SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 88, Lafayette 74
Southeast Missouri 77, @Chattanooga 65
Eastern Illinois 68, IPFW 67 (Ypsilanti, Mich.)
@Eastern Kentucky 83, Radford 75
Belmont 70, @Stanford 62
Colorado 81,
Murray State 74 (Charleston, S.C.)
MOREHEAD STATE 88, LAFAYETTE 74
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Senior Milton Chavis led the Morehead State basketball team with 18 points and five steals in an 88-74 victory over Lafayette (Pa.) on Sunday afternoon at Johnson Arena. The contest was MSU’s third in the Barclays Center Classic.
The Ohio Valley Conference Eagles improve to 3-1 on the season, while the Patriot League Leopards slip to 1-3 on the campaign. It was the first ever meeting between the schools in men’s hoops.
Junior Drew Kelly registered 12 points for the Eagles, while junior Bakari Turner tossed in 11, sophomore Angelo Warner contributed 10 and junior Maurice Lewis-Briggs managed eight.
Kelly paced Morehead State with seven rebounds, while senior Devon Atkinson dished out 10 assists and Warner tallied eight. Chavis and Warner also collected five steals each.
Morehead State forced 29 Lafayette turnovers, which led to 36 points. The Eagles, who shot 54 percent (34-of-63) for the game, held advantages of 42-12 in paint points and 36-20 off the bench.
Morehead State started the contest on a 10-0 run off seven Lafayette miscues, but the Leopards quickly cut the lead to one with an 11-2 run that included three buckets from beyond the arc.
The first half featured four ties and three lead changes. The game was tied at 33 halfway home.
Lafayette stayed in the affair with its hot three-point shooting. The Leopards connected on 46 percent (15-of-33) from long distance, with seven treys in the first half and eight after intermission.
Morehead State went on a 7-0 run over the first 1:12 of the second period to take a 40-33 lead, but the Leopards connected on two from distance to cut the deficit to one.
LC trimmed the deficit to 72-68 with 4:02 remaining, but the Eagles closed on a 16-6 spurt to pull away. MSU is now 52-8 (.867) at Johnson Arena over the past five years.
Morehead State posted a 35-29 rebounding advantage. The Eagles were also credited with 24 assists and 19 steals. Six individuals recorded a helper and seven forced a miscue.
Lafayette sophomore Joey Ptasinski led all scorers with 23 points on 7-of-13 from beyond the arc. Sophomore Seth Hinrichs added 18 points and nine rebounds for the Leopards.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 77, CHATTANOOGA 65
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Corey Wilford scored a career-high 21 points off the bench to lead Southeast Missouri (3-1) to a 77-65 victory over Chattanooga (1-2) Sunday afternoon in the CBE Classic.
Wilford scored all of his points in the second half and finished with 6-of-10 field goals, 3-of-6 three-pointers and a perfect 6-of-6 free throws in 29 minutes.
Southeast never trailed en route to picking up its first road win of the season. The Redhawks also won their third-straight game.
Southeast started the game on a 7-0 run, as Chattanooga went over four minutes without a field goal. Tyler Stone dunked his first two points before Nino Johnson added a layup and A.J. Jones buried a three-pointer to grab the Redhawks an early lead.
The Redhawks pushed their lead to nine (27-18) when Marland Smith came off the bench to score his first three-point attempt with 3:22 left. Nick Niemczyk was later fouled with 0.7 seconds on the clock and hit two free throws to give Southeast a 29-23 edge at the intermission.
Southeast shot 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from the field with four of its makes coming on threes. Jones accounted for two of the Redhawks three-pointers and scored eight points. Southeast also limited Chattanooga to just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the field in the opening stanza.
The Redhawks didn't let up in the second half, outscoring the Mocs, 15-7, in the first 5:43 to build their first double-digit lead. Wilford keyed the surge with six points off the bench before Smith's second three-pointer widened Southeast's lead to 44-30 at the 14:17 mark.
Chattanooga managed to cut Southeast's lead to single digits on several occasions, but Southeast always had an answer. After Gee McGee's three-pointer narrowed the lead to 46-37 (11:49), Jones responded with a jumper. Z. Mason then sliced the lead to nine again on a layup (48-39) and pair of free throws (53-44), but Stone scored on a layup and slammed an alley-oop pass in transition.
