SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#9 Kansas 89,
Belmont 60
Jacksonville State 66, @Presbyterian 59 (OT)
@Saint Louis 73,
UT Martin 51
Tennessee Tech 69, @Milwaukee 58
#9 KANSAS 89, BELMONT 60
LAWRENCE, Kan. - Belmont University men's basketball dropped an 89-60 decision to No. 9 Kansas Saturday night.
After an inspired victory over Middle Tennessee Thursday night, the Bruins made the quick turnaround to face one of the most tradition-rich program in the country.
Kansas, fresh off an appearance in last year's National Championship game, returned four senior starters and a bevy of talented underclassmen. Moreover, the Jayhawks entered the evening riding a 59-game non-conference home court winning streak.
The game also featured two of college basketball's most respected head coaches - Belmont's Rick Byrd and Kansas' Bill Self - men leading programs with championship resumes and sterling graduation rates.
As fate would have it, the Bruin senior class played at historic Allen Fieldhouse as freshmen; having been indoctrinated to the boisterous, basketball-savvy environment.
But it would be an inauspicious start for Belmont , as off the opening tip Ben McLemore made a deep three pointer for Kansas five seconds in.
Mere moments after sinking a baseline three-pointer, Belmont standout senior Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) picked up his second foul just 3:39 into the game. The
Seven early points from Travis Releford pushed Kansas out to a 16-5 lead less than six minutes in, before Belmont steadied itself and really played toe-to-toe the remainder of the first half.
A three-pointer from senior Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) got Belmont within 39-28 with 46 seconds left in the half.
But rather than a defensive stop and a chance to cut to single-figures by halftime, the Bruins endured a driving layin from Elijah Johnson, a curious turnover on senior Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) that wiped away a made field goal, and a conventional three-point play by McLemore at the buzzer, giving the Jayhawks a 44-28 lead at halftime.
Kevin Young capped a 13-4 Kansas run to start the second half.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 66, PRESBYTERIAN 59 (OT)
CLINTON, S.C. - After a cold-shooting night in regulation, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team got going in overtime to pull off a 66-59 road win over Presbyterian on Saturday, extending the Gamecocks' best start in their Div. I history.
The Gamecocks (8-2) scored on every possession in the extra frame and used a career-high 24 points from junior Brian Williams to grab their fifth win in a row. They handed the Blue Hose (2-8) their first home loss in a young season that has seen them play one of the tougher schedules in college basketball.
After a long 3-pointer from Williams just before the half, the Lawrenceville, Ga., native went to work, scoring the first nine points in the second half and connecting on a career-high six 3-pointers. He scored 16 points after the half to team with senior Tarvin Gaines and sophomore Darion Rackley to combine for 56 of the Gamecocks' 66 points.
Gaines scored 17 points, 12 after the half, and Rackley added 15 in the win. The trio keyed a rally after a 19-point first half and shot 52 percent from the floor the rest of the way to stave off a hungry Presbyterian team that had won two of its last three gtames.
Williams big night was the Gamecocks' third 20-point effort in the last two games after Rackley (27) and Boggs (20) achieved the feat in a Tuesday win over Martin Methodist. Boggs scored only five in Saturday's win but contributed in another way. The senior led all players with 10 rebounds, a number that led to a 30-29 JSU advantage on the glass.
The Blue Hose were led by their leading scorer Khalid Mutakabbir, who scored 17 points. William Truss, a Birmingham native, added 15 points and eight boards for PC.
The Gamecocks were ice cold from the floor to start the game and even suffered through an 8:20 stretch without a field goal, but a Williams 3-pointer at the buzzer gave them just a 22-19 deficit at the half.
The Gamecocks got to the free throw line early in the second half and three Rackley charity shots with 17:37 to play tied the game at 26-26, the first tie since it was 2-2 just 46 seconds after tipoff.
The Blue Hose answered with a couple of buckets but two 3-pointers from Rackley, the second with 14:51 gave the Gamecocks their first lead since their 2-0 lead to start at 34-33.
Presbyterian battled back to tie the score again at 35-35, but Williams answered with a trey from the left wing that gave the Gamecocks a 38-35 lead with just over 12 minutes to play. Williams then knocked down two more that keyed a JSU run and gave the Gamecocks a 44-37 lead, their largest to that point.
The Blue Hose made their run, holding JSU without a field goal from the 7:16 mark to the 1:58 mark. They were able to reclaim the lead with just over three minutes to play on Williams Truss's second 3-point field goal of the year, a shot that gave PC a 47-46 lead.
After an exchange of free throws, PC tied it at 50-50 and then got a stop to get the ball with 34 seconds left and supposedly a chance to take the final shot. The Blue Hose couldn't inbound the ball, however, and gave JSU that final attempt in regulation.
Williams found a lane as time expired but his floater missed long to send the game into overtime.
