(St. Louis, MO) – There are still three undefeated teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. After the big showdown night came and went Austin Peay, Jacksonville State and Murray State are still tied for first place.
JSU and Murray State were both playing one-loss teams and the Racers and APSU were both on the road, but all three are still unblemished.
Overtime for the Gamecocks
It took 30 points from Jason Burnell and an overtime session, but Jacksonville State knocked off league favorite Belmont 91-80. The Gamecocks (13-5, 5-0) dominated the extra session to complete a season sweep of the Bruins. JSU has a five game winning streak agains Rick Byrd’s squad.
Burnell had help. Jamall Gregory contributed a season-high 25 points, grabbing ten rebounds and converting all four of his long distance shots.
Freshman Nick Muszynski (23) and senior Kevin McClain (20) led the Bruins who also saw Dylan Windler collect a double-double (17 points and 17 rebounds). Belmont fell to 12-4 and two full games out of first place with an OVC record of 3-2.
More Highlights in the Murray State Win
Ho-hum. Ja Morant scores 27 points, hands out nine assists and racks up another high-light reel dunk and Murray State wins easily. The Racers (14-2, 5-0) pulled away from Eastern Illinois to collect their fifth straight double digit OVC win 83-61.
K.J. Williams recorded a 14 point/16 rebound double-double as the Racers defeated EIU (10-8, 3-2). Mack Smith led the Panthers with 22 points. MSU’s average OVC margin of victory is just under 19 points per game.
JA MORANT CAN FLY ✈️ #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/4Fhg12PKfl
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 18, 2019
Taylor Carries The Governors
It took a monumental effort by Terry Taylor, but Austin Peay escaped Southern Illinois Edwardsville with a 79-71 win. Taylor scored a career high 33 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as APSU (13-5, 5-0) won their fifth straight game and for the eleventh time in their last 12 outings.
Cameron Williams led the Cougars (5-12, 1-4) with 16 points.
The three undefeated teams are back at it Saturday. Austin Peay and Murray State are OVC ‘travel partners’ so they trade sites with APSU visiting EIU and the Racers visiting Edwardsville, Illinois. JSU stays at home to host Tennessee Tech. By Sunday will their records be still unblemished?
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Three more road wins so far in @ValleyHoops as @BradleyUMBB @BelmontMBB & @UIC_MBB capture road wins. Looks like @DrakeBulldogsMB will do so too. #FatherHarry
Well @RacersWBB followed the men's example and swept Iowa in the @ValleyHoops race! Racers are 6-1 & if @BelmontWBB holds on to their Iowa sweep, the Bruins and Racers will be tied for first. What a trip for those two teams! #FatherHarry
After today's action, @EIUWBB is 8-0 in @OVCSports play. 4 teams @usiwbb @TTUWBB @LRTrojans @LindenwoodWBB are tied at 6-2. Six other teams are under .500. Great race to the finish lies ahead. #FatherHarry
Really entertaining game between @BelmontMBB & @UEAthletics_MBB. Under four minutes left in a one point game. Gabriel Pozzato back in the Aces' lineup. Rogers is playing like I've expected. Triples are dropping. It's fun and @kylejpeach bringing it on #ThePlus #FatherHarry