Wilford helped the Redhawks blow the game open when he scored five-straight points to spark a 12-4 run in a span of 3:18.
Southeast led, 59-50, when Wilford made a jumper and followed that up with a three-pointer. He added a steal, two free throws and knocked down another trey during that stretch that ended on a Smith layup which increased the Redhawks lead to 71-54 with 3:48 left to play.
Wilford led four Redhawks in double figures. Stone followed with a double-double 16 points and 11 rebounds, while Smith contributed 16 points in 31 minutes off the bench. Jones chipped in 10 points, as well.
Southeast shot over 50 percent (.553) from the field and won by double figures for the third-straight game. It marked the first time since 2007-08 that the Redhawks have won three-consecutive games by 10 or more points. In addition, Southeast heated up to shoot 69.6 (16-of-23) from the field in the second half.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 68, IPFW 67
YPSILANTI, Mich. - Trailing by one with 23 seconds left in the game, Sherman Blanford stole an IPFW inbound pass and drove to the hoop for the eventual game-winning basket to give the Panther men’s basketball team a 68-67 win over IPFW. EIU concluded the EMU Ice Man Classic with back-to-back wins, improving to 2-3 overall on the year.
The second stanza was close as neither team led by more than four points with EIU leading 54-40 with 8:54 left in the contest. Pierre Bland put the Mastodons (2-3) up 64-60 at the 3:28 mark, but the Panther defense held IPFW to 1-for-5 shooting down the stretch. The second half saw the two teams exchange leads 10 times with the game also being tied on 10 occasions.
The Panthers started the game hitting three of their first five shots to take an early 7-2 advantage at the 17:25 mark in the first half. EIU eventually pushed its lead to 11 points (26-15) with just over eight minutes on the clock before the Mastodons used an 18-6 run to take their first lead of the game with 1:13 left in the half. On the following possession, Alex Austin hit a baseline jumper with 39 seconds remaining before intermission to give EIU a 34-33 lead heading into the locker room.
Four EIU players scored in double figures with Blanford pacing the squad with 17 points while Josh Piper added 12 points. Both Morris Woods and Malcolm Herron both chipped in 11 points. Defensively, Blanford led the Panthers with seven rebounds.
Kevin Harden paced the Mastodons with 22 points while Luis Jacobo grabbed seven rebounds to lead IPFW on the glass. Frank Gaines also added 15 points in the IPFW loss.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 83, RADFORD 75
RICHMOND, Ky. - After a slow start, the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team came alive in the second half to beat Radford University, 83-75, in the Comfort Suites Invitational on Sunday at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels (4-0) trailed by as many as 16 in the first half and were down nine, 51-42, with 14 minutes left in the game. However, EKU answered by scoring eight straight to key a 20-4 run that put the home squad in the driver’s seat. Mike DiNunno’s three-pointer with 11:28 remaining gave Eastern its first lead of the game and the Colonels never trailed again.
Corey Walden’s trey capped the run and made it a seven-point game, 62-55, with 8:44 showing on the clock. Two free throws by R.J. Price got Radford within four with just under four minutes to play but Walden answered on the other end with a dunk. After the Highlanders missed two shots on their end, Jeff Johnson fed Tarius Johnson from the top of the key for a lay-up under the basket and an eight-point advantage, 73-65.
Radford (2-3) never got closer than six the rest of the way and Eastern stretched its lead to double digits in the final minute.
Glenn Cosey led the Colonels with 20 points. DiNunno added 19 points and five assists. Walden finished with 14 points. Javonte Green led all players with 28 points and nine rebounds for Radford. Ya Ya Anderson came off the bench to contribute 14 points.
Eastern Kentucky turned 20 Radford turnovers into 23 points while the Highlanders scored just 16 points of 12 EKU miscues.
Hot shooting and Colonel turnovers allowed Radford to build that 16-point first half lead. The Highlanders made 12 of their first 17 attempts from the field (70.6 percent) while EKU turned it over six times in the first seven minutes. After a basket by Green gave Radford its second 16-point lead, with 7:52 to play in the first half, Eastern got rolling.
