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#5 Morehead State 73, #8 UT Martin 66
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#6 Southeast Missouri 78, #7 Eastern Illinois 68
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#5 MOREHEAD STATE 73, #8 UT MARTIN 66
NASHVILLE (AP) - Milton Chavis scored 14 points and fifth-seeded Morehead State pulled away in the second half to beat eighth-seeded Tennessee Martin 73-66 in the opening round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament Wednesday night.
Angelo Warner and Bruce Reed added 11 points apiece for Morehead State (15-17), which will face fourth-seeded Tennessee State Thursday night.
On top 48-46 with 12:36 remaining, the Eagles broke open the game with a 16-3 run, capped by Jarrett Stokes' jumper to extend the lead to 64-49 with 6:24 left to play.
UT Martin (9-21) cut the lead to six, 69-63 with 27 seconds left, but Morehead State made four free throws the rest of the way to ensure the victory.
Morehead State has beaten Tennessee-Martin eight straight times.
The Eagles dominated inside, outrebounding the Skyhawks 46-23 and outscoring them 42-22 in the paint.
Mike Liabo led the Skyhawks with 24 points.
#6 SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 78, #7 EASTERN ILLINOIS 68
NASHVILLE (AP) - Tyler Stone scored 24 points off the bench, shooting 11 of 12 from the field, as Southeast Missouri won its third straight game by defeating Eastern Illinois 78-68 Wednesday night in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.
The sixth-seeded Redhawks (17-15) shot 63 percent in the first half (17 of 27), including 6 of 12 3-pointers, to lead 42-29 at the break. The No. 7-seeded Panthers (11-21), who came in riding a three-game winning streak, could get no closer than 10 in the second half.
Southeast Missouri opened OVC tournament play with a win three years in a row for the first time in school history and secured its first winning season since 2004-05.
Corey Wilford and Marland Smith added 14 points apiece for the Redhawks and Lucas Nutt had a season-high 12 assists.
Josh Piper scored 19 points and Alex Austin 17 for the Panthers.