(Thursday, February 7)

Final Score: Murray State 79, Belmont 74

Murray, KY (Sports Network) - Isaiah Canaan converted 15-of-17 at the free- throw line on his way to a game-high 26 points as the Murray State Racers held off the Belmont Bruins for a 79-74 victory in an Ohio Valley Conference duel at the CFSB Center.

Canaan also dealt out six assists for the Racers (17-5, 8-2 OVC) as they picked up their second-straight win. Stacy Wilson scored 16 points, Dexter Fields tallied 13 points, and Ed Daniel grabbed 10 boards.

Ian Clark paced Belmont (19-5, 10-1) with 22 points in the team's first-ever OVC setback. Blake Jenkins and Kerron Johnson contributed 12 points apiece while J.J. Mann scored 10 points for Belmont, which had its 10-game winning streak snapped.

Murray State used the energy of the home crowd to gain an early advantage and managed to go up by as many as 14 before taking a 36-26 lead into halftime. The Racers shot 43.8 percent from the floor and connected on six three-point attempts in the first half while Belmont made just 38.5 percent of its field goal tries including only 3-of-10 from distance.

The Bruins heated up to hit on 64.3 percent of their field goal attempts after the break as they chipped away at the 10-point halftime deficit. Clark tied the score at 74 with just under a minute remaining by draining a clutch 3- point attempt, but Canaan answered right back with a triple of his own to put Murray State back up. Clark then lost the ball out of bounds on the Bruins' ensuing possession. Canaan and Daniel each added a point from the charity stripe in the closing seconds to put it out of reach.

The Racers did a much better job of drawing fouls which sent them to the charity stripe enough to go 21-of-27. Belmont finished 9-of-13 on free-throw attempts and lost the rebounding battle, 32-26.

02/07 22:54:47 ET