Cowart, Morant score 23 apiece; Murray State beats EIU 86-75
MURRAY, Ky. (AP) — Darnell Cowart and Ja Morant each scored 23 points as Murray State rallied to beat Eastern Illinois 86-75 on Thursday night.
Trailing 71-64 with nine minutes left, the Racers (18-4, 9-2 Ohio Valley Conference) ended the game on a 22-4 run. Cowart and Morant combined for 10 points in the stretch. Brion Whitley stole the ball and threw a cross-court pass to Morant, who finished the play with an emphatic one-handed windmill dunk with 36 seconds left. Morant also made four consecutive 3-pointers to start the game.
Cowart was 8 of 13 from the field, made all seven of his free throws and grabbed 12 rebounds. Morant was 7-of-19 shooting and had 11 assists. They each made four of the Racers' nine 3-pointers. Shaq Buchanan added 18 points and Tevin Brown chipped in nine points and 11 rebounds for Murray State (18-4, 9-2 Ohio Valley Conference).
Josiah Wallace scored 18 points to lead Eastern Illinois (14-11, 6-5). Mack Smith had 13 points and Cam Burrell added 11.
