Murray St., Samford reach men's title game in OVC tournament

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Shawn Witherspoon and Pearson Griffith each scored 14 points and Murray State advanced to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament finals with a 69-64 victory over Jacksonville State on Friday night.

Murray State (23-6) will play Samford in the championship game today for an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. If Murray State loses, the Racers will still be invited to the National Invitation Tournament based the Racers' regular season OVC championship.

Justin Orr scored 12 points, including two clinching free throws with 14 seconds left. Tyler Holloway added 11.

Courtney Bradley led Jacksonville State (16-13) with 18 points.

Jacksonville State had three possessions in the final minute trailing 67-64 but came up empty each time.

Samford 73, Tennessee Tech 66

J. Robert Merritt scored 17 points and Samford will face top-seeded Murray State in the finals of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament after getting a 73-66 victory over Tennessee Tech on Friday.

This is the first time Samford has advanced to the OVC finals since joining the league in 2003.

-- From wire reports