From the February 17, 1969 issue of Sports Illustrated:
Down home is the place to be in the Ohio Valley Conference, especially when home is Bowling Green, Ky., where Western Kentucky plays. In a shoot-out with Murray State for the OVC lead, the Hilltoppers scored the winning basket on a tap at approximately the same time the final buzzer sounded. No goal, said Murray Coach Cal Luther. The goal counts, said Referee Charles Fouty, after conferring with Timekeeper "Big Six" Henderson, a longtime Western rooter. Luther's objection was reasonable, since the ball was fumbled, shot from 25 feet and tapped up twice, all in the last six seconds of Western's 84-82 win.
I'm very impressed at whoever it was at SI that decided to track down that much detail on this game, including the nickname of the timekeeper. Based on my own knowledge of the rivalry between Western and Murray, I'm going with SI on this one.
But it didn't work out for Western, at least that year. Murray won the OVC in 1969 -- the last time it would win the league until after Western decamped for the Sun Belt. The Racers would finish second in 1971, 1973, 1977, and 1981. They would finish either tied for first or in first in 1980, 1982, and 1983. But they would not return to the NCAA Tournament until 1988.
