THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 65, Eastern Illinois 54
@Morehead State 68, SIUE 64
@Southeast Missouri 86, Austin Peay 84
Murray State 73, @UT Martin 62
Tennessee State 72, @Tennessee Tech 66
Belmont 73, @Jacksonville State 62
EASTERN KENTUCKY 65, EASTERN ILLINOIS 54
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky held Eastern Illinois to 18 first half points on its way to a 65-54 victory in the Colonels’ Ohio Valley Conference opener on Thursday at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels (11-3, 1-0 OVC) took control of the game with a 16-2 run in the first half. After a lay-up by EIU’s Malcolm Herron made it a one-point game, 11-10, in favor of Eastern Kentucky with 15:26 on the clock Marcus Lewis scored six straight points to get the run started. His third basket came off an offensive rebound.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Mike DiNunno and Tarius Johnson capped the run and put the Colonels out in front 27-12 with four minutes remaining in the opening half. Johnson’s trey gave him 11 points in the first 16 minutes of the game, beating his previous EKU game-high of 10.
Eastern Kentucky took a 17-point lead, 35-18, into the locker room at the break. The Colonels hit 52 percent of their first half shots and committed only two turnovers. EIU shot 35 percent.
Eastern Illinois (3-12, 0-2 OVC) never got closer than 13 points until a late-game run. EKU led by as many as 20 points twice in the second half. A three-pointer by Orlando Williams with 4:22 to go gave the Colonels their second 20-point margin. The Panthers answered with a 14-4 run to draw within 10. Three-pointers by Josh Piper and Herron capped the spurt and closed the gap to 62-52, but only 1:07 remained in the game.
DiNunno and Johnson finished with 13 points for EKU. Lewis scored 11 off the bench. Glenn Cosey had eight points, a season-high tying five assists and no turnovers.
Morris Woods had a game-high 15 points for Eastern Illinois. Piper added 10.
MOREHEAD STATE 68, SIUE 64
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior Chad Posthumus collected a game-high 19 rebounds, and the Morehead State men’s basketball team used a 44-23 edge on the glass to post a 68-64 victory over SIU Edwardsville on Thursday evening at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles improve to 7-8 overall and 1-0 in Ohio Valley Conference action, while the Cougars slip to 4-7 on the season and 0-1 in league play. MSU also improves to 4-1 in the all-time series against SIUE, which began during the 2009-10 campaign.
Posthumus helped Morehead State to a 28-9 first-half advantage in rebounds, including a 15-3 edge on the offensive end. He pulled down 15 missed shots in the first half alone and registered nine points in 29 minutes on the night for the Eagles.
The rebounding performance by Posthumus was the program’s best since former Eagle and current Denver Nuggets’ forward Kenneth Faried pulled down 21 boards on March 4, 2011.
Morehead State used its biggest rebounding margin against a Division I opponent this season to record an 11-1 upper hand in second-chance points. The Eagles managed a 19-4 advantage on the offensive glass for the night.
Morehead State senior Milton Chavis tied for game-high honors with 16 points, while sophomore Angelo Warner added 14. The Eagles knocked down 40 percent from the field (23-of-57) and 65 percent from the free-throw line (17-of-26).
SIU Edwardsville sophomore Maurice Wiltz matched Chavis with a team-high 16 points off the bench, while classmate Kris Davis added 14. The Cougars shot 44 percent overall (22-of-50) and 70 percent from the charity stripe (14-of-20).
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 86, AUSTIN PEAY 84
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Guards Corey Wilford, A.J. Jones and Lucas Nutt combined for 49 points to lead Southeast Missouri (10-6, 2-0) to a thrilling 86-84 win over Austin Peay (4-11, 0-1) Thursday night in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Show Me Center.
Southeast handed APSU its seventh-straight loss, as the Governors dropped to 0-6 in away games this season.
The perimeter players came up huge after Tyler Stone fouled out of the game. Stone, the Redhawks top scorer, picked up his fifth foul with 7:50 left to play.
