MONDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 86, Nebraska-Omaha 62 (CIT)
MURRAY STATE 86, NEBRASKA-OMAHA 62
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers won their second game in the 2014 CollegeInsider.com Tournament with an 86-62 win over the Omaha Mavericks at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
Playing their first home non-Ohio Valley Conference postseason game since 1983, the Racers advanced to the CIT quarterfinals where they'll host the Towson Tigers Thursday at 7 p.m.
The Racers (20-11) also secured the program's fifth-straight 20-win season, the best in 89 seasons of Murray State hoops.
Jeffery Moss led five Racers in double-figure scoring with 17 points, while Jonathan Fairell added a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jarvis Williams scored 14 points and had five blocked shots. Cameron Payne added 15 points and dished out six assists. T.J. Sapp returned to the MSU line up and scored 10 points.
In the first half, the Racers trailed early by seven points, but tied the game with a 13-4 run. Payne hit the Racers' first 3-point basket of the game with 15:53 left and Williams slammed on a fast break with 13:15 remaining to make it a 15-15 game. MSU finished the half on a 12-2 run that was capped when Williams got one of his five blocked shots of the game, which led to a layup at the buzzer by C.J. Ford. MSU led at the half.
In the second half, UNO got as close as 11 points when they scored the first basket of the half, before the Racers took an 18-point lead on Moss' floater for a 60-42 score with 12:44 remaining.
MSU's only senior Dexter Fields hit 3-pointers with 4:39 left to put him over the 500-point mark for his two-year MSU career. The second three put MSU up 78-56.
The Racers won the battle of the boards 46-35 and held the Mavs to 37 percent shooting for the game including 33 percent in the second half. UNO was also 6-of-27 from long range.
MSU took advantage of 14 UNO turnovers by turning them into 24 points.
CIT Schedule
Wednesday, March 26
Yale (17-13) at Columbia (21-12) 6:00 p.m. CT
VMI (21-12) at Ohio (25-11) 6:00 p.m. CT
San Diego (18-16) at Pacific (17-15) 9:00 p.m. CT
Thursday, March 27
Towson (25-10) at Murray State (20-11), 7:00 p.m. CT