The top two seeds in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament held serve in their semifinal matchups and will meet in the conference championship game on Saturday.
2013 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament results and bracket: Belmont, Murray State advance to finals
The top two seeds in the Ohio Valley Conference won their respective semifinal match ups and will square off in the championship game.
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The No. 1 Belmont Bruins earned their spot in the championship game by defeating the Tennessee State Tigers, 82-73. Belmont took a 27-25 lead with 3:19 left in the first half, and would not trail for the rest of the game. The Bruins led by as many as 11 in the second half, but the Tigers kept the game competitive until the final horn.
The Bruins took advantage of 21 Tennessee State turnovers to score 23 points off of turnovers, and extended possessions by grabbing 16 offensive rebounds. Senior guard Ian Clark led Belmont with 26 points, while fellow senior guard Kerron Johnson added 23 points and seven assists.
The No. 2 Murray State Racers defeated the No. 3 Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 81-73, in the second semi-final game. The two teams were tied 38-38 at halftime, but Murray State went on a 14-2 run midway through the second half and kept Eastern Kentucky at arm's length for the rest of the game.
Senior guard Isaiah Canaan had an impressive performance for the Racers, leading all scorers with 29 points. Stacy Wilson also played well for Murray State, chipping in 18 points.
Belmont and Murray State will meet Saturday at 6 p.m. ET with coverage on ESPN2. The Racers won the only meeting between the two teams this year, a 79-74 home victory over the Bruins.
Here is a link for the full tournament bracket.
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