Arena #136: CFSB Center - Murray St. vs. SIU-Edwardsville

There’s not much better on the Mission 351 journey than a two-state doubleheader day (only trumped by the three-state tripleheader!), which is exactly what we got on this day with a trip to Murray, KY and the campus of Murray St. University for another Ohio Valley Conference contest, this time featuring the home Racers hosting the Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville Cougars.  Coming here to Murray, I had some expectations for a strong crowd atmosphere and fan turnout given the Racers have been near the top of the OVC for several years and in 2018-19 featured one of the most electrifying players in NCAA basketball in point guard Ja Morant.  Thankfully, both the quantity and quality of the crowd met my expectations, even against an overmatched opponent.  The game was close and competitive throughout the first half, though with SIUE even taking a 6-point lead into the locker room.  However, that Cougars lead quickly disappeared in the second half behind the scoring and passing of Morant.  The Racers raced ahead after the break while SIUE was able to only manage 17 points after halftime in being completely destroyed for the final 20 minutes of this matchup.

Crowd lining up to get into the CFSB center for this contest

Future 1st round NBA draft pick Ja Morant during pregame introductions

Murray St. with a slam dunk during their second half barrage of the Cougars

View of the seating area inside the CFSB center in Murray, KY