SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Memphis 83,
Austin Peay 65
@Morehead State 71, Indiana State 63
Murray State 82, @Evansville 70
@#11 Missouri 68,
Tennessee State 38
Central Arkansas 88,
@Southeast Missouri 85
Toledo 67,
@Eastern Illinois 59
Eastern Kentucky 63, @Chattanooga 52
@Gardner-Webb 61,
Tennessee Tech 41
@Lipscomb 86,
UT Martin 62
@Western Illinois 55,
SIUE 38
MEMPHIS 83, AUSTIN PEAY 65
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball team ran up against a tough Memphis squad, Saturday, at FedExForum. The Govs fell behind early and never recovered, dropping an 83-65 decision to the Tigers, a preseason Top 20 selection.
Austin Peay (4-5) had a hard time against a big, physical Memphis (6-2) team; the Govs lost the rebounding battle 41-22, securing its lowest rebounding total since a 21-board effort against Southern Illinois, Nov. 21, 2010.
The Govs spent much of the first half playing catch-up. After jumping out to a quick 8-3 lead, 11 Austin Peay turnovers helped Memphis launch a 27-5 run that spanned nearly seven minutes.
After committing a season-low nine turnovers against Oakland City, Wednesday, the Govs couldn't find the handle against the Tigers. Austin Peay committed 17 turnovers in the first half and a season-high 28 in the contest.
When the Govs held onto the ball, they were particularly efficient in the first half. Austin Peay shot 58 percent (11-for-19) in the first half, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc, and 75 percent (6-for-8) from the free-throw line. Although the turnover issue held the Govs back early, Austin Peay's shooting cut the score to 43-30 at the half.
One Gov who was exemplary in the first half was junior guard Travis Betran. The Harlem, N.Y., native poured in 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting and jumped the passing lane for three steals in the game's first 20 minutes. He hit the only three-pointers for Austin Peay in the opening half. He finished with a career-high 27 points in the contest, and hit five of the Govs' six three-pointers in the game.
The teams spent the second half trading scores and turnovers, with the deficit never rising higher than 21 or falling lower than 13 points. Buoyed by the return of frontcourt mate Chris Horton, who missed much of the first half due to foul trouble, senior Will Triggs picked up some of Austin Peay's scoring slack in the second half. Ten of Triggs' 17 points came in the second half.
Horton, who was limited to 22 minutes due to foul trouble, scored eight points and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds on the day. He was held to one block, the first time this season he didn't record at least two blocks in a game.
The Govs shot 50 percent (24-for-48) from the field, the fourth time this season Austin Peay has hit at least half its shots. This is the first time the Govs have been saddled with a loss after hitting the 50 percent plateau.
MOREHEAD STATE 71, INDIANA STATE 63
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men’s basketball team used a 41-6 scoring advantage off the bench en route to a 71-63 victory over Missouri Valley Conference foe Indiana State on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles improve to 5-5 on the season, while the Sycamores slip to 4-3 on the year. Morehead State also pushes its all-time series advantage to 4-2 with its fourth straight win over Indiana State.
Senior Milton Chavis and sophomore Angelo Warner led the Eagles with 15 points apiece on a combined 8-of-14 from the floor. Warner's season high came on 5-of-6 from the free-throw line, while Chavis' total came in 21 minutes off the bench.
Morehead State jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the first seven minutes and never trailed in the game. MSU built its largest advantage at 45-29 with 15:24 to play in the second half.
Indiana State rallied by doubling up the hosts, 28-14, over an 11-minute span to trim its deficit to two with 2:55 remaining, but MSU iced the game by knocking down nine of its last 14 free throws.
Freshman Khristian Smith led the Sycamores with 20 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 8-of-11 from the free-throw line, while junior Manny Arop added 19 points with a trio of three-pointers.
The Eagles shot 49 percent (22-of-45) from the floor and hit 9-of-17 from three-point range, while holding ISU to 37 percent (17-of-46) overall and just 23 percent from the three-point line.
Morehead State forced 17 turnovers, which led to 19 points. The Eagles held ISU without a field goal for the final 7:04 of the opening half and first 5:56 of the second period. MSU also owned a 32-29 advantage on the glass.
