SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 76, @IUPUI 68
@#16 Wichita State 85,
Tennessee State 71
Eastern Illinois 86, @Illinois-Chicago 66
Tennessee Tech 62, @Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 60
@Eastern Kentucky 74, High Point 67
@SIUE 100, Central Arkansas 93
Alabama State 84,
@Jacksonville State 73
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 76, IUPUI 68
INDIANAPOLIS - Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year Tyler Stone turned in a double-double 22 points and 14 rebounds, and scored seven points in the final 1:09 to lead Southeast Missouri (2-1) to a 76-68 win over IUPUI (0-3) Saturday afternoon at The Jungle.
In his first start of the season following a two-game suspension due to a violation of team rules, Stone shot 8-of-14 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 at the free throw line. He made all of his free throws in the last 34 seconds of the game to nail down Southeast's second-straight win.
Southeast met IUPUI for the first time and handed the Jaguars their 19th-consecutive loss dating back to the 2012-13 season. IUPUI's 19-game losing streak is currently the second-longest in the nation behind Grambling State's 30-straight defeats.
Although IUPUI made things interesting, the Jaguars couldn't get by the Redhawks.
After trailing 42-35 at the half, IUPUI used a 10-4 run in the first 3:20 of the second stanza and pulled to within three when Ian Chiles made a layup to make it a 48-45 game with 16:54 remaining.
Lucas Nutt answered with a layup on Southeast's next possession before Mitch Patton's field goal cut the Redhawks lead to 50-47 at the 15:51 mark.
IUPUI then pulled to within a point on four occasions before tying the game at 56-56 on Patton's free throw with 9:41 left.
Khufu Najee's three-pointer gave the Jaguars their first lead since the 16:44 mark of the first half with just under nine minutes on the clock.
IUPUI again led by three when Najee buried a jumper with 4:08 left, but Jarekious Bradley's tip-in brought the game to a 65-65 deadlock with 2:38 to go.
After Marcellus Barksdale missed a jumper that would have given IUPUI another lead, Darrian Gray knocked down a three-pointer from the left corner. Gray's big three jumpstarted an 11-3 run over the final minutes.
Stone followed Gray's with a three-pointer of his own to give Southeast a 71-65 cushion with 1:09 left. He then made four-straight free throws to widen the gap to double-digits before the Redhawks polished off the victory.
Bradley entered today's game as the OVC's top scorer, but went without a point in the first half.
Southeast fell behind just once in the game's opening 20 minutes when Chiles' three-pointer gave IUPUI a 7-4 edge with 16:44 remaining.
Shortly after Patton's jumper diced the Redhawks lead to 14-13, Southeast answered with a 14-5 run to take a 10-point lead.
The Redhawks knocked down three 3-pointers, including two off the bench by Jamaal Calvin, to key the surge. Gray's three gave Southeast a 28-18 lead with 8:24 on the clock.
True freshman Antonius Cleveland and Stone set the tone early. Cleveland scored 13 points (six which came on dunks) in 17 minutes and Stone added 10 of his points, including eight in a span of 3:21.
Both IUPUI (.545) and Southeast (.531) shot over 50 percent from the field in the first half. Additionally, the Redhawks had eight steals and forced 12 turnovers, cashing in 12 points off IUPUI's early mishaps.
Stone's double-double marked the 13th of his career, as he also finished with four assists and a game-high three blocks.
Cleveland and Gray contributed 15 and 11 points, respectively. Both have scored double figures in all three of Southeast's games this season.
Southeast knocked down eight three-pointers with Gray accounting for three of those makes.
Chiles led IUPUI with 24 points, while Najee followed close behind with 22.
#16 WICHITA STATE 85, TENNESSEE STATE 71
WICHITA, Kan. - Strong shooting and a one-point halftime lead could not save the Tennessee State men’s basketball team as the squad fell to No. 16 ranked Wichita State on the road, 85-71.
TSU (0-4) had three players score in double-digits for the first time this season, scored a season high 71 points and shot 44.8 percent (26-of-58) from the field.
Patrick Miller led the Tigers with 23 points including a 3-of-6 mark from behind the arc. M.J. Rhett recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points on f-of-9 shooting (55 percent) and a team-high 11 rebounds. Jaleel Queary had a career-high 10 points and added a new personal-best five rebounds.
Rhett was a force for the Tigers early on, scoring the team’s first four points to keep the game tied through the 16-minute mark. TSU’s defense was tenacious as well, holding the Shockers to a 1-for-6 shooting line (17 percent) during that span.
