WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@North Carolina A&T 78,
Eastern Kentucky 67
@Belmont 76, South Dakota State 49
@SIUE 81, Robert Morris-Springfield 49
@South Dakota 85,
Morehead State 75
@Southeast Missouri 94, New Orleans 71
Samford 75,
@UT Martin 62
@Saint Louis 72,
Eastern Illinois 45
Murray State 61, @Arkansas State 54
NORTH CAROLINA A&T 78, EASTERN KENTUCKY 67
GREENSBORO, N.C. - Eastern Kentucky led North Carolina A&T by 17 in the first half, but a poor second half doomed the Colonels in a 78-67 road loss on Wednesday.
EKU (9-2) shot 50 percent from the field, knocked down eight three-pointers and benefited from 14 Aggie turnovers in the first half. A free throw by Glenn Cosey with 3:48 remaining in the opening period capped a 24-4 run and staked the Colonels to their largest lead, 37-20.
However, North Carolina A&T (5-7) didn’t fold. The Aggies scored the final nine points of the first half and the first three points of the second half to get right back in the game. Three free throws by Jean Louisme cut the visitor’s lead to five, 37-32.
Eastern seemed to have stymied the rally after pushing back out in front by 10 on a lay-up and free throw by Marcus Lewis. However, the Colonels went almost eight minutes without scoring again and had only one basket over a 12 minute span. The Aggies rolled off a 25-2 run and led 59-46 with 5:13 on the clock.
EKU wouldn’t get closer than nine the rest of the way.
After turning it over 14 times in the first half, North Carolina A&T gave it away only four times in the second. The Colonels shot just 30 percent (8-for-27) in the second period and tied their season high with 19 turnovers in the game. After sinking 8-of-15 from long distance to start the game, EKU made just 3-of-11 in the final 20 minutes.
Mike DiNunno scored a game-high 22 points. All five of his field goals were from behind the arc and the senior made 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Lewis finished with 14 off the bench to go along with four steals. Cosey had 11 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Louisme led the Aggies with 18 points. Lamont Middleton finished with 12 points and eight assists. North Carolina A&T went to the free throw line 12 more times and out-rebounded Eastern by 12.
BELMONT 76, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 49
NASHVILLE - Behind a spirited 18-0 run midway through the second half, Belmont University men's basketball defeated South Dakota State, 76-49, Wednesday night.
With nine NBA scouts on hand to check out three of the best senior guards in the nation – Belmont's Ian Clark and Kerron Johnson and South Dakota State's Nate Wolters – two teams known more for free, flowing, high-execution offense showcased tremendous defense, especially in the first half.
Belmont limited SDSU to 8-for-31 shooting in the first half, but the Bruins committed an uncharacteristic eight first half turnovers. The first half was marked by four ties and six lead changes.
Trevor Noack had 12 first half points as Belmont led 26-22 at the break.
Belmont would twice build leads of six points early in the second half, before SDSU tied the score at 37 with 12:18 left on a layin from Tony Fiegen.
From there, Belmont turned it on – riding strong pressure defense and unselfish offense to score 18 unanswered points over the next 3:26. The Bruins got four three-point field goals, capped by a baseline three-pointer from Craig Bradshaw, making the score 55-37 with 8:50 left.
In fact, SDSU went eight and half minutes without a field goal after the Fiegen layin, getting a layin from Marcus Heemstra with 3:43 left.
Belmont shot 68 percent (17-for-25) in the second half, including 7-for-11 from three-point distance.
Belmont (8-3) outrebounded SDSU (9-4) 43-30, while limiting the Jackrabbits to 27 percent shooting (17-for-63).
Noack paced four Bruins in double figures with a career-high 24 points. Clark had 15 points, Johnson 13, eight rebounds, and six assists, and Blake Jenkins tallied his second career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
SIUE 81, ROBERT MORRIS-SPRINGFIELD 49
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Four players scored in double figures Wednesday as SIUE men's basketball rolled to an 81-49 triumph over Robert Morris-Springfield at the Vadalabene Center.
The 81 points scored was a season-high for the Cougars while the 49 points allowed also was a season-best for SIUE.
Michael Messer and Kris Davis shared scoring honors for the Cougars with 15 points each. Jerome Jones pumped in 13 points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds. Derian Shaffer added 11 points.
The Cougars, now 4-5, held the Eagles to just 13 first-half points. Robert Morris connected on just 5 of 29 shots from the field (17.2 percent) in the first 20 minutes, and SIUE led 39-13 at the break.
SIUE shot a season-high 52.1 percent (25-48) from the floor for the game while sinking a season-best 25 free throws in 29 attempts.
The Cougars also collected a season-best 16 assists. Reggie Reed paced SIUE with a career-high seven helpers.
Reid David led the Eagles with a game-high 16 points. Jordan Softley added 10 points for Robert Morris-Springfield, which fell to 4-6 with the loss.
SOUTH DAKOTA 85, MOREHEAD STATE 75
VERMILLION, S.D. - The South Dakota men’s basketball team used a 35-point advantage at the free-throw line to post an 85-75 victory over Morehead State on Wednesday night at the DakotaDome.
