Boxscore
MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State extended its winning streak to 17 straight games and 18 straight at home in front of 5,000 fans who packed the house for Saturday's Bracketbusters matchup.
Ivan Aska scored 17 points to lead the Racers to a 75-66 victory over Morgan State on Saturday, extending the nation's longest winning streak to a school record 17 games, a streak shared by No. 18 Butler.
Aska was 7-of-10 from the field for the Racers (26-3, 16-0 Ohio Valley Conference), who last lost in December and set a new school record for consecutive wins in their 18th straight home victory.
Reggie Holmes, one of the nation's leading scorers, had a game-high 22 points with eight rebounds for the Bears (20-9, 11-1 MEAC), who were participating for the second straight year in the Bracketbusters.
Murray State, who already clinched the OVC championship, shot 43 percent for the game, including a 55 percent shooting performance in the second half, while the Bears converted 21-of-60 shots (35%) for the game.
Isaiah Canaan added 14 points and five assists off the bench, while B.J. Jenkins chipped in 13 for Murray State.
Kevin Thompson, who entered the ballgame as the No. 4 leading rebounder in the nation, was held in check. The sophomore finished with 4 points and was limited to six rebounds, well under his doubkle-double average (12.5 pts & 11.9 rebs).
Despite trailing for most of the second half, Morgan State kept close, coming within four points after a traditional 3-point play from Troy Smith cut the Racers lead to 61-57 with 7:04 left. From that point, the Bears only managed to score one more basket for the rest of the game, and that wasn't until the final seconds of the game.
The Racers put the win away when Isaiah Canaan scored on two fast breaks for a 71-59 lead and Thomas hit another three to put MSU ahead by 15 with 1:52 left.
Morgan State, who are one game away from clinching the regular season MEAC championship for the third straight season, had a solid defensive performance in the first 20 minutes as the Racers had a hard time dealing with the Bears zone defense. The Racers shot 32 percent from the field (10-31 FG) and missed a number of open looks during a see-saw affair that saw four ties and 10 lead changes.
Morgan State held a 33-30 lead at halftime.
Joe Davis posted 11 points (5-8 FG) as the only other Bear to score in double-figures.
Morgan State will return to action on Monday night when they travel to Princess Anne (Md. ) for a conference matchup against Md-Eastern Shore. Tip-off is schedule for 7:30 p.m. at the Hytche Center.
