Murray State (26-4, 16-0 Ohio Valley Conference) had already clinched top seed at the OVC tournament in Nashville next week, but was trailing UT-Martin (18-11, 10-6) 34-31 at halftime.
Inside the first minute of the second half, Jeffrey Moss knotted the score with a 3-pointer. Payne and Jarvis Williams added five more points in a seesaw struggle. Williams sparked a 14-3 surge until the Skyhawks called time trailing 53-42. UT-Martin came as close as 64-62 with 3:15 remaining but missed six of its last eight shots.
Deville Smith led the Skyhawks with 21 points and Twymond Howard added 17. The Skyhawks are the OVC's No. 4 seed.
Williams added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Racers.
