THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 76, Tennessee State 67
Belmont 64, @Morehead State 63
@Jacksonville State 81, Austin Peay 74
@SIUE 80, Southeast Missouri 77
Murray State 47, @Tennessee Tech 39
@Eastern Illinois 69, UT Martin 56
EASTERN KENTUCKY 76, TENNESSEE STATE 67
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky shot 56 percent from the field and 44 from three-point range in a 76-67 victory over Tennessee State on Thursday. The Tigers came into the game sitting in second place in the Ohio Valley Conference East Division with the Colonels a half-game behind.
The Colonels (16-4, 6-1 OVC) scorched the nets to the tune of 67 percent shooting in the first half, including hitting 6-of-10 attempts from three-point range. An 8-1 run, book-ended by treys from Corey Walden and Mike DiNunno, turned an 8-point lead into a 15-point advantage, 33-18, with 2:39 remaining in the opening period. Eastern took a 15-point lead, 39-24, into the locker room at the break.
The Tigers (12-9, 6-2 OVC) began the second half by scoring the first 11 points to get within six. A three-pointer by Jordan Cyphers with 13 minutes left in the game cut the Colonel lead to four, 47-43. However, EKU answered with a 12-3 run to regain control. DiNunno and Timmy Knipp each hit three-pointers. A dunk by Marcus Lewis capped the spurt and had the home team on top by 13, 59-46, with 7:45 showing on the clock.
Six straight free throws by DiNunno, including four as a result of two technical fouls on Tennessee State, gave Eastern its largest lead of 17 points, 67-50, with 5:28 to play. The Tigers never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
DiNunno scored a game-best 24 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. He made 4-of-10 from behind the arc on his way to a third straight 24-point performance. The senior also had seven assists.
Walden added 22 points, five rebounds and three assists. Eric Stutz contributed 10 points and eight rebounds.
Patrick Miller had 20 points to lead the Tigers. Cyphers finished with 15. M.J. Rhett scored five and grabbed 10 rebounds. TSU made just 30 percent of its first half shots and 37 percent for the game. Tennessee State grabbed 16 offensive boards and out-rebounded EKU by six, but was out-scored in the paint by 14.
BELMONT 64, MOREHEAD STATE 63
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Belmont University men's basketball delivered clutch plays down the stretch to defeat Morehead State, 64-63, Thursday night.
With temperatures frigid outside Johnson Arena figuratively seeping inside, Belmont never could work into a rhythm.
Belmont would lead 2-0 and 64-63; Morehead State led the entire game in between.
After senior Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) got Belmont off to a 2-0 start, Morehead State answered with 11 straight points.
Belmont had opportunities to work into the game, but 1-for-9 three-point shooting and six missed free throws hurt the cause.
Bakari Turner scored 16 first half points for MSU as the Eagles led 36-25 at halftime.
Both teams found an offensive rhythm early in the second half, with Belmont closing to 46-40 on a Reece Chamberlain three-pointer.
Belmont twice got withiin four points, before a three-pointer from Milton Chavis and free throw shooting kept Morehead State to a modest lead.
Trailing 61-53 with 4:18 left, senior Ian Clark (Memphis, Tenn.) started the Bruin comeback push with a three-pointer.
Clark then followed with a baseline layin to close Belmont within 61-58 with 2:52 left.
After a Noack steal, junior J.J. Mann (Smryna, Ga.) tied the game with a three-pointer with 2:02 remaining.
Chad Posthumus put MSU back on top, 63-61, with 1:34 to go. But on Belmont's next possession, Clark drove and found Mann for a wing three-pointer with 1:13 left; Belmont's first lead since 2-0.
After a Chavis miss, Belmont worked possession - with a 15 second differential between game clock and shot clock - but Mann and Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) misconnected on a promising backdoor feed with 18 seconds, giving MSU a final chance.
Bakari Turner missed a driving layin with three seconds left. Noack would be fouled with 0.9, and miss the front-end of a one-and-one intentionally as time expired.
Clark led Belmont with 20 points. Mann added 11.
Turner led Morehead State (10-11, 4-3 OVC) with 16 points - all in the first half.
