NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Corey Walden scored 5 of his 24 points down the stretch as No. 3 seed Eastern Kentucky held on to defeat second-seeded Murray State 86-83 in an Ohio Valley semifinal Friday night.
Eastern Kentucky (23-9) will play top-seeded Belmont (24-8) in the championship game on Saturday.
Orlando Williams scored to give EKU a 66-55 lead with 10:18 remaining before T.J. Sapp hit a 3-pointer for Murray State to tie it at 79 with 1:33 left. Walden answered with five straight points and Glenn Cosey made two of four free throw attempts to make it 86-83 with 18 seconds left. Murray State's Jeffery Moss and Cameron Payne each missed 3-pointers to end the game.
Walden was 9 of 14 from the field and had six steals. Cosey finished with 17 points.
Payne scored 24 points and Moss added 18 for Murray State (18-11).
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