MSU senior Devon Atkinson dished out a team-best four assists, while Warner also handed out three helpers.
MURRAY STATE 82, EVANSVILLE 70
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Murray State Racers won for the fourth straight time Saturday with an 82-70 win at the University of Evansville in the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
The Racers (7-1) overcame a 39-36 halftime deficit to push their school-record road winning streak to 15.
Brandon Garrett scored career-highs with 16 points and eight rebounds in the win and watched front-court mate Ed Daniel score his sixth straight double-double with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Isaiah Canaan had a 21-point day, while Stacy Wilson made it four Racers with double-figure scoring with 18 points.
Trailing by three at the half, the Racers turned up the defensive pressure at the start of the second half.
Garrett scored the first bucket and when MSU stopped the Aces on three straight possessions, Canaan hit a three-pointer and a fast break hoop and MSU had a 10-1 run and a 46-40 lead.
The run continued for MSU when Garrett scored a slam dunk and Jeffery Moss assisted Wilson for a layup. Canaan added his second three of the day and MSU’s run to start the half was 21-6 with a 57-45 lead with 11:29 remaining. Canaan hit another three with 3:54 remaining and MSU led by 14 at 72-58. MSU’s largest lead was 16 with 2:38 left.
MSU did as much clawing back from deficits of 15-2 only 5:02 into the game and 24-9 with 12:11 before half as they did in the second half.
MSU got back into the game when Daniel and Garrett combined for eight points starting at the 2:38 mark before half. When Canaan picked up a loose ball and scored at the buzzer, the Racers were back in the fight down only 39-36.
In the first half, MSU was held to 43 percent shooting on 14-of-32 shots, while the Purple Aces fired at 52 percent on 14-of-27 shots. However, the second half saw MSU hold UE to 35 percent on 10-of-29, while they were 18-of-27 for a blazing 68 percent.
MSU won the rebound battle 41-30 with the combination of Daniel and Garrett grabbing 23.
#11 MISSOURI 68, TENNESSEE STATE 38
COLUMBIA, Mo. - The Tennessee State men’s basketball team’s three-game win streak was snapped on Saturday when the team fell to Missouri, 68-38 in front of a crowd of 10,338.
TSU (4-6) forced 19 turnovers, but shot 23.8 percent from the field (15-of-63) and made just six of its 24 three-point attempts.
Robert Covington and Jordan Cyphers were the only members of the TSU team to score over ten points, as Covington led the team with 12 and Cyphers added 11.
Patrick Miller tallied a game-high five assists and played all 40 minutes of the game.
Missouri (8-1) won the tip and Laurence Bowers hit his first of seven first half shots, putting Missouri up 2-0 with only 20 seconds gone off of the clock.
Bowers finished with a game-high 18 points and 10 boards.
TSU answered UM’s quick score with a layup from Deshawn Dockery and Covington nailed a three-pointer at the 18:19 mark to give Tennessee State a one-point lead.
TSU got up by as many as four when Cyphers hit a wide-open three pointer, but Bowers and Alex Oriakhi were able to keep Missouri in the game by scoring the team’s first 19 points.
With the score tied at 15 with 10 minutes left in the first period, TSU’s defense clamped down and
didn’t allow Missouri a single point for nearly five minutes. TSU forced five turnovers during the stretch which helped the team accumulate 11 during the first half of play.
Missouri also played well defensively during the first stanza, as TSU only shot 29.6 percent from the field.
Bowers hit a three-pointer with 45 seconds left, putting TSU down 23-20 at halftime.
Missouri opened up the game after the break, and went on a 14-3 run that spanned seven minutes and 21 seconds.
TSU had a handful highlight reel play during the second half including a pair of strong, breakaway throw downs by Covington. The second was an alley-oop at the 2:52 mark off of a pretty dish by Miller, but it wasn’t enough.
Tennessee State scored just 18 points during the second half and lost to Missouri 38-68.
The 30-point loss was TSU’s worst since Nov. 22 of last year when the team fell at North Carolina by 33 points.
