one-point deficit with eight seconds. Brown went to the line for Murray State and hit both, then the Racers intentionally fouled up three. Ta'lon Cooper missed the first on accident and the second on purpose, but Murray State recovered the miss. Williams hit one last free throw to seal the victory.

Brown led Murray State with 23 points and hauled in six rebounds. Hill had 21 points, and Williams logged eight points and 10 rebounds.

Morehead State's Johni Broome led all scorers with 32 points and had eight rebounds as well. Hollowell and Cooper both logged 12 points.