SATURDAY'S SCORES
@USC Upstate 73,
Tennessee State 64
Southeast Missouri 102, Tulane 72 (Puerto Vallarta, Mexico)
@Central Michigan 66,
Jacksonville State 61
@UNLV 85,
UT Martin 55
Austin Peay 88, @Youngstown State 86
@Tennessee Tech 74, Utah Valley 71
@North Carolina State 75,
Eastern Kentucky 56
@Western Kentucky 68,
Eastern Illinois 53
@Saint Mary's 89,
Murray State 64
USC UPSTATE 73, TENNESSEE STATE 64
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - Junior M.J. Rhett put forth one of his best efforts on both sides of the ball Saturday finishing just shy of his second double-double of the year in a 73-64 loss to USC Upstate.
Back in his home state Rhett posted a team high in rebounds (11) for the Tigers combined with 11 points. It was the junior’s first double-double since the team’s opening game against Hawai’i on Nov. 8.
Freshman Jamonte Graham notched career highs in points (9), rebounds (2), assists and steals (2) in the effort. Patrick Miller’s 20 points marked the junior’s 21st game in double-figures going all the way back to Jan. 24 against EKU.
After falling behind USC Upstate (5-3) 4-0 to start the contest, a Patrick Miller steal combined with a Kennedy Eubanks layup on the other end got the Tennessee State (0-8) offense on the board at 17:46. The Spartans continued on their run after the Tigers broke their drought taking a 9-4 lead into the first media timeout.
USC Upstate continued to lead throughout the first half. Gritty playsby junior Jay Harris kept the Tigers within seven at 20-13, with 7:34 remaining in the opening frame.
A knifing Miller layup drew a foul in the lane and he converted the and one opportunity to cut the once 12-point deficit down to nine, 27-18, at the 4:51 mark.
An Upstate run pushed the home team’s lead back to 11, at 29-18, with 4:06 left on the first half clock. Tennessee State ended the first half on a tear closing the lead to just three points as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
The 12-4 run was orchestrated by the play of Miller and freshman Jamonte Graham the duo combined for nine of the Tigers 12 points in the span, including a deep three from Graham with 21 seconds left on the 1st half clock. Senior Chaed Wellian also added a 3-pointer in the run.
In the first half TSU shot 40.7 percent from the field (11-27) and 18.7 percent from distance (2-11). Miller had a game high eight points in the first stanza, with a team high four rebounds and two assists.
Tennessee State started the second half with a 3:37 scoring drought, ended by an M.J. Rhett layup to close the Spartans lead to six, 38-32.
USC Upstate pushed its lead back to eight, 40-32, Tennessee State connected on four quick points bringing the lead back down to four, 40-36, capped by an M.J. Rhett free-throw.
The lead increased back to double-digits at 12:38 with a Criag Torrey jumper to make the score 48-38. TSU’s senior leader Miller answered back for Big Blue with four consecutive points bringing coach Travis Williams’ team within six, 48-42. Four straight free-throws by Tennessee State cut the Spartans lead down to four with 8:02 left in the game.
The home team answered back to extend the lead back to 10, 48-38, with the help of a 6-0 run.
Tennessee State got as close as seven in the waning moments of the second half, with the latest at the 1:30 mark (65-58) but the Spartans charged back each time.
USC Upstate went on to close the game out 73-64 after the Tigers rally fell short.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 102, TULANE 72
PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico - Southeast Missouri (5-2) knocked down a Cure UCD Classic record 16 three-pointers to bury Tulane (4-4), 102-72, Saturday afternoon at the Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center.
Southeast scored over 100 points for the third time this season and first against a Division I opponent since hanging 108 on Austin Peay (Feb. 28, 2013) a year ago.
For the second-straight game, the Redhawks shot just under 60 percent from the field. Southeast, which made 57.1 percent of its shots against Northern Kentucky Friday, caught fire to shoot a season-best 59.3 percent (35-of-59) against Tulane. It also marked the third game in a row where the Redhawks have shot over 50 percent from the field.
"It was a balanced effort tonight and I was proud of the way we played," said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. "We shot better from three-point range than we have all season."
The Redhawks connected on 50 percent of their three-point attempts (16-of-32) and drained 10 in the second half alone.