TSU was outrebounded 52 to 27, leading to 30 points in the paint for Missouri.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 88, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 85
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Robert Crawford scored a game-high 39 points and Jarvis Garner hit a free throw with six seconds left to help Central Arkansas (4-3) escape with an 88-85 victory over Southeast Missouri (6-6) Saturday night at the Show Me Center.
Southeast, which suffered its first home loss of the season, missed out on a number of opportunities down the stretch. Southeast and UCA went wire-to-wire in a game that was flooded by 10 lead changes, including six in the second half.
The Redhawks led by a point twice in the final eight minutes when Tyler Stone hammered down a dunk to give Southeast a 66-65 edge at the 7:52 mark and made a layup to grab a 68-67 advantage 42 seconds later. After that, Southeast never led again, despite having plenty of chances in the last minute.
Nino Johnson made a layup to slice UCA's lead to two (83-81) before he was fouled and went to the free throw line to shoot two with 1:02 seconds left. Johnson missed both of his attempts and A.J. Jones quickly fouled Crawford who knocked down two free throws to get the Bears a 85-81 cushion with 41 ticks.
Stone threw down another dunk to make it a two-point game again. Moments after a 30-second timeout, Lucas Nutt fouled LaQuentin Miles, who missed the front end of a 1-and-1. Johnson rebounded the ball, but turned the ball over with 18 seconds and Jones fouled. Ryan Williams then calmly sunk both of his free throws to give UCA an 87-83 edge.
Marland Smith responded by burying a jumper on Southeast's ensuing possession, chopping the Bears lead to 87-85 with 14 seconds. Then, after a 30-second timeout, Nutt tied up Miles and the Redhawks retained possession on a jump ball. Jones in-bounded the ball to Smith under Southeast's own basket, who had his shot blocked by Miles. The Redhawks immediately fouled to stop the clock with six seconds and Garner made the second of his two-shot foul. Southeast had one more possession, but Stone's three-pointer bounced off the rim at the buzzer, allowing UCA to hang on for the 88-85 win.
The Redhawks, who trailed 42-35 at halftime, led only once in the first half, where it shot just 34.5 percent (10-of-29) from the field and made 1-of-9 three-pointers. Southeast, however, turned around to shoot 65.5 percent (19-of-29) and outscore the Bears, 50-46, in the second stanza.
Crawford made 12-of-15 field goals, 7-of-9 three-pointers and a perfect 8-of-8 free throws to lead UCA. Miles, who played at Southeast in 2009-10, followed with 18 points, while Garner finished with a double-double 15 points and 10 rebounds.
UCA, one of the worst free throw shooting teams in the nation, came through against Southeast. The Bears missed only three free throws and wound up shooting 83.3 percent (15-of-18) on the night.
Stone became the first Redhawk to score 30 points in a game this season when poured in a career-high 32. He made 14-of-21 from the field and 3-of-4 at the free throw line. Stone scored at least 30 points against the Bears for the second year in a row. Three other starters, including Johnson, Corey Wilford and Nutt, also scored double figures.
Johnson recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 21 points and 16 rebounds, and gathered a game-high four blocks. Meanwhile, Wilford and Nutt chipped in 10 points apiece.
In addition, Southeast outrebounded UCA, 47-32, and committed 17 turnovers.
TOLEDO 67, EASTERN ILLINOIS 59
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Three Eastern Illinois players scored in double figures on Saturday but the Panthers (3-8) were unable to overcome a 59 percent shooting night by Toledo as the Rockets picked up a 67-59 victory in Lantz Arena. Toledo improved to 3-6.
The Rockets led from start to finish as they opened the game on a 7-0 run with Dominique Buckley starting the game with one of his three 3-pointers on the night. A 3-pointer by Reese Holliday with 13:45 to go in the first put Toledo up 16-7.
EIU answered with an 8-0 run that included 3-pointers by Alex Austin and Josh Piper as they trailed 16-15 with 10:08 left. Piper drained another 3-pointer with 9 minutes left as EIU again climbed to within one point. The Panthers made only six shots in the first half with five of them coming from 3-point range as they trailed 26-21 at the break. Piper had 11 of his 17 points in the first half knocking down three 3-pointers.
