SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Austin Peay 77, Liberty 71
@#4 Wisconsin 86,
Eastern Kentucky 61
@Dartmouth 76,
Jacksonville State 46
@South Dakota State 85,
Belmont 72
@IPFW 95,
SIUE 75
Illinois-Chicago 75,
@Southeast Missouri 69
AUSTIN PEAY 77, LIBERTY 71
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Travis Betran tallied 23 points and Chris Horton 21 while Damarius Smith recorded 12 assists as Austin Peay State University defeated Liberty, 77-71, Saturday night in non-conference basketball action in Dave Aaron Arena.
The victory evened the Governors record at 5-5 while snapping a two-game losing streak. Liberty, meanwhile, fell to 4-6 on the season. The contest was APSU’s last remnant of the BracketBuster Series as the Govs traveled to Lynchburg, Va., last February in the final year of the actual event.
Trailing 43-39 early in the second half, the Governors began to take control. With 16 minutes left in the game, Ed Dyson knocked down a three pointer to cut the deficit to one before Smith scored on a layup to give APSU the lead, 44-43. The Flames Antwan Burrus scored on a layup as Liberty regained the lead. However, that was Liberty’s final lead.
Dyson knocked down his second straight three pointer, this one from the left wing, as the Govs went on a 9-0 run fueled by Smith’s passing and the free-throw line as APSU built a 54-45 lead with 10:40 left. .
But the Govs were unable to shake the Flames, the defending Big South tourney champions. In fact, they had a 10-3 surge of their own, cutting the deficit to two, 57-55, with 7:06 left. It remained a two-point game with 5:19 left when John Caleb Sanders drove and spun a layup off the glass.
Horton stretched the lead to three with a free throw and then Betran helped get the Govs transition game moving by blocking Davon Marshall’s three-point attempt. The ball was snared by Smith who exploded down court and found Dyson for a dunk.
Smith then hit a short jumper to push the lead to seven, 66-59, with 4:14 left before Smith found Betran in the left corner for a three pointer to give APSU a 69-59 lead with 3:30 left. Liberty could not get closer than five points the game’s remainder.
Not only did Horton record his season’s second 20-point contest on 8-of-10 shooting but his fifth double-double this season by snatching 12 rebounds. He also blocked four shots.
For Betran it was his season’s third 20-point contest and 14th for his career. He was an efficient 4-of-6 from three-point range.
Smith’s 12 assists were the most by a Governor since D.J. Wright had 12 against UT Martin, Jan. 3, 2008.
A game after shooting 28.1 percent at Samford, the Governors finished Saturday night 25 of 48 (52.1 percent). Entering the game averaging 17.2 turnovers per game, the Govs committed just 12 against Liberty, only five in the second.
Liberty’s Burrus led all scorers with 27 points while Sanders had 16 points and seven assists.
#4 WISCONSIN 86, EASTERN KENTUCKY 61
MADISON, Wis. - Eastern Kentucky led fourth ranked Wisconsin early, but the Badgers used a first half run to pull away in a 86-61 victory on Saturday.
A basket by Eric Stutz with 14:31 left in the opening half put the Colonels (7-4) in front 8-7. However, the Badgers (12-0) answered with a 21-3 run to take control. Free throws by Sam Dekker capped the run and gave the home team a 28-11 lead with 6:33 to go before halftime. EKU went nearly five minutes without scoring during the Wisconsin run.
Glenn Cosey had a game-best 21 points for Eastern. He made 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Orlando Williams scored 13 points off the bench.
Eastern Kentucky trailed by 19 at halftime. A three-pointer by Ben Brust with 17:29 left in the game extended the Wisconsin advantage to 22 and the home team led by 20 or more the rest of the way.
Four Badgers scored in double figures led by Brust with 20 points. He made 7-of-12 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Nigel Hayes scored 13 of his 17 at the free throw line. Dekker added 16 points.
Wisconsin shot 61 percent (26-of-43) from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) from three-point range. The Colonels made 41 percent (24-for-58) of their shots. Wisconsin held a 33-20 rebounding advantage.
DARTMOUTH 76, JACKSONVILLE STATE 46
HANOVER, N.H. - Four players scored in double figures to help Dartmouth hand the Jacksonville State men's basketball team a 76-46 loss on Saturday at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H.
Senior Nick Cook led the Gamecocks with eight points while junior Darion Rackley added seven points and a team-high five rebounds. The Gamecocks shot just 30.4 percent (17-of-56) while being out-rebounded 46-23 to fall to 4-8 on the season.
Alex Mitola scored 16 points behind a 4-of-7 night from behind the 3-point line while John Golden added 14 points to lead the Big Green. Tyler Melville and Brandon McDonnell each finished with 12 points as Dartmouth shot 54.2 percent (26-of-48) from the field to improve to 4-4 on the year.
The Gamecocks struggled from the field in the first half, shooting just 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) while watching the Big Green knock down 6-of-13 from three while shooting 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field.
Freshman Undra Mitchem knocked down a three to tie the game at 10-10 before Dartmouth used a 10-0 run to take a 20-10 lead with 10:14 to play. Cook then ended a four minute scoring drought for JSU with a layup underneath to break up the Big Green run.
Mitola then hit his third 3 of the half with 5:09 to play to give Dartmouth a 31-15 lead. The Big Green then closed the half hitting six straight free throws while building a 37-17 lead at the break while holding the Gamecocks scoreless for the final 2:24 of the half.
The Big Green continued their hot shooting night in the second half, converting their first nine shots of the final period while building a 57-29 lead with 12:31 to play. For the half, Dartmouth shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the field and converted 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) free throw attempts.