On the back of a three-pointer by Cosey and two from DiNunno, the Colonels used a 19-7 run to get back in the game. Eastern also cleaned up its mistakes, making only one turnover over the final 12 minutes of the first half. Two free throws by Eric Stutz and a lay-up by Cosey capped the run and made it a four-point game, 39-35, with 2:14 left in the opening half. EKU went to the locker room down by six, 43-37.
BELMONT 70, STANFORD 62
STANFORD, Calif. - Riding unified team defense and poise under pressure, Belmont University men's basketball defeated defending NIT Champion Stanford, 70-62, Sunday night.
The Bruins, who returned west for the first time since the 2011 NCAA Tournament, faced a Cardinal team that held the nation's longest active win streak of eight games dating back to last March. Moreover, Stanford boasted a roster with five players of 6-9 or taller, not to mention the versatile and active 6-7 forward Josh Huestis.
Stanford elected to start its "big" frontcourt of Huestis, Dwight Powell and Stefan Nastic, posing a daunting challenge for Belmont.
But from the start, the Bruins showcased trademark execution and heady play. In addition, Belmont pressured the Cardinal at every turn, contesting every pass and every shot.
Four points from senior Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) gave the Bruins an early 8-6 lead. Powell, who scored a career-high 27 points against San Francisco in the season opener, picked up two personal fouls in the first 3:48 of the game, forcing him to the sidelines.
Belmont forced six Stanford turnovers in the first six minutes and held the Cardinal scoreless for a four minute stretch.
A short jumper from senior Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) increased the lead to 10-6 seven minutes in.
Then consecutive interior baskets from junior Blake Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.), senior Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas), junior J.J. Mann (Smyrna, Ga.) and senior Brandon Baker (Milford, Ohio) pushed the margin to 18-10 midway through the first half.
After Stanford cut the margin to four, consecutive three-pointers from freshman Craig Bradshaw (Franklin, Tenn.) and Mann gave Belmont a 26-16 lead with 6:01 left in the half.
Belmont seemed on the verge of breaking free, but several promising interior opportunities were wiped away on blocked shots from Huestis.
The Bruins maintained a modest lead, and used another Bradshaw three-pointer to take a 33-25 lead at halftime.
Belmont shot 38 percent (14-for-37) from the field in the opening 20 minutes – including 3-for-11 from three-point distance. The Bruins held Stanford to 31 percent shooting while forcing nine Cardinal turnovers.
The Bruins made a strong push to open the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points. Two Clark three-pointers sandwiched around a Noack basket gave Belmont a 41-27 lead with 18:11 left.
That's when things got rather unusual for Stanford. Powell, saddled with two personal fouls early, picked up his third foul with 17:32 left when called for charging into Noack. 43 seconds later, Powell was whistled for his fourth personal foul battling Baker for a rebound. Before Stanford could get a substitute to the scorer's table for Powell, the Bruins were allowed to resume play.
On the subsequent possession, Clark missed a contested driving layin but Baker swooped in for another weak side rebound. Baker proceeded to power towards the basket and collided with a recovering and off-balance Powell. Powell was called for his fifth personal foul on the play and was done for the evening with 16:37 left.
Powell picking up three fouls in 55 seconds sent shock waves through Maples Pavilion and completely changed the complexion of the remainder of play.
That being said, Stanford received clutch contributions off its bench to methodically work back into the game. After two Jenkins free throws gave Belmont a 44-34 lead, two free throws and a Christian Sanders three-pointer trimmed the margin in half.
Foul trouble plagued both teams in the second half, as the Bruins and Cardinal would each be in the bonus less than nine minutes into the half.
After Johnson bumped the lead back to seven, the talented Huntsville native picked up his fourth personal foul with 11:02 left, forcing the Bruin floor general to the bench.
Stanford took advantage of Johnson's absence. After an acrobatic Jenkins tip-in gave Belmont a 48-41 lead, two Andy Brown free throws capped an 8-0 Stanford run to give the hosts a 49-48 edge with 8:24 to go. It was Stanford's first lead since 6-4.
With momentum starting to shift and Belmont in desperate need of an offensive lift, the senior backcourt rose to the occasion. Johnson and Clark combined on three straight baskets, the final of which – a deep Clark three-pointer – gave Belmont a 55-53 lead with 5:34 left.
