KJ Williams scored 25 points and No. 21 Murray State coasted to its 15th consecutive win by defeating Austin Peay 91-56 on Thursday night in an Ohio Valley Conference matchup in Murray, Ky.
Murray shot 12-for-15 from the field and pulled down seven rebounds, and Tevin Brown added 13 points for Murray State (25-2, 15-0). Four other Racers scored in double digits; Justice Hill, D.J. Burns and DaQuan Smith each had 11 points, and Trae Hannibal scored 10.
Elijah Hutchins-Everett scored 12 points to lead Austin Peay (10-15, 6-9), whose three-game winning streak came to an end. Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored 11 points for the Governors.
Murray State shot 64.3 percent (36 of 56) from the field. Austin Peay shot 31.7 percent (19 of 60) overall.
The Racers led 49-23 at halftime and took their biggest lead of the game — 36 points — when Brown’s free throws made it 84-48 late in the second half. Stone-Carrawell responded with a 3-pointer for the Governors, who scored eight of the game’s final 15 points.
The Racers jumped to 10-3 lead in the first five minutes. After Austin Peay’s Alec Woodard opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, Murray State reeled off the next 10 points on three consecutive baskets by Williams, two free throws by Hill and a layup by Hannibal.
The lead ballooned to 23-5 with 10:52 remaining in the half. Burns made a layup to start a 13-0 run, which included five straight points by Williams on a 3-pointer and a layup.
Carlos Paez made a 3-pointer for Austin Peay to cut the deficit to 45-23 with 1:40 to go before the break, but Murray State closed the half with layups by Hannibal and Smith to push the lead to 26 at intermission.
Murray State will try for its 16th in a row on Saturday when it visits Tennessee-Martin. Austin Peay hosts Tennessee Tech, also on Saturday.
–Field Level Media