The Bruins shot 62 percent in the second half, including 6-for-12 from three-point distance.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 81, AUSTIN PEAY 74
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Senior Tarvin Gaines scored a season-high 28 points and the Jacksonville State men's basketball team held off a late rally by Austin Peay to pull off a 81-74 victory Thursday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The Gamecocks (13-7, 5-4 Ohio Valley Conference) shot season highs in percentage from the floor (.540, 27-for-50), behind the 3-point line (.538, 7-for-13) and from the charity stripe (.870, 20-for-23) to win their second-straight against the Govs (5-16, 1-6 OVC).
The Governors, trailed by 14 at early in the second half but shot 63.6 percent from the floor in the second half to fight back into it. The Gamecocks connected on 13 of their 15 attempts from the free throw line to hold off the rally and grab their first two-game winning streak in the history of the series.
Gaines, a native of West Memphis, Ark., native, was 11-of-18 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. His season-high points total were the most in a game by a JSU player since he scored 30 against Alabama State on Nov. 19, 2011.
Junior Brian Williams scored 17 points, thanks to a 4-for-6 shooting night from the behind the arc. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native also dished eight assists, the fourth time he's distributed five or more assists in the last five games.
Senior Ronnie Boggs scored 16 points to go with his career-high seven steals. He also notched a team-high seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks. Junior Nick Cook blocked three shots and added eight points on the offensive end.
As a team, the Gamecocks scored 19 fast break points while forcing 17 Governor turnovers.
The Govs got a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds from Chris Horton, while Travis Betran also put in 18 points in the loss.
The Gamecocks got off to a hot start, connecting on 9 of their first 11 shots to build a 23-9 lead less than 10 minutes into the first half. The Governors would fight back, answering with a 11-1 run to cut the lead to 24-22 with 6:07 left in the half.
Gaines would respond for the Gamecocks, scoring six-straight points to spur an 11-4 run to close the half and give JSU a 37-26 lead.
Senior Mason Leggett opened the second half with a 3-pointer that gave the Gamecocks a 14 point lead, tying their largest of the night. The Gamecocks would hold on by going 7-of-8 from the charity stripe during the final two minutes.
SIUE 80, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 77
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - – Mark Yelovich and Jerome Jones combined to score 33 points Thursday, and SIUE men's basketball won for the third time in four games, defeating Southeast Missouri 80-77 in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Vadalabene Center.
The win moved the Cougars, now 7-10 overall and 3-4 in the OVC, into second place in the OVC West Division just ahead of SEMO.
The Cougars used a 26-4 run over a nearly 12-minute span of the second half to erase a nine-point SEMO lead. A three-pointer by Jones gave SIUE its largest lead at 65-52.
Yelovich poured in a season-high 24 points. He connected on 9 of 15 field goals, setting season highs for made baskets and attempts. Yelovich also led SIUE with eight rebounds, tying his season high.
Jones finished with 19 points. He was 6 of 11 from the floor and drained 4 of 7 three-point attempts. Michael Messer and Kris Davis also scored in double figures for the Cougars. Messer had 13 points and added three assists, while Davis finished with 12 points. Davis was 2 for 3 from three-point range.
As a team, SIUE hit 7 of 11 three-pointers for the game.
Corey Wilford paced the Redhawks, now 11-11 overall and 3-5 in the OVC. Wilford scored 21 points and hit three three-pointers. Marland Smith scored 15 points. A.J. Jones chipped in 12, and Tyler Stone scored 11. Stone led Southeast Missouri with seven rebounds.
SEMO led 43-39 at halftime and stretched the lead to nine at 48-39 on a free throw by Stone with 19:06 left in the game. A jumper from Messer with 17:22 to play cut the lead to 48-41 and started the Cougars' run.
The 80 points scored by SIUE is one off the Cougars' season high. SIUE shot 51.9 percent (27-52) from the field for the game. The Redhawks were 29-60 from the floor for 48.3 percent. SIUE outrebounded SEMO 37-30.
MURRAY STATE 47, TENNESSEE TECH 39
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech simply couldn’t overcome 25 percent shooting Thursday night, and despite putting up a valiant fight, left Eblen Center on the short end of a 47-39 Ohio Valley Conference contest with Murray State.
The Racers (15-4/6-1 OVC) didn’t shoot much better, hitting 34 percent from the field and just 1-for-18 from long range. But a late 16-2 run lifted MSU into a lead they nursed to the finish.