After shooting 53 percent in the first half, Toledo knocked down 64 percent from the floor in the second half as they pushed the lead to 13 points with 14:47 left to play on a jumper by Matt Smith. The Rockets were able to maintain an eight to ten point lead until the final four minutes.
Austin hit a pair of free throws to bring EIU to within five points at 58-53 with 3:57 left to play. Buckley answered with a jumper followed by a Julius Brown jumper to push Toledo’s lead back to nine points with 2:10 remaining.
Three-pointers by Taylor Jones and Piper in the next 45 seconds closed the Rockets lead to 63-59 with 1:25 left. Rian Pearson closed out his 22 point night on the next possession responding for Toledo with a jumper. Buckley sank two free throws in the final two seconds to account for the final score as he had 13 points.
Austin scored a career high 21 points with four 3-pointers. Sherman Blanford had 10 points.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 63, CHATTANOOGA 52
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky remained undefeated after jumping out to an 11-0 lead and never trailing in a 63-52 victory at Chattanooga on Saturday.
After a week off from game action during finals exams, the Colonels will put their unbeaten record on the line at No. 13 Illinois on Sunday, December 16.
Eastern Kentucky continues its best start in 66 years. The last time EKU started a season with more than five straight wins was in 1946-47 when the “Maroons” won their first 11 games. Eastern’s 9-0 start is tied for the third best in program history. EKU’s best starts have been 12-0 (1943-44), 11-0 (1946-47) and 9-0 (1939-40).
The Colonels’ nine-game winning streak is their longest since winning 10 in a row during the 1964-65 season.
Glenn Cosey and Mike DiNunno got the Colonels off to a quick start as Eastern scored the first 11 points of the game. Cosey scored the first six and DiNunno scored the next five. UTC had seven turnovers and only one field goal attempt in the first four minutes. The Mocs got on the board at the 16:06 mark with a free throw. A three-pointer by Cosey capped the quick start and had EKU on top 14-1.
Chattanooga stemmed the tide and got within six, 16-10, before Eastern went on a 12-4 run to stretch its lead to 28-14. Cosey’s third three-pointer polished off the run with 3:13 left in the opening period. The Colonels scored the final five points of the half, including another trey by Cosey, to take a 15-point lead – 33-18 – into the locker room at the break.
EKU scored 15 points off 12 Moc turnovers in the first half. UTC scored just two points off Eastern’s seven giveaways.
The lead continued to grow in the second half. A lay-up by DiNunno pushed the margin to over 20 for the first time, 49-28, with 13:30 left in the game. Cosey’s sixth and final three-pointer gave Eastern its largest lead, 56-33, with 8:04 to go. However, EKU scored only seven more points the rest of the game.
After the game was in hand, Chattanooga ran off 10 unanswered to close within 13. In the final 11 seconds the Mocs got as close as 11.
Cosey finished with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He hit 6-for-12 from three-point range, one shy of tying the school record of seven treys. The junior also had six rebounds, five assists and three steals. DiNunno had 12 points and six assists.
GARDNER-WEBB 61, TENNESSEE TECH 41
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb took home court advantage to another level Saturday evening, using a loud crowd presence and hot shooting to drop the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 61-41.
The Runnin' Bulldog defense lived up to its hype during the contest. Gardner-Webb came into the game limiting its opponents to just 58.5 points per contest and kept the Golden Eagles at bay with just 41 points.
Tech shot a season-low 29.2 percent from the field, a mark attributed to a smothering GWU defense. If the defense wasn't already enough, Gardner-Webb got plenty of offense from its top player, Tashan Newsome, who scored 27 points.
GWU opened the contest shooting a solid 9-for-15 from the field and 5-for-7 from three-point range in the first 10 minutes. While the home team cooled off after that, it was enough to hold off the Golden Eagles for the rest of the contest.
Junior forward, Matt Marseille led the Tech scoring effort with 10 points. Redshirt freshman Lanerryl Johnson added eight more. Seniors Terrell Barnes and Jud Dillard paced the Golden Eagles with seven rebounds apiece.
