BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE – Murray State used a late run to create enough separation from Jacksonville State on Saturday evening and held on for a 75-67 win at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Racers (24-3, 15-0 Ohio Valley Conference) kept the nation's longest winning streak alive to clinch at least a share of the 2010 OVC Regular Season title, handing the Gamecocks (11-14, 7-8 OVC) their 13th defeat in as many meetings in the series. The game saw nine ties and eight lead changes before a 9-0 MSU run in the second half gave the Racers an 11-point lead they wouldn't relinquish.

JSU junior Nick Murphy used a 10-for-12 night from the floor to score a season-high 24 points to lead all scorers. The Bronx, N.Y., native runs his career total to 997 points, leaving him just three short of becoming JSU's 20th member of its 1,000-point club. He also grabbed seven rebounds, dished four assists and swiped a pair of steals in the process.

He lead a group of three Gamecocks in double figures, joined by junior Trenton Marshall's 17 points and senior Amadou Mbodji's 11. Marshall, the OVC's leading scorer at 18.3 points per game, fought his way to the 17 points despite going 6-for-24 from the field. He led all players with eight rebounds. Mbodji, a native of Kaolack, Senegal, also had four boards in the game to give him 502 in his career. He joins Rusty Brand as JSU's only two 500-rebound guys since moving up to Division I in 1995.

The Racers, who sealed a share of their OVC-record 21st regular season title, got double figures from three players, as well. Auburn, Ala., native Tony Easley led the MSU charge with 19 points, while Isaiah Canaan and Isacc Miles each added 12. Danero Thomas pitched in nine points and six boards, while Ivan Aska's team-high seven boards led the Racers to a 36-28 advantage on the glass.

Down 42-40 after the first half of play, Jacksonville State held the OVC's best offense to just 8-for-22 shooting in the second half. The Racers did their damage at the charity stripe, connecting on 17 of their 21 free throw attempts in the second half alone to hold off the Gamecocks each time they tried to make a charge. MSU finished the night 27-for-33 from the free throw line, a .818 percentage.

JSU scored the first five points of the second half to take a 45-42 lead with 18:57 remaining, then the two teams exchanged a pair of leads before an Easley jumper gave the Racers the lead for good with 16:03 on the clock.

They stretched it to 57-49 with just under 11 minutes to play before a six-point run by the Gamecocks pulled them to within a bucket at 57-55 with 8:52 on the game clock. Over the next two minutes, MSU used a 9-0 run to create an 11-point lead and the Racers never looked back.

The Gamecocks will take to the road for a pair of OVC games in three days, beginning with a 7 p.m. game at Austin Peay in Clarksville, Tenn., on Monday. JSU will then move on to Nashville for a Wednesday meeting with Tennessee State, a make up of an earlier game that was postponed because of a leak in the roof of TSU's Gentry Center.