Southeast trailed, 66-60, with 5:52 remaining before erupting for a 16-2 run over a stretch of 3:11 to take an eight-point lead.
Jones scored the first five points before Nutt buried a three-pointer to tie the game at 68-68. Jones followed up Nutt's shot with five more points and Marland Smith converted a conventional three-point play to cap the run, giving the Redhawks a 76-68 lead at the 2:41 mark.
Will Triggs' layup cut pulled the Governors to within three (76-73) 15 seconds later, but Southeast responded with a perfect 10-of-10 free throws in the final 2:20 to secure its fourth-straight victory.
The first half was much like the second. Southeast and APSU went back-and-forth as neither team led by more than five points. Matt Hasse's three-pointer gave the Governors a 14-10 advantage with 11:33 left to play, but the Redhawks later took a one-point edge (22-21) on a pair of Stone free throws 4:25 later.
Stone's free throws sparked a 7-2 run which gave Southeast a 28-23 cushion. Nutt and Jones each knocked down a jumper and Nick Niemczyk made two free throws to cap the surge at the 3:41 mark. Shortly after Anthony Campbell sunk a couple free throws to cut the lead to two, Wilford buried a three-pointer to give Southeast a 35-30 lead at the intermission.
Both the Redhawks and Governors made 12 field goals and four three-pointers in the first half.
APSU center Chris Horton, the OVC's leading shot-blocker was whistled for four fouls in the opening period and did not play the rest of the game.
The Governors caught fire at the beginning of the second stanza, draining their first five field goals for 10 unanswered points in the first 2:35 to take a 40-35 lead.
Wilford led all Southeast scorers with 19 points and Jones followed with 16. Both scored double figures in the second half and shot 7-of-12 from the field on the night. Jones grabbed nine rebounds, while Wilford gathered three steals, as well.
Nutt made 3-of-6 from the field and a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line en route to 14 points. Meanwhile, Nino Johnson was the fourth Redhawk starter in double figures with 12 points and nine boards.
Travis Betran pitched in a game-high 30 points to lead APSU. Eighteen of Betran's points came from three-point range where he shot 60 percent (6-of-10). Triggs turned in a double-double 29 points and 11 rebounds, missing just three of his field goals (14-of-17). The Governors shot a season-best 53.1 percent (34-of-64) from the field against the Redhawk defense this year. Southeast held its opponent under a .500 field goal percentage for 21-consecutive games prior to tonight.
Southeast beat APSU on its homecourt for the second-straight season. The last time the Redhawks defeated the Governors in back-to-back years at the Show Me Center was 1998-99 and 1999-2000.
MURRAY STATE 73, UT MARTIN 62
MARTIN, Tenn. - The Murray State Racers won for the 600th time in the Ohio Valley Conference when they came away with a 73-62 win Thursday over UT Martin at the Elam Center in Martin, Tenn.
An original founding member of the OVC from 1948, the Racers’ 600 wins, 23 regular season championships and 15 OVC Tournament titles and NCAA trips are tops in the league.
Isaiah Canaan led three Racers in double-figures with 18, while Stacy Wilson added 16 and Jeffery Moss 14. Ed Daniel was a point from a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The Racers (10-3, 1-0 OVC) took little time to set the tone of the game when they pushed to a 15-4 lead in the game’s first seven minutes and later led by a 31-13 count at the 4:10 mark of the opening half.
After leading 33-19 at the half, MSU eventually led 54-32 with 11:42 remaining.
Getting the chance to rest the starters, the Racers saw 12 players see action tonight including senior Latreze Mushatt who played for the first time this season. Mushatt’s first appearance since the NCAA Tournament last March for MSU came after he suffered an Achilles injury last summer and he has been working to get back on the floor for MSU. Mushatt played seven minutes in his return.
Canaan’s two three-point baskets tied him for the MSU all-time lead in made threes with 251. Canaan is tied with Frank Allen (1989-93) who set the record 18 seasons ago at 251.