The Summit League Coyotes improve to 5-6 on the year, while the Ohio Valley Conference Eagles slip to 5-7. USD also moves to 3-1 in the all-time series with its second straight win over MSU.
South Dakota connected on a school-record 43 free throws, while missing just seven attempts from the charity stripe. The Coyotes drilled 22-of-26 in the first half and 21-of-24 in the second stanza.
MSU, which entered the contest with 94 more fouls than its opponents this season, was whistled for 32 infractions, while USD committed just eight. The Eagles made just 8-of-11 from the foul line.
South Dakota senior Juevol Myles, a transfer from Kansas State, poured in a game and season-high 32 points on 7-of-13 from the field and 15-of-16 from the charity stripe. He played all 40 minutes.
Junior Karim Rowson added 17 points for the Coyotes on 11-of-14 from the foul line, while sophomore Brandon Bos chipped in with 12 and junior Steve Tecker contributed 11.
South Dakota drilled 44 percent overall (18-of-41) and 38 percent from three-point range (6-of-16).
Morehead State made just 38 percent from the field (28-of-74). The Eagles connected on just 2-of-7 from long distance in the first half, but rimmed home 9-of-19 from beyond the arc after halftime.
Junior Maurice Lewis-Briggs tallied 24 points and 13 rebounds -- both highs in a Morehead State uniform -- in 27 minutes off the bench. He drilled 9-of-18 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from the arc.
Junior Chad Posthumus chipped in with 13 points and seven rebounds for the Eagles, while sophomore Angelo Warner registered MSU’s first eight points en route to 11 for the night.
Senior Devon Atkinson handed out a game-best 11 assists -- his career high by one -- as Morehead State recorded 18 helpers on 28 field goals, with just eight turnovers.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 94, NEW ORLEANS 71
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Corey Wilford dropped in a game-high 18 points, Nino Johnson added 16 and Lucas Nutt dished out 10 assists to lead Southeast Missouri (7-6) to a 94-71 win over New Orleans (3-7) Wednesday night at the Show Me Center.
Southeast led by only three points at halftime, but used a big second half to pull away from the Privateers. Wilford buried a three-pointer on three-straight possessions to kickstart an 11-4 run and get Southeast its first double-digit lead early in the second half, and the Redhawks never looked back.
Wilford's barrage came in a span of 1:02, as he threw in one trey from the left corner, one from the right wing and another in transition off the left perimeter. His third trifecta extended the Redhawks lead to 53-43 less than three minutes into the second stanza.
Eddie Denard's free throw cut Southeast's lead to 53-48 at the 15:55 mark, but that was as close as UNO would get. The Redhawks went on a 13-5 run in the last 3:08 to put the Privateers away for good.
Johnson hit a pair of free throws before Jared White followed with a layup to give Southeast its biggest lead of the night (89-69) with 1:26 left. White later converted a three-point play in the final six seconds to cap the 94-71 victory.
Southeast, which won a game by 20 or more points for the third time this season, outscored UNO, 52-32, in the second half.
The Redhawks and Privateers shot over 50 percent, but neither team led by more than six points in a see-saw first half. Corey Blake converted a three-point play to give the Privateers a 13-7 lead with 14:17 left to play before the Redhawks responded with seven straight points to tie the game.
Marland Smith hit a three-pointer and A.J. Jones added a layup. Johnson followed with a jumper to knot the game at 14-14 with 13:16 left. Shortly after Tyler Stone scored on a layup to grab Southeast a 20-19 edge, the Redhawks used a 7-2 run to build their biggest lead of the half.
White stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a layup, while Stone made a jumper and Wilford nailed a three-pointer to give Southeast a 27-21 advantage with 8:32 remaining. Wilford then scored the last four points of the half to grab the Redhawks a 42-39 lead at the intermission.
Southeast shot 54.8 percent (34-of-62) from the field and made 10-of-25 three-pointers. The Redhawks finished with 10 or more three-pointers in a game for the third time this season. Wilford shot 6-of-10 from the field and 5-of-8 from downtown. His five three-pointers matched a career-high. Johnson also went 6-of-10 from the floor and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, Nutt fell two points shy of a double-double. He scored eight points and collected one steal to go along with his season-high 10 assists. Nutt, who did not turn the ball over in 30 minutes, needs just one more assist to get 300 in his career.
Nick Niemczyk and Stone contributed 13 and 12 points off the bench, respectively. Stone did not start for the first time this season due to a bruised right shoulder. He made 36-consecutive starts prior to tonight. In fact, the last time Stone did not start in a game was at Arkansas State on Nov. 29, 2011.
With Stone out of the lineup, Southeast started four guards for the first time this year. The Redhawks perimeter players came up big, combining for 66 points and only one turnover. Southeast had a season-low seven turnovers on the night. White, Jones and Smith each chipped in nine points to the nice showing by the Redhawk guards.
Blake led all UNO scorers with 13 points.
