Murray State’s season ends with NIT Quarterfinal buzzer beater

Murray State had quite the season, and for a team that had a top 25 ranking at one point this season, and also was one of the mid-major teams to get snubbed from the NCAA Tournament.

A last second shot is what ended the Racers season in the OVC Championship game, and tonight, a last second shot would end MSU’s overall. This time it came in the NIT Quarterfinals, a game that would send the winner to New York City and Madison Square Garden for the NIT Final Four.

The two squads keep things close, and ended the first half with a two point Old Dominion lead. The second half would remain the same, until ODU tried to pull away with a 10 point lead with 3:30 to go. The Racers then finished out the remaining minutes playing the catch-up game, with Jeffery Moss putting up the go-ahead three pointer with six seconds remaining, tying the game up. But, as you have already seen from the title, you know the game didn’t go into overtime.

The Monarchs raced down to the their side of the court, and pulled up one of their own go-ahead threes to close out the win, solidifying their ticket to NYC.

ODU emptied their bench for the game, sending 10 players on the court to punch minutes on the stat sheet. Murray State on the other hand only had seven players to see minutes, with their sophomore phenom Cameron Payne leading the Racer way. Payne tallied up 23 points, six assists, two steals and a rebound to keep MSU close to the Monarchs.

Ultimately, ODU stole the show and sent the Racers home packing with nothing to show for such a successful season. Murray State will head back  to Kentucky boasting a 25 game win streak this season, along with a final record of 29-6.