Southeast got off to a strong start, shooting a scorching 60 percent (18-of-30) from the field in the first half. Tied, 13-13, after Jonathan Stark made a three-pointer, the Redhawks went on a 23-5 run over the next 7:07 to grab a comfortable 18-point lead.
Southeast scored on nine of its next 11 possessions after Stark's basket, as Jarekious Bradley, Jamaal Calvin and Darrian Gray combined for four of the Redhawks first six three-pointers in that span. Calvin came off the bench to knock down two threes and added two free throws, while Gray chipped in seven more points and scored the layup that gave Southeast a 36-18 lead with 4:41 left.
Nino Johnson became the fifth different Redhawk to bury a three-pointer when his jumper at the top of the key sailed through the net at the buzzer, giving Southeast a 49-31 advantage at the half.
Southeast outrebounded Tulane, 21-7, in the first half and had three players score double figures early. Bradley had 11 points, while Antonius Cleveland and Gray followed close behind with 10 apiece. The Redhawk bench outscored Tulane's reserves, 18-2, in the opening stanza.
The Redhawks didn't cool off much in the second half, where it finished with a 58.6 percent clip on 17-of-29 field goals.
Bradley made four more threes and pushed Southeast's lead to 74-48 with a little over 10 minutes left to play. Calvin and Kyle Stroder then hit a three-pointer on consecutive possessions with Stroder's shot putting the 102-72 win on ice.
Southeast, which has won three in a row and five of its last six, had six players with double figures in the scoring column.
Bradley led all scorers with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 field goals and 5-of-9 threes. Cleveland followed with 17 points and four assists, while Tyler Stoen had 14 points and seven boards. Gray added 15 points on 6-of-10 from the field and Calvin chipped in 13 points, including nine from behind the arc. Johnson rounded out the group with a double-double 10 points and 12 rebounds.
Southeast finished with more than 15 threes in a game for the second time this season. The Redhawks 16 treys today fell one shy of matching their season-high. Southeast held a +15 margin (37-22) on the glass, as well.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 66, JACKSONVILLE STATE 61
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - A pair of Gamecocks scored in double figures on Saturday night, but it was Chris Fowler and Central Michigan who held on for a 66-61 win over the Jacksonville State men's basketball team.
Senior Rico Sanders and junior Darion Rackley each scored 10 for the Gamecocks (3-6), but they couldn't overcome a second-half surge by the Chippewas (5-3). CMU got 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting from Fowler to hang on.
After a back-and-forth first half that saw the Chippewas take a 29-25 lead into the locker room, they came out in the second half and went on a run. Starting with an Austin Stewart 3-pointer on their first possession of the half, they went on a 9-2 run that opened up a 38-27 lead with 16:46 remaining.
The Gamecocks trail by as many as 13 in the game and by 11 as late as the final six minutes before making a late comeback attempt. A Giovanni Smith triple started an 8-0 JSU run that cut its deficit to 56-53 on a pair of Jamal Hunter free throws with 3:59 to play.
Blake Hibbetts offered CMU's answer with a 3-pointer that stopped the bleeding on the next possession. JSU got within three twice more but watched CMU convert on its last seven free throw attempts to hang on.
Sanders matched his career high in the scoring column by going 4-for-7 from the floor and 2-for-4 from behind the arc. Junior Grant White scored nine, while freshman Undra Mitchem pitched in eight.
CMU got 11 from Braylon Rayson and 10 more from John Simons, who went 4-for-5 from the floor.
UNLV 85, UT MARTIN 55
LAS VEGAS - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team placed a trio of players in double-figures in the scoring column this afternoon but couldn’t hold off UNLV, as the Skyhawks fell 85-55 at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Myles Taylor’s 13 points led UT Martin (2-8) today while Terence Smith and Justin Childs added 12 and 11 points, respectively. Mike Liabo (seven points, team-high four assists) and Javier Martinez (six points, career-best eight rebounds) also had notable performances this afternoon.
UNLV (3-3) was led by Bryce Dejean-Jones’ 16 points while Roscoe Smith added a double-double of 13 points and 19 rebounds. Khem Birch (13 points), Kevin Olekaibe (11) and Jelan Kendrick (11) also cracked double-figures for the Runnin’ Rebels.