The Racers won their league opener for the fifth straight season and are 47-18 all-time.
TENNESSEE STATE 72, TENNESSEE TECH 66
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee State men’s basketball team won its third consecutive game on Thursday night with a 72-66 victory over OVC-rival Tennessee Tech.
The win pushed TSU’s record to 8-7 and 2-0 in the OVC. It marks the first time this season that that Tigers went over .500.
Patrick Miller had a team-high 21 points for TSU with 16 coming in the second half.
M.J. Rhett was second on the squad with a career-high 15 points while Jordan Cyphers was not far behind with 14. Deshawn Dockery also finished in double-figures with a career high of his own: ten points.
Both teams looked to be feeling each other out during the game’s early going and neither side was able to score a point until Thornton hit a jumper at the 15:14 mark to put TSU up 2-0.
TSU clung to a narrow lead for the better part of the opening half thanks to seven straight points by Rhett, but eventually TTU tied the game at 22 when Jeremiah Samarripas hit a three at the 4:24 mark. The bucket was part of a 17-8 TTU run that put TSU behind by six.
Samarripas finished with a game-high 22 points by virtue of canning five three-point shots.
The two sides played it close for the remainder of the first half and the only separation proved to be a pair of free throws by TTU’s Jud Dillard with 11 seconds left in the frame. The buckets made the score 31-29 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
Rhett had a solid all-around first half for TSU and the sophomore from Columbia, S.C. had a team-high nine points, eight boards and four blocks.
Strong defense was a key for TSU during the first half as the Tigers held the Golden Eagles to a 28 (7-of-25) percent shooting percentage during the opening frame. However, TTU was able to get 12 of its 31 first half points from the charity stripe.
Meanwhile, TSU shot 47.6 percent from the field (10-of-25) and 37.5 percent from three-point land (3-of-8).
The in-state rivals continued to duke it out in the second half until a 20-7 TSU run made the score 51-43 with the Tigers on top.
Miller led the charge with 12 of TSU’s 20 points. He had a pair of threes during the 10 minute span and an emphatic breakaway dunk that silenced the Golden Eagle crowd.
With just three minutes left in the game, TSU was up by 11 points. However, the game was far from over as TTU resorted to fouling the Tigers every time down the court.
Tennessee State responded by nailing 11 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory, 72-66.
BELMONT 73, JACKSONVILLE STATE 62
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Belmont men's basketball team notched their first OVC win as they defeated Jacksonville State 73-62 Thursday night at the Pete Matthews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama.
In their first ever game in the Ohio Valley Conference, Belmont led virtually start-to-finish, escape one moment midway through the second half.
Belmont held JSU to two points in the first eight minutes in building a six point lead, but it was a fierce defensive battle and points were at a premium.
Senior forward Trevor Noack got two early fouls which hurt the Bruin frontcourt production, but junior Blake Jenkins scored 12 points and had six rebounds at halftime.
Belmont led 31-20 with 2:55 late in the first half before the Gamecocks ended the half on an 11-2 run to close within 33-31 at halftime.
JJ Mann opened his inspired second half play with a three-pointer to open the second half, but strong play from Brian Williams, Nick Cook and Tarvin Gaines pushed JSU to its only lead, 48-47, with 10:24 left. But a wing three-pointer from Reece Chamberlain put Belmont back on top to stay.
A Noack three made the score 59-53 with 6:09 left, and the Bruins went 17-for-17 from the free throw line for the game to secure the victory.
Belmont (10-4, 1-0 OVC) had five players in double figures. Junior JJ Mann posted his first double-double of his Belmont career as he scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds. Fellow Blake Jenkins added 14 points and had nine rebounds. Senior Ian Clark posted 12 points, while Trevor Noack and Kerron Johnson each added 11 points.
Jacksonville State (10-4, 2-1 OVC) was led by Brian Williams, who scored 18 points.