Ninth-ranked Murray State led from start to finish and remained the nation's only unbeaten Division I team after holding off stubborn Tennessee-Martin 65-58 on Saturday.

Murray State (23-0, 11-0 OVC) continues to build on its school and OVC record for the best start to a season while sending the host Skyhawks (3-22, 0-12) to their 13th consecutive loss.

Isaiah Canaan, Jewuan Long and Latreze Mushatt each scored 11 points for Murray State, which led 37-28 at halftime.

The Racers led by as many as 13 in the second half but UT Martin would not go away and cut the deficit to 55-49 with 4:32 remaining.

The Skyhawks would get no closer as Murray State used its league-best defense to keep its perfect record intact, holding the Skyhawks to 34.8 percent shooting from the field and recording 10 blocked shots.

Murray State, which shot 42.4 percent from the field and made only three 3-pointers, got a boost from its bench, outscoring UT Martin's reserves 24-8.

Guard Dane Smith had a career-best performance with a game-high 24 points - 20 coming in the second half - and 11 rebounds for the Skyhawks.