Miller gave TSU the lead at 9-8 with a circus layup in traffic with 14:19 to play, but the advantage was short-lived. WSU went on a 10-4 run, highlighted by a dunk, to take a six-point lead.
The Tigers responded with six straight points, four coming from Rhett with a Jordan Gaither lay-in sandwiched in-between. The quick stretch tied the game at 19 at the 6:25 mark.
The game went back and forth for the remainder of the half with neither team pulling ahead by more than one basket. With three seconds left in the period, Miller sunk a three-pointer to give the Tigers a 29-28 lead heading into the locker room.
The Tigers shot a solid 46 percent (12-of-26) from the field during the first 20 minutes and Miller and Rhett poured in nine points apiece.
TSU committed six turnovers in the first half and only forced three. However, that stat mattered little as Tennessee State scored six points off of WSU miscues compared to just two points by the Shockers.
Alex Bates started the second stanza with a three-point play at the 19:32 mark to give TSU a four-point lead, its biggest of the game.
From that point, the Shockers went on a 14-4 run to take a 42-36 advantage with 15:31 to go. TSU committed five turnovers and four fouls to aid the Shockers.
WSU padded its cushion later in the period when Tekele Cotton hit a three to put his team up by 10 with a little over 13 minutes to play.
Another triple, this one by Nick Wiggins, put the Shockers up by 19 with four and a half minutes left in the game. The long ball capped off a 12-3 Shocker run.
TSU scored eight of the game’s final 10 points, but could not dig itself of a 20-point hole and fell to the Shockers, 85-71.
Miller had 14 points in the second period on 5-of-11 shooting (45 percent), but TSU’s bench was outscored 20-4 during the final 20 minutes.
The Shockers used a combination of great shooting (56.3 percent) and a plus-eight advantage on the boards to pull away in the second half.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 86, ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 66
CHICAGO - The Panther men’s basketball team used a balanced offensive attack on Saturday afternoon as they defeated Illinois-Chicago, 86-66, at the UIC Pavilion. EIU improved to 2-1 on the year with the win.
Seven Panthers scored eight or more points in the victory, led by Reggie Smith’s game-high 23 points. The Chicago native went 7-for-13 from the floor and dished out a team-high six assists. EIU finished the contest with 17 assists.
Trailing 9-8 at the 16:14 mark in the first half, the Panthers engineered a 29-11 run to take a 17-point advantage with just under four minutes remaining in the half. EIU went 11-for-18 from the floor during the run and held a 40-27 lead at intermission.
The Flames (1-2) opened the second stanza with an 8-2 run as they went 3-for-4 form the floor to cut their deficit to seven (42-35) with 17:56 on the clock. UIC got within six (46-40) two minutes later, but the Panther offense stayed hot in the second stanza to pull away for the double-figure victory. EIU went 12-for-20 from the floor in the second half and finished the day connecting on 57.1 percent of its field-goal attempts (28-for-49).
The Panthers finished the contest going 21-for-27 from the charity stripe and drained 79.2 percent of their free throw attempts in the second half (19-for-24). EIU also hit 64.3 percent of its three pointers in the win, going 9-for-14 from behind the arc.
Josh Piper was the only other Panther in double figures with 10 points while Keenen Anderson, Alex Austin, Dylan Chatman and Luke Piotrowski all added nine points. Piotrowski led the team on the glass with seven rebounds while adding a game-high three blocks. EIU held a 33-28 advantage on the glass in the contest.
Marc Brown led three UIC players in double figures with 20 points while Jordan Harks pulled down a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 13 points. UIC finished the game going 23-for-57 from the floor.
EIU also added 31 bench points in the victory and 32 points in the paint. Both squads scored 12 points off of turnovers.
TENNESSEE TECH 62, TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 60
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Suffocating defense and an offensive spark from JUCO transfer Dwan Caldwell helped lead the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to a 62-60 victory over the host of the Holiday Inn Downtown Marina Islanders Tournament, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Saturday evening.
Tech came out firing on all cylinders to open play, draining its first five 3-point attempts to keep a typically stout Islander defense at bay. JUCO transfer Jordan Johnson, who joined the Golden Eagles this season after leading the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) in made 3-pointers last year, drilled his first two attempts and added another jumper to pace Tech in the first half with eight points off the bench.
Also contributing from behind the arc early in the contest were juniors Josiah Moore and Ty Allen and senior Jeremiah Samarrippas, each sinking an attempt. Moore, who finished with 10 points, was one of three Tech players to score in double-figures. Allen wrapped up the game with six points while Samarrippas finished with seven.