The Skyhawks played the Runnin’ Rebels even through the first eight minutes, as a pair of early Martinez layups evened the score at 9-all. Three more ties would follow until a Marshun Newell steal and layup gave UT Martin its first lead of the game (17-15) at the 12:27 mark.
Childs and Smith added buckets on the Skyhawks’ next two trips down the floor to push UT Martin’s lead out to 21-17 with 10:44 remaining in the first half.
UNLV then scored six unanswered to reclaim the lead until a pull-up jumper by Liabo made the score 23-23 at the 7:52 mark. The Runnin’ Rebels would follow with a 14-2 run over a stretch of 5:13 before a Childs backdoor layup at the 1:09 mark ended the drought for UT Martin, who trailed 39-27 at the halftime break.
The Skyhawks displayed balanced scoring in the first half, as six players scored between four and six points. Taylor’s six points led UT Martin while Olekaibe tallied eight points to lead UNLV.
UNLV began the second half on a 15-2 run before Childs canned a long three-pointer at the 15:29 mark. Another Childs basket sliced the Skyhawk deficit to 54-34 and Childs kept the margin at 20 points with a steal and fast break dunk at the 10:17 mark.
The Runnin’ Rebels used an 11-2 run in the waning stages of the second half to extend their lead.
AUSTIN PEAY 88, YOUNGSTOWN STATE 86
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - Travis Betran scored 24 points, including the go-ahead free throw, and Zavion Williams added 20, including the game-sealing jumper with 15 seconds left, as Austin Peay State University rallied from a late six-point deficit to defeat Youngstown State, 88-86, Saturday night in the Beeghly Center.
The victory improved the Govs to 4-3 on the season. It also represented their first road victory. Last season’s initial Govs road win didn’t come until Feb. 14, 2013.
Youngstown State, meanwhile, fell to 6-3, despite the 32-point, 6-steal and 4-assist effort by Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Kendrick Perry.
In a frenetic-paced contest that saw 16 ties and 24 lead changes, including 16 in the second half, it appeared Youngstown State had weathered the visitors’ onslaught. With the game tied 76 all, Perry hit a three pointer with 6:20 left. After a Govs miss, another Perry three pointer gave YSU the lead, 82-76, with 5:59 left. It forced a Governors timeout.
Betran stopped the Penguin surge with a pair of free throws, but Perry pushed it out to five with his own free throw. But the Govs focused on getting the ball inside. First it was Will Triggs muscling inside for a bucket and then Chris Horton on a pass from Williams cut the deficit to one, 85-84, with 2:48 left.
But Youngstown freshman Marcus Keene responded with a short jumper to put it back to three. Damarius Smith then answered with just his third field goal—all in the second half—to again make it a one-point contest.
The Govs’ defense, which struggled in the first half before improving markedly in the second half, forced Marcus Keene to miss a long three with 1:30 left. Triggs grabbed the rebound. The Govs called timeout and on the ensuing inbounds play, Betran got the ball inside the free-throw line and pump faked, getting fouled by Perry with 1:12 remaining.
The Govs’ senior guard, who struggled through a scoreless performance against Montana State, tied the game at 85 with his first free throw and then gave APSU the lead with the second. Perry then drove the lane but somehow saw his layup roll out. Triggs snared the rebound with 49 seconds left.
The Govs initially looked for Betran near the top of the circle but when the play didn’t unfold it ended up in Williams’ hands on the left wing as the shot clock wound below five seconds. He drove and then pulled up to knock down the 12 footer to give the Govs an 88-85 advantage with 15 seconds left.
YSU elected not to call timeout but this time the Govs defense found Perry deep on the left wing. He missed the 25 footer. But YSU was able to snatch the rebound. The Penguins this time called timeout with 5.6 seconds left with the hope of getting the ball into Perry’s hands once final time.
YSU was able to get it inbounds to Perry, but near midcourt. The Govs' staff had been decided to foul Perry without letting him attempt a three. That occurred with 3.9 seconds left. Perry sank the first free throw, but intentionally missed the second. With the ball being batted around, the Govs knocked it out of bounds opposite the Penguin bench with 2.2 seconds left. The Govs would not left Perry touch the ball and Keene’s desperation three at the buzzer came up short.
