The Murray State Racers brought home the third-place trophy at the Myrtle Beach Invitational 77-60 over the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at the at HTC Center in Conway, South Carolina. The Racers come home winning two-of-three games including their first win over a ranked team since 2012 with an 88-79 win over Texas A&M on Thursday.
MSU’s JaCobi Wood flirted with a triple-double on 12 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists, while DJ Burns scored 11 points with 15 rebounds. Jamari Smith was 8-of-12 from the field for 19 points, while Kenny White, Jr. added 16 points as the Racers moved to 3-2 on the season.
Leading 41-28 at halftime, White hit a 3-pointer for the Racers’ largest lead of the game of 20 (60-40) at 12:41 remaining. Wood made it a 20-point lead again at 11:38, but the Racers didn’t score another field goal until the 5:17 mark. MSU’s scoring drought went 6:21 when Smith ended when it ended on a runout, but they still had a 17-point advantage.
The Racers get back on the court after the Thanksgiving holiday (Nov. 26) with a Saturday game at Chattanooga. MSU opens their first season in the Missouri Valley Conference (Dec. 1) at the CFSB Center against Illinois State.
Game Notes
o The Racers won the rebound stat for the first this season against a Division-I team 54-31 and held Tulsa to only six offensive rebounds.
o Burns scored his second double-double of his MSU career. His first was last December vs Middle Tennessee.
o Wood was close to a triple-double. The last Racer to get one was the great Ja Morant, who had four triple-doubles for the Racers from 2017-19.
o Wood has 12 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.
o Wood’s 11 assists are a Myrtle Beach Invitational record.
o Wood led the Racers in Myrtle Beach with a 19.7 per game scoring average. He was 13-31 (.419) from the field, 8-21 (.381) from the 3-point line and hit 25-of-26 (.962) from the free throw line.
o This was the fourth meeting between the Racers and Tulsa and first since their 2015 meeting in the NIT. The Racers have won the last three over Tulsa and lead the all-time series 3-1.
o Through five games, the Racers have five players scoring in double-figures with Jamari Smith at 17.3 points per game. Wood (14.8), Rob Perry (12.0), White (11.0) and Burns (10.8).
o The Racers’ game at Chattanooga Saturday marks their first trip to McKenzie Arena since 2010 when they won 73-65.
o The Racers are 7-2 all-time against Chattanooga and won the most recent game at home in 2021 by a score of 87-76.
Dave Winder
Associate AD – Communications
Murray State University Athletics