As fate would have it, Belmont would not trail again.
After one Brown free throw cut the margin to one, Noack would deliver arguably the biggest play of his career; a determined left-handed finish through contact and conventional three-point play with 5:09 left to push the Bruin lead to 58-54.
Following a defensive stop, Clark broke down the Cardinal defense and set up Jenkins for an easy two and a six point lead with 4:37 to go.
Two Chasson Randle free throws got Stanford within four before Johnson responded with a short jumper to bump the lead back to six with 2:54 remaining.
After an exchange of empty trips, Jenkins would steal the ball from Bright and allow Belmont to regain possession with under two minutes left.
Johnson took it from there, scoring another twisting layin to make the score 64-57 with 1:15 left.
Belmont made six of eight free throws in the final 59 seconds to secure the victory.
All told, Belmont shot 36 percent (25-for-69) from the field – including 6-for-23 from three-point distance. The Bruins grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and forced 17 Cardinal turnovers.
Belmont also held the talented Stanford backcourt of Randle and Bright to 2-for-21 shooting.
Clark paced four Bruins in double figures with 15 points. Johnson had 14 points, while Jenkins added 11 points and five rebounds. Noack had 10 points and six rebounds.
Mann provided nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sanders and Nastic led Stanford (3-1) with 11 points each.
COLORADO 81, MURRAY STATE 74
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) - Askia Booker had a career-high 23 points and Andre Roberson had 16 points and nine rebounds as Colorado won the Charleston Classic with an 81-74 victory over Murray State on Sunday night.
The Buffaloes (4-0) used an 11-1 run midway through the second half to break open a tie game and finish off their perfect trip South. Booker closed that run a 3-pointer and Colorado was ahead for good, 63-53 with 5:05 to go.
Murray State (3-1) was the last undefeated team in 2011-12, starting 23-0 on the way to a 31-2 record. The Racers got within five points several times down the stretch, including 79-74 on Isaiah Canaan's basket with 4 seconds left.
Booker, who scored 58 points in the three games, was awarded the tournament's most valuable player.
Canaan led Murray State with 21 points, although just six of those came in the second half. Ed Daniel had 20 points and 10 rebounds, while Dexter Fields added 18 points on five 3-pointers for Murray State.
Spencer Dinwiddie finished with 14 points, going 11-of-12 at the foul line for Colorado. Buffaloes coach Tad Boyle said he'd spend some of the tournament day off Saturday in the gym shooting foul shots after a 4 of 18 showing Friday against Baylor and it looked like it paid off. Colorado made 27 of 36 from the stripe against Murray State, including all six in the final minute to keep out front.
Colorado was 27 of 36 from the line against Murray State and moved to 4-0 for the first time in 18 years. It was the Buffaloes first in-season tournament victory since 2002-03 when they won three straight to take the Pepsi Classic in Charlotte, N.C.
Colorado and Murray State each came in looking for another tournament title. The Buffaloes won last season's Pac-12 Conference tournament in their first season in the league. Murray State jump started its 31-2 season with a win at the Great Alaska Shootout, defeating host Alaska-Anchorage, San Francisco and Southern Miss to win that event.
Colorado gutted out a 60-58 win over No. 16 Baylor to reach the championship game, despite their abyssmal foul shooting. Emotion may have driven the Buffaloes in that one since their 2012 NCAA tournament run was ended by Baylor.
Murray State blew past Auburn 79-59 in the opening round -- leading by as many as 36 on Thursday night -- then used a second-half run to get by St. John's.
The Racers came out quick against Colorado, building a 16-10 lead on Dexter Field's jumper and 3-pointer. The Buffaloes came back behind Booker's 7 points to tie it at 28-all.
Jeremy Adams had a 3-pointer and Andre Roberson a tip-in on Sabatino Chen's missed layup with 2 seconds left to give Colorado a 33-31 lead at the break.
Colorado pushed its lead to 39-33 in the second half as Roberson had another inside bucket before Murray State answered with a 12-3 to retake the lead.
The Buffaloes put together a 10-0 run to go back in front and once again the Racers responded, with Field's fourth 3-pointer tying the game at 52-all with 8:10 left.