In breaking his scoring slump, Betran was 3-of-6 from three-point range while also going 7-of-7 at the free-throw line.
Williams was 8-of-11 from the field in scoring 20 points for a second straight outing. Chris Horton again was a force inside, scoring 17 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and blocking four shots. It was Horton’s third double-double this season and 10th of his career.
As important as Horton, Williams and Betran were, point guard Damarius Smith may have been even more key to the victory. Although he had just six points, he dished out 10 assists, the most by a Govs since Caleb Brown had 10 against Chattanooga, Jan. 3, 2011.
The Govs finished the night shooting 58.3 percent (35 of 60) and out-rébounded Youngstown State, 31-28. After allowing YSU to shoot 52 percent in the first half, the Govs held the Penguins to just 12 of 30 (40 percent) in the final half.
TENNESSEE TECH 74, UTAH VALLEY 71
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Senior point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas scored 20 points, including a crucial 3-pointer with three minutes remaining to tie the game, and Tennessee Tech used that to propel the Golden Eagles to a 74-71 victory over visiting Utah Valley University Saturday night in Eblen Center.
Samarrippas was 7-for-9 from the field including 4-for-5 from outside the arc, and added five assists to lead all players in both categories. He also made his only two free throws with 46 seconds to play that proved the game-winners.
Junior Dwan Caldwell scored a career-high with 18 points, shooting 6-for-9 and grabbing a game-best seven rebounds. Tech (5-4) also got a career-high effort from junior Jordan Johnson with 11 points, going 4-for-5 from the field including all three of his 3-point tries.
Utah Valley (2-4) put four players in double figures, led by Hayes Garrity with 18 points. Mitch Bruneel added 16 points. Keawe Enos scored 13 and Zach Nelson netted 11.
Tech shot 53.2 percent overall and a season-high 57.1 percent (8-for-14) from long range. Tech was 4-for-7 from outside the arc in each half.
The Wolverines shot 52.2 percent overall and held a 26-25 edge in rebounds, tipping the balance with a 17-10 margin in the second half.
After Tech held a lead the entire 20 minutes of the first half, Utah Valley kept it close in the second half and tied the contest five times before forging a three-point lead, 67-64, on a jumper by Garrity and a layup from Enos with 3:15 remaining.
It was the largest lead of the night for the Wolverines, and Samarrippas didn’t let it last long. He dropped in a 3-pointer with 3:03 to play to tie the game for the sixth time.
Two free throws by Bruneel put UVU ahead, 69-67, before Caldwell powered into the paint and scored a three-point play for a 70-69 Golden Eagle lead.
A give-and-go from Ben Aird handed Bruneel a layup with 54 seconds to play and the Wolverines were up, 71-70.
At the other end, Samarrippas drew a foul as he drove the lane, and hit both of his free throws for a 72-71 Tech lead.
Tech’s defense forced a missed shot and Ladon Carter snapped down the defensive rebound, and pushed the ball to Shirmane Thomas, who was fouled immediately at midcourt.
He made his first charity toss, then waited out a UVU timeout before hitting his second for a 74-71 lead.
The Wolverines worked the ball to Nelson for a contested 3-pointer that missed, and Holton Hunsaker’s second 3-point try came just after the buzzer.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Samarrippas pushed Tech into a 10-point lead midway in the first half, and the Golden Eagles were on top by 11 points on three different occasions during the first 15 minutes.
Utah Valley began to chip away at the difference over the final five minutes of the half, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Bruneel to pull within six. A layup with one second left by Nelson brought the Wolverines all the way back to within four at halftime, 36-32.
At the break, Samarrippas (13) and Caldwell (11) had accounted for 24 of Tech’s 36 points. Tech Shot 54.5 percent in the opening half and held a 15-9 edge in rebounds.
NORTH CAROLINA STATE 75, EASTERN KENTUCKY 56
RALEIGH, N.C. - Eastern Kentucky led North Carolina State by 10 in the first half, but couldn’t hold off a second half rally in a 75-56 loss on Saturday.
The Colonels (6-2) led 22-12 with 5:08 left in the first half and had a 27-21 advantage at the break. Eastern trailed by only three, 54-51, with six minutes left. However, the Wolfpack (4-2) went on a 17-0 run to put the game away.