The Gamecocks continued to struggle from the field in the second half, hitting just 11-of-30 (36.7 percent) shots from the field while finishing 3-of-6 from the free throw line. For the game, the Gamecocks were 7-of-15 (46.7 percent) from the free throw line.
JSU would managed to cut the lead to 63-41 with seven minutes to play thanks to a 12-6 run. Juniors Teraes Clemmons and Grant White each knocked down a 3-point shot before Avery Moore knocked down a jumper. White then hit another jump shot before junior D.J. Felder found sophomore Mike Louder underneath for a dunk to cut the lead to 22 with 7:22 remaining.
The Big Green then outscored the Gamecocks 13-5 to close the game while converting on 7-of-8 free throw attempts to help put the game away for the 76-46 victory.
SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 85, BELMONT 72
BROOKINGS, S.D. - Belmont University men's basketball returned to action following semester exams, dropping an 85-72 decision at South Dakota State Saturday.
Belmont had not played since its Dec. 3 victory at Middle Tennessee; the Bruins Dec. 11 game vs. Fairfield was postponed due to the Stags' inabaility to travel due to inclement weather.
Though Belmont guard Craig Bradshaw returned after missing one game, the Bruins played without starting point guard Reece Chamberlain and freshman swingman Evan Bradds due to injury.
Belmont got five early points from Bradshaw for an 8-6 lead, the Bruins' lone lead of the game. Senior forward Drew Windler got two fouls in the first four minutes and was forced to sit the remaining of the first half to nurse fouls. The game remained close through the first half, with SDSU leading 36-33 at halftime. Bradshaw had 12 first half points to lead Belmont.
But SDSU made its first seven shots of the second half, taking a 59-43 lead with 13:09 left on a slam dunk from Cody Larson. A three-pointer from Caleb Chowbay got Belmont within 71-64 with 4:44 left, but SDSU went 10-for-14 from the free throw line in the final 4:10 to secure the outcome.
SDSU shot a season-high 57.4 percent from the field and 24-for-33 from the free throw line. All five Jackrabbit starters scored in double figures.
Bradshaw led Belmont with 17.
SDSU has won 35 of its last 36 games at home.
IPFW 95, SIUE 75
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - IPFW connected on 61 percent (19-31) of its shots in the second half, including hitting nine three-pointers to roll past SIUE 95-75 in men's basketball at the Gates Sports Center Saturday night.
The Mastodons won for the third consecutive game to improve to 9-4 overall. SIUE fell to 0-4 in true road games and 2-8 overall.
SIUE trailed by eight points (39-31) at halftime following a period in which the lead changed five times. The Cougars led by as many as four points early in the first half. IPFW used an 8-0 run late in the half to push its lead to 10 at 39-29 with 1:05 to play in the half.
The Mastodons came out hot to start the second half, hitting their first six attempts from the field to swell the lead to 17 (57-40).
IPFW led by 20 (74-54) with 9:16 to play in the game, when SIUE ran off the next seven points. A Kris Davis jumper made it 74-61 with 7:08 left. It is as close as the Cougars would draw to the Mastodons the rest of the way.
Davis finished with 11 points and was one of four players in double figures for SIUE. Keaton Jackson and Maurice Wiltz each scored 14 points, while Donivine Stewart also scored 11 points. Stewart was 3 for 4 from three-point range. For Jackson the 14 points marked a new career high. He was 5 for 6 from the field, and also led SIUE with six rebounds.
IPFW's Luis Jacobo scored 20 points to lead all scorers. Pierre Bland finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Isaiah McCray and Michael Kibiloski each added 11 points. Kibiloski finished with three three-pointers.
ILLINOIS-CHICAGO 75, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Kelsey Barlow had a double-double 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead Illinois-Chicago (4-6) to a 75-69 win over Southeast Missouri (7-3) Saturday night at the Show Me Center.
Southeast, which saw a five-game winning streak come to an end, suffered its first loss at home this season.
Southeast fell into a deep hole early when UIC started off with a 16-0 run. The Redhawks missed their first six field goals, turned the ball over five times and went scoreless for 6:10 before Jarekious Bradley's jumper broke the drought at the 13:50 mark.
Kelsey Barlow, who had 11 first-half points, knocked down a three-pointer and Hayden Humes made two free throws to give UIC a 16-point advantage twice more before Southeast started chipping away at the Flames lead.
Down, 30-17, with 5:49 left, the Redhawks went on a 16-6 run to pull to within three. Darrian Gray came off the bench to score five points and Lucas Nutt added four to key the surge which ended when Gray's three-pointer sliced UIC's lead to 36-33 with 1:33 on the clock.
Southeast, which shot a season-low 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the field in the first half, trailed, 38-33, at the break. It marked the second-straight game where the Redhawks shot below 40 percent in the game's opening 20 minutes.
The Redhawks pulled to within a point on five occasions in the final 12:45 of the game, but just couldn't get by the Flames. Bradley made a shot to cut UIC's lead to one four times and Southeast missed twice when it had the chance to take the lead.
Once Bradley's jumper made it a 64-63 game with 3:38 left, UIC responded with an 11-6 run to polish off the win.
Southeast shot 40 percent (24-of-60) from the field on the night and matched a season-low 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from behind the three-point line.
Bradley finished with a game and season-high 28 points on 10-of-16 field goals and a near-perfect 6-of-7 free throws. He narrowly missed a double-double, pulling down a team-high nine rebounds, as well.
Gray added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Tyler Stone followed with 10 points. Additionally, Nutt had eight assists.
Barlow led UIC with 21 points on 8-of-21 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. He also dished out eight assists and played all 40 minutes.
Jordan Harks and Marc Brown followed with 12 points apiece. The Flames shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) and outrebounded Southeast, 39-34.