The Gamecocks went to work from the floor in the extra period, getting points on every possession and connecting on five of their six field goal attempts, including a 3-for-3 effort from 3-point land in overtime.
SAINT LOUIS 73, UT MARTIN 51
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team received a game-high 20 points out of Myles Taylor this evening, but Saint Louis used a run late in the first half and the Skyhawks couldn’t recover in a 73-51 loss at Chaifetz Arena.
Taylor showed out in the first half, accounting for 15 of UT Martin’s first 18 points through the first 12:12 of the contest. The sophomore out of Little Rock, Ark. concluded his night with 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting – his eighth career 20-plus point outing.
Mike Liabo added nine points tonight for UT Martin (3-8), while Jeremy Washington hauled in a team-best six rebounds in his first action since Nov. 16 at Arkansas State.
Jordair Jett’s 17 points led the way for Saint Louis (6-3), the Atlantic 10 powerhouse who advanced to the third round of last year’s NCAA Tournament. Mike McCall, Jr. also tossed in 14 points for the Billikens.
A BJ McLaughlin bucket inside gave UT Martin a 6-4 advantage at the 17:47 mark. The Skyhawks were within one possession of the Billikens in the first four minutes of the game before a 9-0 Saint Louis run took place to make the score 18-8 at the 12:28 mark.
A Taylor turnaround jumper at the 11:33 mark got the UT Martin offense going again, as Taylor would later reel off seven straight points for the Skyhawks to keep their deficit within single-digits.
Saint Louis went on a 15-5 run down the stretch of the first half before Justin Childs knocked down a three-pointer with 38 seconds left in the first half. The Billikens answered with a basket on the final possession of the half to take a 45-28 halftime lead.
Taylor’s 15 points led all scorers at the half, while McCall, Jr.’s 11 points paced Saint Louis in the first stanza.
A Taylor jumper with 18:14 to play sliced the Skyhawk deficit to 46-30, but Saint Louis responded with seven of the next eight points to lead by 22 with just under 15 minutes left.
Both teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes until UT Martin went on a 6-2 spurt to make the score 65-45 with 5:24 remaining. The Skyhawks would get within 20 points on two more occasions but that was ultimately as close as they would get the rest of the way.
TENNESSEE TECH 69, MILWAUKEE 58
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Hot shooting helped the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team claim a 69-58 road win at Milwaukee Saturday night, with four players scoring in double digits.
The Golden Eagles came out hitting on all cylinders, opening the contest with a 10-0 run that saw them go four-for-five from the field and one-for-one from the free throw line in the game's first three minutes. Tech led the entire game.
The Panthers used impressive free throw shooting to tighten the Golden Eagle lead heading into overtime, hitting all 11 attempts from the charity stripe in the first half. Milwaukee cut the Tech lead to just four heading into the locker room at halftime.
The Golden Eagles were relentess to open the second half, scorching the Panther defense for a 6-0 run to get back to a double-digit edge and essentially put the game out of reach with strong defensive play. The Tech defense held UWM to just 32 percent shooting on the night, inlcuding a meager 5-for-25 from 3-point range. TTU forced 16 Milwaukee turnovers during the game, making nine steals and blocking three shots.
Tech came into the contest with a gameplan of getting the ball near the basket and scoring down low. That's exactly what transpired, with 40 of the team's 69 points coming inside the paint. The scoring for TTU was very spread out, with four different players scoring in double-digits.
Leading the scoring effort for the Golden Eagles was senior guard Jud Dillard, who recorded 17 points and 11 rebounds. It marked the fourth double-double for the Atlanta, Ga. native on the season and continued an important trend for the team. Tech has now won every game that Dillard has led the team in scoring.
Chipping in on the offensive side of the ball were guards Jeremiah Samarrippas and Lanerryl Johnson. Samarrippas, a junior transfer from Southern Methodist, put together a well-rounded game, scoring 10 points, recording four rebounds, forcing four turnovers, and dishing out six assists on just one turnover. Johnson, a redshirt freshman, added 15 points for the Golden Eagles on top of three steals and three assists.
Rounding out the double-digit scoring for Tech was junior forward Dennis Ogbe, who recorded a season-high 15 points . The native of Munich, Germany added eight rebounds and shot an impressive six-for-eight from the field and two-for-two from the charity stripe.
Senior big man Terrell Barnes, who played in his 100th career game and is still recovering from an off-season foot injury, added 21 solid minutes despite making two quick fouls in the game's first three minutes.
Freshman forward Anthony Morse continued his strong defensive season, recording two blocks in the contest to add to his season total of nine. He added six points, the most for the young big man since the Golden Eagles' season opener against Crowley's Ridge.
Sophomore guard Javon McKay opened up the offense for Tech, scoring the first bucket of each half. He finished the game with four points and two rebounds.