DJ Burns | Murray State University Athletic
DJ Burns | Murray State University Athletic
Racers Win On Senior Day – Grab 7th Seed At State Farm Arch Madness
The Murray State Racers finished off the 2022-23 season, their first in the Missouri Valley Conference, with a 77-76 overtime win over the Valparaiso Beacons in the final home game at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
The Racers 16-14 clinched a winning season and finished 11-9 in their first foray through The Valley. MSU is the No. 7 seed in next week's MVC Tournament in St. Louis where they will meet Valparaiso again, the No. 10 seed Thursday in a 6 p.m. tipoff at the Enterprise Center.
DJ Burns scored 21 points on 10-of-18 from the field with eight rebounds to lead the Racers, while Quincy Anderson added 15 points off the bench. JaCobi Wood had 13 points and five assists, with Brian Moore, Jr. scoring 11 points.
After defeating the Beacons in overtime (Dec. 4) on the road, there the Racers were in Murray working overtime again.
Trailing 65-62 with six seconds remaining, Wood hit his only 3-pointer of the game to send the game to OT 65-65.
After surviving a stretch of missing 10 shots in a row, the Racers hit five-straight baskets in the overtime, but still found themselves tied with VU when the Beacons scored for a 76-76 game with five seconds left. MSU's Moore got the inbounds pass and raced down the floor where he was fouled with .5 left on the clock. Moore gave the Racers the win hitting his first free throw.
After trailing by as many as 12 points at the 10:26 mark of the first half, the Racers came back to lead 33-32 at intermission.
Game Notes
o With the victory today, the Racers have winning seasons in 42-of-45 seasons dating back to the 1979-80 season under Coach Ron Greene.
o MSU finished 11-2 at home this season, the 25th for the CFSB Center.
o MSU has never had a losing season in "The Bank" and are 313-51 (.859).
o MSU is 65-7 (.902) in the last five seasons at the CFSB Center.
o The Racers honored DJ Burns and Rod Thomas on the floor before the game with their families.
o The attendance of 5,342 gave the Racers 10 crowds of 5,000 or more in 13 games this season.
o The Racers lead the MVC in attendance with about 5,200 per game average.
o Since 2017, the Racers are 6-2 in overtime and have won four in a row.
o The Racers are 3-0 this season in OT with a pair of wins over the Beacons and one at home against Illinois State (Dec. 1).
o Sunday's game with Valparaiso was also Senior Day as the Racers honored players Rod Thomas and DJ Burns.
o There was also a post-game celebration for the duo as each spoke to the crowd, as did Coach Steve Prohm.
Original source can be found here.
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