Southeast ended a two-game losing streak in its return to the hardwood after an 11-day layoff.
SAMFORD 75, UT MARTIN 62
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team received a game-high 23 points out of junior Mike Liabo this evening, but the Skyhawks fell 75-62 to Samford at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Tonight’s game was the 10th time in Liabo’s career that he had registered 20 or more points. He tied a career-high with five 3-pointers this evening and added team-highs of four assists and three steals for UT Martin (3-9).
Sophomore Myles Taylor added 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Skyhawks, who led by as many as seven points in the first half. Justin Childs scored nine points and Jeremy Washington tallied seven points, five rebounds and four assists for UT Martin, who outrebounded Samford by a 30-28 margin.
Samford (3-10) was led by Will Cook’s 18 points, while Raijon Kelly (16 points), Tim Williams (16), Clide Geffrard, Jr. (11) and Connor Miller (10) also reached double-figures for the Bulldogs.
The Skyhawks held a pair of early leads before Samford scored six unanswered to take a 9-4 lead. UT Martin soon would bust out for a 14-2 run over a stretch of 4:30, capped off by five straight points by Liabo.
UT Martin held the lead up until Samford evened the score at 20-all with 7:47 left before the half. A steal and coast-to-coast layup by Childs at the 7:20 mark pushed the Skyhawks back on top 22-20 but the Bulldogs responded with a 7-0 run. A conventional three-point play by Washington sliced UT Martin’s deficit to two but Samford took a 36-30 at the half.
Childs and Cook each had nine points to lead their respective teams at the break. The Skyhawks shot 55 percent (11-for-20) in the first half.
Early baskets by Liabo and Washington kept UT Martin within four in the early stages of the second half, but Samford scored eight straight points to go on top 46-34 with 14:51 remaining.
A pair of Jones free throws with a little over 11 minutes left to play got the Skyhawks within 10 points (50-40). Samford answered with two straight three-pointers before UT Martin caught fire from three-point range late in the game.
Liabo sank four trifectas and Dee Oldham added another in a span of 2:38 to help the Skyhawks get within single-digits (67-58). However, UT Martin wouldn’t get any closer the rest of the way.
SAINT LOUIS 72, EASTERN ILLINOIS 45
SAINT LOUIS - Saint Louis opened the game on an 18-3 run as the Billikens beat Eastern Illinois on Wednesday by a 72-45 score. SLU improved to 7-3 while EIU fell to 3-9 overall.
Cory Remekum scored six of the Billikens first nine points as SLU had balanced scoring on the night. Mike McCall knocked down a 3-pointer in the opening nine points as he finished with a team high 13 points.
Freshman Alex Austin scored EIU’s first bucket with a 3-pointer at 17:44 that cut SLU’s early lead to 4-3, that was as close as the Panthers would get. Austin had his second straight big offensive night scoring 17 points including 10 of EIU’s first 12 points. Austin finished 6-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-3 from 3-point range.
SLU led 37-20 at the half shooting 60 percent in the opening 20 minutes and 57 percent for the game. EIU shot 43 percent for the game including 50 percent in the second half.
McCall drained back-to-back 3-pointers for SLU to open the second half. EIU responded with six points of its own on a pair of buckets by Sherman Blanford and one by Cameron Harvey.
SLU took advantage of its size scoring 24 points in the paint compared to 14 points for EIU. SLU had 22 points off of 14 EIU turnovers. SLU won the battle on the glass by a 30-19 margin.
The night marked a return for EIU head coach Jay Spoonhour to a place that his father Charlie Spoonhour was a successful coach. At halftime of the game former SLU star Larry Hughes was honored with an award as the Donate Life Champion Award.
“We played this game tonight because Coach Rick Majerus called during the summer and wanted to make this an Organ Donor night and wanted to honor my dad,” said Spoonhour of the game and halftime presentation. “Some things have changed since then but at half I wanted my team to see Larry Hughes and see what an important thing Organ Donation can be.”
MURRAY STATE 61, ARKANSAS STATE 54
JONESBORO, Ark. - Stacy Wilson scored 12 points, including a key 3-pointer in the final minute, and pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds as Murray State topped Arkansas State 61-54 on Wednesday night.
With the victory Murray State (9-1) increased its road winning streak to a nation's-best 16 games; the Racers have not lost a true road game since the end of the 2010-11 season.
Overall it was the sixth-straight victory for MSU since its lone loss of the season to Colorado.
Arkansas State (6-4) led by one at halftime and the second half was back-and-forth until there was eight minutes left in the game. With the score tied at 47, All-American Isaiah Canaan hit a 3-pointer to put MSU on top for good. Dexter Fields added a 3-pointers on the team's next possesion to push the advantage to six points.
After the Red Wolves trimmed the margin to one with 1:25 to play, Wilson connected from long range as MSU outscored ASK 6-0 over the final minute of the game.
Canaan had a game-high 18 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
Ed Townsel led Arkansas State with 15 points while Brandon Peterson added 14 points and 11 rebounds.