WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 82, Manchester 53
@Arkansas State 55, Murray State 47
@Drake 86, Morehead State 70
EASTERN ILLINOIS 82, MANCHESTER 53
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois used a 24 point run early in the first half as the Panthers (1-1) rolled to a 82-53 win over Manchester College (1-1) in the home opener for the Panthers as all thirteen EIU players scored in the contest.
Mitch Schaefer hit a 3-pointer with 19:25 to go in the first half to give Manchester a 3-2 lead but Tyler Laser answered with a three of his own and the Panthers were off and running to a 59-17 halftime lead. Laser scored 9 points in the first half hitting two of his three pointers in the first three minutes. Laser would finish with 11.
Jay Smith came off the bench to score all 11 of his points in the first half as EIU shot 70.6 percent from the field and 57 percent from beyond the arc. Romain Martin scored 13 of his game high 17 in the first half hitting 8-of-14 from the floor.
Manchester College closed the final margin by outscoring Eastern Illinois 36-23 in the second half. Schaefer led the Spartans with 15 points as they hit 34 percent from the field and 28 percent from 3-point range (7-25).
T.J. Marion provided a team-high 6 assists as EIU dished out 23 assists compared to only eight turnovers. EIU also dominated the battle on the glass with a 46-33 margin. Marion and Martin each pulled down a team-high 5 rebounds.
ARKANSAS STATE 55, MURRAY STATE 47
JONESBORO, Ark. - The Murray State Racers let a second half lead slip away in a 55-47 loss at Arkansas State at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Ark.
The Racers used five straight points from Danero Thomas to take an 11-3 lead at the 14:20 mark of the half.
With 4:55 before the half, the Racers took their largest lead of the half at 24-14 when Danero Thomas made a block and Tony Easley found Kevin Thomas for an easy basket.
After ASU cut the lead to five, Danero Thomas posted up and hit a short jumper for a 26-19 MSU lead with 2:05 before half.
But ASU closed the gap to 26-23 before Kevin Thomas fed Ivan Aska for a lay-up just before the buzzer sounded and the Racers had a 28-23 lead at the half.
In the second half, MSU had a seven point lead with 14:33 left when Danero Thomas made a baseline drive for a 36-29 lead, but it wasn’t long before the Racers began to struggle on offense.
ASU cut the MSU lead to one with 11:50 remaining, before the two began to trade baskets.
Aska got loose for a dunk for a 40-39 MSU lead with 8:25 left, but ASU answered with a bucket by Shawn Morgan for a one point lead at 41-40 with 8:00 to go.
ASU hit three of four free throws in two trips to lead 46-41 with 4:46 remaining.
When ASU’s Morgan scored inside with 3:12 left, the Racers were behind 49-43 and the Red Wolves run was 10-3 over a 5:13 minute stretch after MSU had a one point lead with 8:25 left.
Donald Boone scored on a put-back with 1:51 left and the Racers were down 51-45, but got a tip in by Aska with 1:21 left cut the lead back to four.
The Racers were down by eight at 55-47 when ASU scored on a long run-out pass on an inbounds play and got two free throws with 59 seconds left.
MSU was outscored 16-7 in the final 8:25 of the game after having their last lead at 40-39.
Danero Thomas led the Racers with 16 points, with Aska adding 13.
The Racers were hot from the field in the opening half hitting 48 percent (12-25), but went cold in the second half shooting 26 percent (7-26). ASU was cold in the first half shooting 26 percent (7-26), but rebounded with 47 percent (10-21).
The Racers lost the rebounding battle 37-28.
DRAKE 86, MOREHEAD STATE 70
DES MOINES, Iowa - The Drake Bulldogs blistered the Knapp Center nets in the second half and rallied for an 86-70 win over the Morehead State Eagles Wednesday (Nov. 19) evening.
The game was a part of the Cancun Challenge. In other Challenge games, MSU lost previously at Vanderbilt and will play Grambling (Nov. 29) and UCF (Nov. 30) coming up in Cancun.
Morehead State led 39-35 at intermission. But, the Bulldogs hit 15-of-24 (62.5 percent) second half shots, including seven-of-12 (58.3 percent) three-pointers and outscored the Eagles 51-31 in the final 20 minutes.
Drake's Josh Young scored 34 points. The Bulldogs also got 17 points in a reserve role from Bill Eaddy and 10 points Jonathan Cox.
Maze Stallworth led MSU scorers with 26 points. The junior from Elizabethtown, Ky., hit seven-of-16 three-pointers, and also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Leon Buchanan scored 13 points, and Kenneth Faried scored 11 points and blocked three shots.
Drake evened its record at 1-1. Morehead State fell to 0-3.