KJ Williams racked up a career-high 39 points, 31 coming in the second half, as No. 23 Murray State shrugged off a ragged first half to get its 13th straight win, 73-62 over Tennessee State on Thursday in Nashville.
The Racers (23-2, 13-0 Ohio Valley Conference) trailed by seven points at halftime but roared back to take the lead for good on Williams’ layup with 12:02 to play — the beginning of a 14-2 run. Williams scored 11 points in that pivotal surge after opening the second half with 11 of Murray State’s first 14 points.
Williams outscored Tennessee State 31-26 in the second half and was the only Murray State player to reach double-figure scoring.
The victory was the Racers’ first since they jumped into the Top 25 for the first time since March 2015.
Carlos Marshall Jr. led the Tigers (10-15, 5-8) with 13 points. Kenny Cooper and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. added 12 each, and Kassim Nicholson scored 11.
The Tigers dominated the first half. A 17-4 spurt capped by Cooper’s 3-pointer gave them a 25-12 advantage with 8:56 to play.
The Racers clawed back to within seven points, at 32-25, after DJ Burns’ layup with 1:41 to play before halftime. Tennessee State carried a 36-29 lead to the break.
Cooper led all scorers with 10 points in the first half while Burns and Williams tallied eight points each to lead Murray State. Tennessee State outshot the Racers 48.3 percent to 39.3 percent in the first 20 minutes, earned a 19-16 edge in rebounding and committed just two turnovers.
Williams scored 11 of Murray State’s first 14 points after halftime to help the Racers pull to within 42-41 with 14:45 to play. Tevin Brown’s 3-pointer two minutes later gave Murray State its first lead since the opening minutes, and the Racers soon took charge for good.
–Field Level Media