LIPSCOMB 86, UT MARTIN 62
NASHVILLE - Down four starters because of injuries, The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team fell 86-62 to the Lipscomb Bisons at Allen Arena this evening.
The Skyhawks (3-7) were led by sophomores Myles Taylor and Khristian Taylor tonight. Myles Taylor scored 14 points in 20 minutes, while Khristian Taylor tallied career-highs of 14 points and six rebounds for UT Martin. Mike Liabo (nine points, game-high four assists), Dee Oldham (eight) and BJ McLaughlin (seven) also chipped in to the Skyhawks’ offensive attack. Defensively, Omari Minor (four steals) and DeMarc Richardson (three) each set new career-highs in steals for UT Martin, who forced the Bisons into 20 turnovers tonight.
Martin Smith scored 22 points to lead Lipscomb (4-4), while Deonte Alexander (13 points), John Ross Glover (13) and Stephen Hurt (10) also cracked double-figures for the Bisons.
Myles Taylor got the Skyhawks started with an 18-foot jumper on the game’s opening possession to give UT Martin a 2-0 advantage. Lipscomb soon would go on an 11-2 run over a span of 2:57 to take an eight-point lead.
Baskets on back-to-back possessions by Myles Taylor and Khristian Taylor got the Skyhawks within six (15-9) with 15:22 left in the first half. The Bisons led by 10 points midway through the first half but UT Martin fought back with an 8-2 run – thanks to consecutive three-pointers by Liabo and Myles Taylor – to make the score 23-19 at the 8:20 mark.
Lipscomb responded with seven unanswered points until a McLaughlin three-pointer in the right corner got the Skyhawks back within single-digits at 30-22. However, the Bisons posted a 16-5 run over the final 4:25 of the first half to take a 46-27 halftime lead.
Myles Taylor’s nine points paced the Skyhawks in the first half, while Smith, Alexander and Glover each scored 11 points to lead Lipscomb.
UT Martin began the second half on a 7-2 run, with five points coming via Myles Taylor. After the Skyhawks sliced their deficit to 14 points, the Bisons responded with an 8-2 run over the next 2:14 before back-to-back buckets by Khristian Taylor and Liabo made the score 56-40 with 15:34 left to play.
The Bisons held a 63-40 before UT Martin reeled off five unanswered points – capped off by a basket inside by Tobias Dowdell. Down the stretch, the Skyhawks were led by Khristian Taylor, who poured in nine straight points for UT Martin late in the contest.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 55, SIUE 38
MACOMB, Ill. - Missing two starters and four players overall, SIUE men's basketball fell to 0-4 away from home with a 55-38 loss at Western Illinois Saturday night.
Mark Yelovich (ankle), Zeke Schneider (ankle), and Charles Joy (back) each missed their third consecutive game. Maurice Wiltz missed the game, after suffering an injury in practice Friday afternoon.
SIUE fell to 2-5 overall. Western Illinois improved to 7-3. The Leathernecks have won four consecutive games. The two schools split the season series, after SIUE defeated Western Illinois 62-50 Nov. 14 in Edwardsville.
The 38 points were a season low for the Cougars, and the fewest since a 68-38 loss at Illinois State last season. It was a familiar story for the Cougars, who turned the ball over 19 times. The Cougars have committed 17 or more turnovers in four of their five losses this season.
SIUE did not have a player finish in double figures scoring. Michael Messer led the Cougars with nine points. Jerome Jones finished with seven points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Leathernecks connected on 5 of 10 three-point attempts in the first half and held a 34-18 lead at half.
The Cougars opened the half with a 7-2 run to cut the lead to 11 at 36-25. Reggie Reed, who made his first career start, connected on his first career three-pointer during the stretch. SIUE got as close as 10 in the second half when Jones hit a layup at 8:55 to make it 42-32. The Leathernecks went on an 11-0 run to lead 53-32 with 3:36 remaining.
For the game the Cougars converted a season-low 14 of 43 attempts (32.6percent) from the floor, but outrebounded Western Illinois 30-29.
The Leathernecks were led by Adam Link who scored 14 points. Terrell Parks and Don McAvoy each added 11 points. Parks led the team with nine rebounds.