Glenn Cosey led EKU with 14 points. Corey Walden finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
NCSU leading scorer T.J. Warren had four points in the first half but finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds.
The Wolfpack shot 66 percent in the second half and 50 percent for the game, despite making just 2-of-14 from behind the arc. Eastern Kentucky made 38 percent of its shots and was out-rebounded by 14.
Eastern used a 13-4 first half run to take its 10-point lead. Jeff Johnson, Timmy Knipp and Cosey each hit one three-pointer during the run. Cosey’s trey polished off the spurt.
The Wolfpack answered with a 9-2 run of their own to get within three. Cat Barber’s basket cut the deficit to 24-21 with 1:41 left. Neither team scored again until Cosey knocked down another three-pointer with one second left in the half to send the visitors to the locker room on top 27-21.
North Carolina State opened the second half with a 9-2 run to erase the Colonel advantage. Warren’s basket and free throw gave the Wolfpack a 30-29 lead, their first since it was 6-5 in the first half. Another Cosey three-pointer gave EKU its final lead, 35-32. N.C. State scored nine straight and never trailed again.
Eastern was down 54-51 with six minutes left to play, but the Colonels went 5:14 without scoring. The 17-0 run allowed the Wolfpack to take a 20-point lead, 71-51, on a lay-up by Warren with 1:58 left in the game.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 68, EASTERN ILLINOIS 53
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The Panther men’s basketball team dropped a 68-53 contest at preseason Sun Belt favorite Western Kentucky in front of 4,527 fans at E.A. Diddle Arena. EIU falls to 3-4 on the year.
The Hilltoppers (4-2) connected on 66.7 percent of their field goals (14-for-21) in the second stanza to pull away from the Panthers late after only hitting 37 percent of their shot attempts in the first half. WKU also went 10-for-13 from the free throw line in the second half and finished the game going 16-for-19 from the charity stripe.
Despite the hot shooting Hilltoppers, EIU got within four (49-45) with 7:32 left in the contest on back-to-back free throws by Reggie Smith. WKU would outscore EIU, 19-8, in the closing minutes for the 15-point victory.
The Panthers started the game on an 8-0 run by hitting four of their first five shots and led by as many as nine (16-7) with 11:55 on the clock. WKU bounced back by using a 13-2 run to take its first lead, 20-18, with just over five minutes remaining before intermission. The Hilltoppers took advantage of eight Panther turnovers in the first half, converting the miscues into 10 points as they led 28-24 at halftime.
Smith was the lone Panther in double figures with 16 points on 4-for-9 shooting. The junior guard also went 6-for-10 from the charity stripe. EIU finished the contest going 11-for-17 from the foul line.
Jake Verhagen added nine points as the freshman guard went 3-for-4 from behind the arc. The Panthers finished the game going 6-for-17 from three-point range. EIU also went 18-for-45 from the floor in the loss.
WKU held a 31-24 advantage on the glass with Brandon Harris grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Keenen Anderson and Josh Piper led EIU with four rebounds each.
George Fant led the Hilltoppers in scoring with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting while going 6-for-9 from the foul line. T.J. Price also added 13 points, all coming in the second half.
EIU committed 14 turnovers in the game, leading to 21 points off the miscues for the Hilltoppers. WKU also held a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint and a 29-20 advantage in bench scoring.
SAINT MARY'S 89, MURRAY STATE 64
MORAGA, Calif. (AP) - Brad Waldow scored 18 points to lead Saint Mary's as they easily defeated Murray State 89-64 in the Shamrock Classic Saturday night.
James Walker III and Stephen Holt each added 16 points in a game that wasn't really close from the start.
Saint Mary's (6-0) quickly jumped out to a 30-12 lead the first half. They pushed their halftime lead to 49-27, shooting a blistering 51.6 percent (16-31) that included six 3-pointers. The Gaels quickly eliminated any though of a comeback by extending their lead to 30 points before the first media timeout in the second half.
Murray State (2-5) did itself no favors by turning the ball over 17 times compared to nine by the Gaels. St Maries capitalized, scoring 33 points off those errors.
Jarvis Williams led the Racers with 16 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Jeffrey Moss added 14 points, and Cameron Payne scored 12.