In a battle of conference leaders, the NOC Mavericks outlasted Murray State 65-55 Saturday afternoon at the Foster-Piper Fieldhouse.

With the win, the 10th ranked Mavs (15-1) improved to 10-1 in league play while Murray State (13-4) fell to 10-2.

Saturday's win also moved the Mavs into first place in the OCAC.

Tyrel Morgan and JD Ray led NOC with 16 points each.

Morgan had nine boards while Ray had four assists and Nate Goodlow had five steals.

The Mavs led throughout on Saturday and steadily built on their lead throughout the game.  After leading 31-23 at half, the Mavs built a 58-42 lead and the closest Murray would get was 63-54 with 1:21 left.

"Our game against Murray was pretty high level defensively for both teams," said coach Donnie Jackson. "Neither team gave up very many good looks. The game was decided with the run we made in the second half."

The Mavs held Murray to 38% shooting, 24% from 3-point range while the Mavs shot 44% from the field and 22% from behind the arc.

The two teams play again Monday night at Murray State. 

"I'm looking for it to be another slugfest against them today," Jackson said.  "They have serious firepower behind the arc and they have a good home court advantage with their crowd. I know that they will come out with a high level of energy on their home court. I hope our guys know that they will give us their best game and that we need to be prepared for that."

Mavs 65, Murray 55

                           1     2--Total

Murray               23    32--  55

Mavs                 31    34--  65

Mavs--T. Morgan 16, J. Ray 16, S. Grisby 6, A. Lederer 5, M. Crawford 5, M. Berry 5, N. Goodlow 4, J. Wilson 4, D. McLane 4.