UT Martin clinches OVC West title with win over Murray St. (Feb 25, 2017)
MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) Jacolby Mobley hit five 3-pointers and scored 33 points and Tennessee-Martin nearly blew a 24-point halftime lead but hung on to beat Murray State 83-76 on Saturday night.
The game was the regular season finally for both teams. The win clinches the Ohio Valley West Division crown for the Skyhawks (20-11, 10-6), who will be the No. 2 seed in the conference tourney and have a double-bye into the semis.
UT Martin led 50-26 at halftime and 68-48 with 10:17 left. But a Jonathan Stark 3 for the Racers sparked a 26-7 stretch over the next eight-plus minutes and allowed Murray State to pull to 75-74 with 1:57 left.
However the Racers (14-16, 8-8) made just one of their next eight shots, and four straight free throws by UT Martin pushed its lead back to five.
Javier Martinez finished with 19 points and Matthew Butler added 18 for UT Martin.
Stark led the Racers with 23 points.