The Golden Eagles held the lead over the Islanders for much of the first half of play, but were never quite able to make that key bucket to grab complete control of the contest. Corpus Christi took advantage, grabbing the lead late in the final minute of the first stanza to go into the break ahead, 32-31.
Defense defined the second half of the game for the Tech squad as it would hold the Islanders to just 24 percent shooting (5-for-21) over the final 20 minutes of play following a first half that saw Corpus Christi hit 52 percent of its field goal attempts.
And leading the defensive charge was junior Javon McKay, whose stifling "D" prevented the Islander scorers from settling for jump shots and take the ball into the paint. McKay did more than just play lock-down defense in the contest too. The guard from Atlanta, Ga. scored a season-high 10 points, including eight in the second half alone, thanks to an impressive night at the charity stripe. He finished 8-of-9 on freebies, being rewarded for attacking the rim with several trips to the free throw line.
Also big for the Golden Eagles in the second half was the man they call "Big Po." Dwan Caldwell, a junior center played a team-high 27 minutes, despite fouling out with 30 seconds to play. The big man scored a career-best 12 points, including eight in the second stanza. Caldwell also added seven huge rebounds for the Golden Eagles, collecting three of those on the offensive glass.
Forward Jeff Beverly and John Jordan each recorded 18 points for the Islanders, but both were forced do a ton of work from the free throw line to get those points. Each hit seven free throws in the contest, but they combined to miss four attempts, including two down the stretch that would turn out to be huge.
Junior forward Ladon Carter once again provided several highlight-reel plays in the contest, giving the team much-needed energy throughout the affair. Carter finished the game with three steals, two blocks, and five points, two of which came off a monster alley-oop slam dished out by Moore. Midair, the JUCO transfer grabbed the ball over the defender and put down a clutch dunk to put Tech up by four while also collecting a trip to the free throw line.
The Islanders made things interesting at the end of the contest, as Hameed Ali hit a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 62-60. Corpus Christi then immediately fouled senior Dennis Ogbe with seven seconds to go, sending the forward to the line. Ogbe would miss both attempts and the Islanders drove the ball up the floor for one final go at it.
Ali took a contested jumper with three seconds left, but it fell short and Ogbe grabbed one of his eight rebounds to ice the game and send Tech into a four-way tie for the tournament. All four teams now sit 1-1 after two days of action.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 74, HIGH POINT 67
RICHMOND, Ky. - The lead changed hands 12 times in the second half but Eastern Kentucky held off High Point, 74-67, on Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
The game featured two teams picked to win their respective conferences, the Ohio Valley for Eastern (4-1) and the Big South for High Point.
The Panthers (1-2) took a two-point lead on a three-pointer by Lorenzo Cugini with 8:01 left in the game. Corey Walden answered on the other end with a three-pointer for the 15th and final lead change of the game with 7:24 to go.
An alley-oop dunk by Marcus Lewis from Walden, worthy of Top-10 play status, pushed the margin to five, 62-57, but back-to-back baskets by HPU closed the gap to one. The Colonels led by two when Walden came up with a steal and fed Lewis again for a break-away lay-up with 2:41 to play.
High Point missed on two three-pointers that would have made it a one-point game and Walden’s two free throws with 1:11 left extended it to a six-point advantage, 69-63. Eastern made 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.
Cosey finished with a game-best 25 points. He made 8-of-13 from the field, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. The senior also had five rebounds and five assists. Lewis and Walden each finished with 16 points. Walden also had six assists and five rebounds.
John Brown led the visitors with 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Allan Chaney finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, the first time this season he has not recorded a double-double.
HPU made 51 percent of its shots, but just 29 percent from three-point range. EKU shot 44 percent from the floor and 35 percent from deep. The Colonels made up the difference with nine fewer turnovers and out-scored the Panthers 20-8 off turnovers.
Eastern led by as many as nine points in the first half. A three-pointer by Orlando Williams had the Colonels in front 20-11 with 8:42 before intermission. EKU led by eight after a Walden lay-up with 2:57 on the clock. However, HPU ended the half on a 9-2 run get within a point, 32-31, at the break.
SIUE 100, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 93
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball had six players score in double figures, and reached 100 for the first time against a Division I opponent, defeating Central Arkansas 100-93 Saturday night in front of 1,535 at Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars improved to 1-0 with the victory, while Central Arkansas fell to 1-1. The win marks the first time under Forrester (1-19) that SIUE has been victorious when allowing 90 or more points. The 100 points are the most for SIUE since a 118-75 win over Division II Oakland City in February 2009.