Tech (7-12/1-6 OVC) forced 23 MSU turnovers with 12 steals, but wound up hitting just 3-for-17 from long range (17.6 percent) and 25.5 percent (13-for-51) for the game.
Isaiah Canaan led Murray State with 15 points, struggling with just 5-for-15 shooting efficiency. Ed Daniel, who spent most of the first half on the bench with two quick fouls, earned a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Stacy Wilson added nine points and six rebounds, and Brandon Garrett finished with six points and seven rebounds as the Racers held a 42-35 advantage on the glass.
Jud Dillard topped Tech with 12 points and grabbed five rebounds, while Dennis Ogbe chipped in with 10 points and six rebounds. Matt Marseille grabbed team-high seven boards while finished with five rebounds and five steals, despite being saddled with four fouls. Ammanuel Diressa fouled out with six points, hitting 2-for-3 from long distance.
On a night when the Golden Eagles needed a solid showing, they didn’t help their own cause in the first few minutes by missing their first six shots as the Racers quietly crept out to an 8-0 lead.
Tech fought its way back into the game, however, and when Ogbe slashed through the lane, took a pass from Lanerryl Johnson and made a floater, the Golden Eagles had erased the deficit and tied the contest at 13-13.
And a minute later, when Ogbe scored on a putback, the home team had its first lead of the night at 17-15. Two minutes later, Ogbe jumped over a defender for a slam dunk, and Tech was up 20-17.
From that point on, things were tight..until MSU took control in the final minutes.
Tech’s 32-27 lead was erased midway in the second half as the Racers went on a 16-2 run. During the 10-minute stretch, Tech had five turnovers and made just one of 12 shots. Wilson and Daniel each had four in the run.
When Dillard knocked dow a 3-pointer with 4:07 remaining, the Golden Eagles faced a 43-37 deficit.
Tech forced four missed shots and two turnovers on Murray State’s next six possessions, but the Golden Eagles couldn’t capitalize. Tech missed a couple of shots and had another turnover before Dillards’ two free throws with 1:17 left made it a 43-49 contest.
The Racers connected on four of the next five free throws to clinch the win.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 69, UT MARTIN 56
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois had four players score in double figures on Thursday night as the Panthers powered past UT Martin, 69-56, to win their second straight Ohio Valley Conference game.
EIU improved to 5-16, 2-6 in the OVC. UTM fell to 4-16, 1-7 in the OVC.
EIU jumped out to a 13-2 lead with Morris Woods scoring six points on lay-ups and Josh Piper adding five early points. Austin Akers capped the run with a lay-up at 13:56.
The Panthers would hit a scoring draught in the next five minutes as UTM rallied to take a 17-15 lead at the 8:18 mark as Mike Liabo drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Both teams traded the lead over the remainder of the half. Malcolm Herron hit a 3-pointer to put EIU up 27-26 with 2:06 left. UTM answered with back-to-back 3-pointers by Terence Smith and Bobby Jones to lead 32-27 at the half. Herron had 13 points for EIU while Smith scored 13 for the Skyhawks.
Myles Taylor extended the Skyhawks lead to eight points with a 3-pointer to open the half and had UTM up 38-30 with a jumper in the paint. Taylor led all players with 21 points.
After shooting 52 percent from the floor in the opening half EIU continued that hot shooting in the second half as the Panthers were 12-of-23 from the floor in both halves finishing the game at 52 percent.
Alex Austin hit a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 EIU run. Woods scored on a driving lay-up to tie the game at 38-38 with 15:37 left. Woods finished with his first career double-double scoring 15 points to go with 11 rebounds.
Sherman Blanford broke the final tie of the game with a lay-up with 12:33 remaining and EIU pushed the margin to 51-43 on a three point play by Blanford. The junior forward had 15 points and seven rebounds.
Taylor closed the EIU lead to four points with 4:59 left to play but the Skyhawks would get no closer. EIU scored its final ten points of the game at the free throw line finishing 14-of-20 from the stripe.
EIU won the battle on the glass by a 37-26 margin, the second straight game that EIU has held a double digit rebound margin over its opponent. Piper closed out the EIU scoring with ten points.
UTM shot 30 percent in the second half and 39 percent for the game.