SUNDAY'S SCORES
@#24 Cincinnati 80,
UT Martin 57
@Jacksonville State 61, Eastern Michigan 54
#24 CINCINNATI 80, UT MARTIN 57
CINCINNATI - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team forced 19 turnovers this afternoon, but a pair of early runs by No. 24 Cincinnati led to an 80-57 Skyhawk loss at Fifth Third Arena.
Senior Jeremy Washington led the Skyhawks with 15 points and six rebounds today, cracking double-figures for the second time in as many games this season. Myles Taylor (six rebounds) and Mike Liabo (team-high three assists) added 12 points each while Justin Childs scored 10 points in a game-high 36 minutes for UT Martin (0-2), who recorded 13 steals and outscored the host Bearcats 40-37 in the second half.
For Cincinnati, Cashmere Wright (16 points) and Sean Kilpatrick (14) led the team in scoring, while Justin Jackson pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
A Washington jumper gave the Skyhawks an early 2-0 advantage, while the UT Martin defense limited Cincinnati to only four points in the first four minutes of the game thanks to five missed shots and four turnovers.
The Bearcats then scored 14 unanswered until Taylor converted a tough layup at the 12:44 mark. After a layup by Liabo on UT Martin’s next possession, the Skyhawk offense went cold, as Cincinnati would go on a 17-0 run over the next 6:28 to build a 27 point advantage.
The Skyhawks would respond with nine of the next 12 points, led by five points from Bobby Jones. However, Cincinnati closed out the first half on a 7-2 run over the final 1:42 to take a 43-17 halftime lead.
Taylor’s six points paced UT Martin at the half, while Kilpatrick scored 10 points to lead Cincinnati.
A pair of free throws by Taylor opened the scoring in the second half, while Childs was responsible for a steal and fast break layup to slice the Skyhawk deficit to 45-21 less than 90 seconds into the second half.
Cincinnati used a trio of three-pointers during a 14-2 run to go on top 59-23 but Washington came back with an old-fashioned three-point play with 13:31 remaining. That play ignited 10-3 run for UT Martin, with Washington accounting for seven points during that span.
Childs then heated up for the Skyhawks, scoring eight straight points – including a pair of trifectas. Childs’ second three-pointer of that stretch began a 19-6 run to conclude the game for UT Martin but time ran out on the Skyhawks.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 61, EASTERN MICHIGAN 54
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team fought its way to a 61-54 win over Eastern Michigan on Sunday afternoon.
Against a longer Eagles (1-1) squad that won the Mid-American Conference's West Division a year ago, the Gamecocks (2-0) used physical play inside to jump to their first 2-0 start since the 2003-04 season. JSU outrebounded EMU and outscored the Eagles 34-20 in the paint, despite not playing a player over 6-foot-7 against an EMU roster that features five players at 6-foot-8 or taller.
Sophomore Darion Rackley led three JSU players in double figures with 17 points, while junior Brian Williams scored 16. Both players scored 11 apiece in the final 20 minutes. Williams, a native of Lawrenceville, Ga., grabbed four boards, while dishing five assists and committing just one turnover in 36 minutes on the floor. He helped control an offense that had an assists on 14 of its 20 field goals but turned it over just 11 times, four in the second half.
The Gamecocks struggled to make shots fall against the taller Eagles but went elsewhere for its production. They took the ball inside, where they got over half of their points and where they corralled the majority of their 36 rebounds, 16 of which came on the offensive end. That and 16 points off of 18 EMU turnovers helped offset a .385 shooting percentage and a 3-for-19 night from beyond the arc.
Senior Ronnie Boggs flirted with a double-double in an efficient 35 minutes on the court. The Kansas City, Mo., native was 5-for-6 from the floor and led the Gamecocks with seven rebounds, four of which were on the offensive glass. Senior Tarvin Gaines scored just four points but grabbed six boards.
Rackley, St. Louis, Mo., native, added five rebounds on a day that saw him struggle from the floor. Despite a 4-for-14 effort from the field, he put the ball on the floor and got to the free throw line, where he knocked down seven of his nine tries. Junior Nick Cook scored eight points on a 4-for-6 shooting night and hand out four assists from the post.
Daylen Harrison led the Eagles with 14 points and grabbed almost a third of their rebounds, pulling down nine. Glenn Bryant scored just 13 after having nine at the half.
The two teams battled back-and-forth in a first half that saw two ties and five lead changes, and neither team led by more than six points.
JSU took a 27-24 lead into the intermission and used the first five minutes of the second half to jump out to a 36-26 lead, the largest of the night for either team.
The Eagles starting nipping away and eventually tied the score on an Austin Harper lay in with 8:06 on the clock. After Rackley made one of two free throw attempts with just over seven minutes to play, a Harrison jumper gave the Eagles their first led since the 2:59 mark of the first half at 44-43 with 6:42 to play.
A Boggs layup was answered by a pair of Bryant free throws, and then Williams led JSU on its final push of the night. He connected with Nick Cook on an alley oop over a napping Eagle defense with 4:54 to play, knocked down a trey and then grabbed his only steal of the night from Harper and layed it in to give the Gamecocks a 52-46 lead with 2:54 to play.
The Eagles would never get closer than four points the rest of the way, and the Gamecocks walked away with their first win over the Mid-American Conference.