Senior Tim Johnson led the Cougars with 21 points on an efficient 9 of 11 shooting. The 21 points were one shy of his career high, set last year at Central Arkansas. He added a team-high five rebounds as well. Donivine Stewart bested his SIUE career high with 15 points. Stewart was 3 for 7 from the field, but 8 for 10 from the free throw line. The sophomore point guard added five assists.
Christian Salecich scored an SIUE career best 13 points and turned in a game-high eight assists. Keaton Jackson scored 12 points to establish a new career high and tied Johnson with five rebounds. Michael Messer chipped in 11 points. Messer connected on 7 of 9 free throws. Rozell Nunn scored 10 points for the Cougars.
SIUE finished with 24 assists, the most since a February 2011 game against Hannibal-LaGrange. The Cougars connected on 30 of 37 (81.1 percent) free throw attempts. It is the first time SIUE has made 30 or more free throws in a game since March 2006.
Central Arkansas had three players score 20 or more points in the losing effort. Jalen Jackson led the Bears with 23 points. He was 6 for 10 from the field, including three three pointers. He was 8 for 10 from the free throw line. DeShone McClure scored 22 points on 9 of 14 shooting. He was 4 of 7 from three point range. Oliver Wells added 21 points. Wells was 8 for 11 from the field, including three three-pointers. As a team Central Arkansas was 11 for 26 (42.3 percent) from three-point range. The Bears outrebounded SIUE 36-33.
ALABAMA STATE 84, JACKSONVILLE STATE 73
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State senior guard Brian Williams scored 16 points to become the 22nd player in JSU history to score over 1,000 career points but the Gamecocks still fell to Alabama State 84-73 in their 2013-14 home opener at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Williams scored 13 first half points and connected on a 3-point shot with 7:08 to go in the second half to give him 1,001 career points. The Lawrenceville, Ga.-native also became just the fifth player in JSU's Division I history to score over 1,000 points in a career.
JSU finished the night shooting 24-of-33 (72.7 percent) from the free throw line while shooting 23-of-55 (41.8 percent) from the field to fall to 1-3 on the year. The Hornets improve to 2-2 after shooting 50 percent (24-of-50) from the field and connecting on 32-of-39 attempts from the charity stripe.
Junior Darion Rackley led all scorers with 23 points thanks to a 10-of-13 performance from the free throw line. Senior Nick Cook also finished with 16 points, 12 of which came in the second half. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native also led JSU with six rebounds on the night.
The Hornets were led by Jamel Waters with 16 points while DeMarcus Robinson added 15 points and Luther Page 11 points. Both Waters and Robinson finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line. Brandon Graham led ASU with six rebounds as the Hornets out-rebounded the Gamecocks 35-29.
Williams opened the game with a jumper to give JSU a quick 2-0 lead but the Gamecocks would not make another shot from the field until the senior guard knocked down a jumper with 12:15 to go in the half.
The Hornets opened the game shooting 8-of-10 from the floor while building a 16-point lead with 8:44 to go in the half. The Gamecocks then outscored ASU 26-12 over the final 7:56 of the half to pull within one point at 44-43. JSU managed to finish the first half shooting 12-of-23 from the field after starting the game shooting 3-of-10.
With JSU trailing 32-16 with 8:44 remaining in the half, Rackley knocked down two free throws to spark an 11-2 run to cut the lead to 34-27. The Hornets would manage to extend the lead to 11 after Page made a layup and was fouled. His free throw gave ASU a 40-29 lead before the Gamecocks would close the half on an 14-4 run to cut the deficit to 44-43.
Cook then opened up the second half with a layup in the lane to give JSU its first lead since Williams bucket with 19:28 to open the game. ASU would quickly regain the lead after two free throws before Cook responded with two free throws of his own to give JSU a 47-46 lead.
The Hornets again responded with buckets from Graham and Tony Armstrong to regain the lead at 50-47. Following a media timeout with 14:38 to go, senior Giovanni Smith stepped up and knocked down his only shot attempt of the night with a 3-pointer to tie the game back up at 50-50.
ASU then answered with a 12-4 run that was sparked by three offensive putbacks. Terrance Leflore connected on two 3-point shots during the run to help ASU claim a 68-58 lead with 9:59 to go.
Rackley would cut the deficit to 70-65 with a driving layup with 5:50 remaining. The Hornets then managed to answer the Gamecocks down the stretch while holding off JSU's comeback attempt by connecting on 9-of-12 shots from the free throw line in the game's final minutes.