Morgan State has played outstanding basketball for most of this season, which is why they were selected to be one of the mid-major basketball programs to compete in the ESPN Bracket-Buster weekend games.
Unfortunately for MSU, they were matched up against the Murray State Racers of the Ohio Valley Conference, who were on a 17-game winning streak. Murray State extended that streak, the nation’s longest current run, with a 75-66 win on February 21 at their home court in Murray, KY.
Ivan Aska led Murray State with 17 points to help his team advance to a 26-3 overall record, and a 16-0 record in their conference. His teammate Isaiah Canaan followed with 14 points and five assists off the bench, while B.J. Jenkins added another 13 points for Murray State. The school has appeared in the NCAA tournament 13 times in its history, most recently in 2006.
Despite the loss, Morgan State star Reggie Holmes, one of the nation’s top scorers, recorded a game-high 22 points along with eight rebounds.
But while Holmes had one of his typical performances, teammate Kevin Thompson did not. Thompson entered the game as the fourth-best rebounder in the nation, but was limited to only four points with six rebounds, far shy from his double-double average of 12.5 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Bears’ guard Joe Davis was the only other Morgan player to score in double-digits, with 11 points.
While Murray State has already clinched their conference season title, Morgan State still needs one more win to clinch the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title for the third straight year.
Morgan State (20-9 overall, 11-1 MEAC) will attempt to accomplish that feat when they travel to Princess Anne, Md. for a conference matchup against University of Maryland-Eastern Shore on February 22.