WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Lipscomb 83,
Tennessee Tech 80Story Text / Teaser
@Western Michigan 88,
Southern Indiana 74
@Central Arkansas 85,
Little Rock 47
@Alabama A&M 80,
Tennessee State 53
LIPSCOMB 83, TENNESSEE TECH 80
NASHVILLE - Tennessee Tech men's basketball drops a close matchup 83-80 at Lipscomb on Wednesday.
The Golden Eagles (3-6, 0-0) had three players in double figures scoring, with Dani Pounds scoring a career high 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-2 from three, while grabbing seven rebounds, leading the way. Ty Owens matched his season high with 15 points in the second straight game, and Mekhi Cameron added 14 points, but Tech couldn't hold off Lipscomb (5-4, 0-0) in the three-point loss, 83-80.
Tech drops its third straight contest to move to 3-6 on the year and finishes its five-game road trip at West Georgia on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m. CT.
Pounds' 19 points on 8-of-14 from the field were his best all-around offensive performance of the season, as he looked unstoppable inside for most of the game until running into some foul trouble late in the first half that impacted his second half. Pounds led the team in rebounds with seven.
Owens has scored 30 points in the last two games with back-to-back 15-point performances at Georgia and now Lipscomb. He shot 6-of-9 from the field, hit a couple of big shots to keep the Golden Eagles in the game. He led the team with seven assists and tied for second with five rebounds.
Cameron scored only three points in the first half but added 11 in the second to mark the third Golden Eagle in double figures with 13 on 4-of-9 from the field, making 3-of-4 from three-point range. Cameron grabbed five rebounds, tying for second on the team.
Brandon Muntu finished with eight points on 3-of-10 from the field (2-8 3FG). JaJuan Nicholls also had eight points on 2-of-3 from the field and 4-of-7 from the free-throw line.
C.J. McPherson sank a couple of threes, leading to six points on 2-of-5 shooting (2-2 3FG), and Malik Ferguson played a season-high 18 minutes while grabbing his first points of the season with six (2-4 FG).
Tech scored 24 points off the bench and 34 points in the paint, while forcing 11 turnovers and turning those into 10 points and grabbing 11 second-chance points.
The Golden Eagles got off to a slow start with only 36 points on 37.1 percent (13-35) shooting, but turned it on in the second half, scoring 44 points on 16-of-28 (57.1) percent from the field.
Overall, Tech outshot Lipscomb 46 percent to 45 percent, but both teams made 29 field goals with the Golden Eagles holding an advantage in three-point shooting, 45 percent to 34 percent, rebounding (38-to-36), but a key turnover, 12th of the game, cost the visitors the stretch.
Both teams held the lead with Tech taking a seven-point advantage at its largest, but a scoreless final 2:32 cost the visitors in the loss, 83-80.
TTU led the contest for 16:15, and Lipscomb held the advantage for 20:39. The largest lead for Tech was seven points, and the largest run was 9-0.
WESTERN MICHIGAN 88, SOUTHERN INDIANA 74
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball came up short, 88-74, against Western Michigan University Wednesday evening despite a late second-half rally.
The Screaming Eagles (3-6) fell behind early in the opening half, trailing 17-3 following a 17-0 run from the Broncos. USI's struggles persisted throughout the first half, as the team was unable to score from the field in the final 5:20. The team entered the intermission with a 47-27 deficit.
Western Michigan (4-5) came out of the break firing, extending its lead to a game-high 23 points midway through the second half.
USI rallied after the under-eight timeout. Senior guard Ismail Habib hit a stepback three and a fast-break layup to close the gap. Senior guard Cardell Bailey hit a huge three-point basket that brought the Eagles within nine with under three minutes left.
The Broncos answered the Eagles' push with one of their own. Western Michigan closed out the game on a 10-2 run, extending its lead to 14 as the final horn sounded.
For the game, USI went 23-55 from the field and 10-23 from beyond the arc. The team grabbed 33 boards compared to Western Michigan's 41, but USI outrebounded them on the offensive end nine to five.
Bailey tied the game high with 26 points and nabbing six rebounds. Habib also crossed the 20-point mark with 23 on 4-6 from three.
Junior forward Tolu Samuels recorded a team high of 10 rebounds, three offensive, and scored three points. Junior guard Sheridan Sharp had a team-high three assists on the day.
Western Michigan was led by senior guard Jayden Brewer, who had 26 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 85, LITTLE ROCK 47
CONWAY, Ark. - — Cameron Wallace scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, but Little Rock fell to Central Arkansas 85–47 on Wednesday night at the Farris Center in the Governor's I-40 Showdown, presented by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Forward Caleb Pennyfeather added eight points and six rebounds, while guard Tracy Steele, Jr. contributed six off the bench. The Trojans finished with 30 points in the paint and 28 from the bench.
Guard Christian Hughes added five points, three rebounds and two steals, while forward Johnathan Lawson finished with five points, four rebounds and two assists. Little Rock totaled 34 rebounds and five blocks.
ALABAMA A&M 80, TENNESSEE STATE 53
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team out-rebounded the Alabama A&M Bulldogs 42-40 but fell 80-53 on the road Wednesday night at the AAMU Event Center.
The Tigers (5-4) had four players reach double figures, led by Jalen Pitre with 11 points and eight rebounds. Aaron Nkrumah added 10 points and four steals, while Dante Harris and Khalil London chipped in 10 points apiece.
Led by Pitre's seven offensive rebounds, Tennessee State did a strong job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 25 offensive boards that resulted in 18 second-chance points. Despite the edge on the boards, the Tigers struggled to find consistency shooting the ball, finishing the night at 29.2 percent from the field and 17.4 percent from three-point range.
Tennessee State forced 15 Alabama A&M turnovers while committing 14 themselves. The Tigers converted those takeaways into 13 points on the other end of the floor, with Nkrumah leading the way defensively with four steals.
Tennessee State battled early but struggled to gain momentum out of the gate, trailing 32-27 at halftime despite holding Alabama A&M to just 45.8 percent shooting in the opening period.
The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 13-2 run to build a double-digit cushion and take control of the game. Tennessee State was unable to close the gap in the final 20 minutes as Alabama A&M shot 55.6 percent in the second half and outscored the Tigers 48-26 over the final frame. The Tigers made the most of 18 offensive rebounds in the second half to tack on 13 of their 26 second-chance points in the period.