THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Wright State 70,
Eastern Illinois 43
@Morehead State 120, South Dakota 83
Lipscomb 88,
@Austin Peay 83
@Arkansas 102,
UT Martin 56
@Tennessee Tech 112, Hillsdale 56
@Illinois State 64,
Tennessee State 58
WRIGHT STATE 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 43
DAYTON, Ohio - The Panther men’s basketball team committed a season-high 21 turnovers in a 70-43 loss at Wright State on Thursday night at the Nutter Center. EIU drops to 3-7 on the year.
EIU went 7-for-10 from the floor to start the contest, taking a 21-19 lead on a Sherman Blanford three-point play with 6:45 on the clock. The Raiders (6-7) responded by going on a 10-0 run and holding the Panthers scoreless for six minutes to take a 29-21 advantage at the 1:07 mark. Blanford ended the drought with a layup with 48 seconds on the clocks before AJ Pacher knocked down a shot on Wright State’s final possession of the half to make the score 31-23 at intermission.
Wright State forced 12 Panther turnovers in the first half, turning the miscues into 11 points. All told, the Raiders had 20 points off of turnovers in the contest.
The Raiders hit back-to-back threes to open the second half to take their first double-figure lead, 37-25, before EIU got within nine (40-31) with 15:28 remaining on the clock on an Alex Austin basket. Wright State regained the lead and outscored EIU, 30-12, while holding the Panthers to only three made baskets to end the game.
Blanford posted his second consecutive double-double to lead the Panthers, scoring a game-high 15 points with a game-high 11 rebounds. Austin added 10 points and Chris Olivier added seven points in his Panther debut.
Wright State posted two more rebounds (24-22) than EIU with Chrishawn Hopkins leading the Raiders on the glass with four rebounds. Both teams also had five steals on the night.
EIU hit 40.5 percent of its shot attempts and went 10-for-15 from the foul line. Wright state connected on 54.5 percent of its field-goal attempts and went 15-for-18 from the charity stripe, including a 9-for-9 mark in the first half.
Miles Dixon and Hopkins led the Raider offense with nine points each while Reggie Arceneaux and Cole Darling both added eight points, respectively. Arceneaux and Matt Vest both had a game-high three assists.
MOREHEAD STATE 120, SOUTH DAKOTA 83
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Senior Drew Kelly, playing in his 102nd Morehead State men's basketball game, erupted for career highs of 40 points, 12 rebounds, 14 field goals and eight three-pointers in a 120-83 win over South Dakota on Thursday evening at Johnson Arena.
Kelly, who posted 18 points in the first half and 22 more after intermission, drilled 14-of-23 from the field, 8-of-12 from long distance and all four of his free-throw attempts in 28 minutes. He had recorded just 36 points in his previous seven games combined.
Morehead State's offensive outburst marked the Ohio Valley Conference's top performance in 2013-14. The Eagles tallied season highs for assists (32), field-goals made (44), three-pointers made (17) and three-point percentage (.531) in addition to recording 14 steals.
Kelly's effort marked the most points by an OVC player this season. He was one three-point field goal from tying the school record, as was Morehead State as a team.
The Eagles improve to 8-5 overall and 4-1 at home with the victory. MSU has now won 82 percent (64-14) of its home contests over the past six seasons. The Coyotes, who compete in the Summit League, slip to 3-8 overall and 1-6 on the road with their fifth straight loss.
Sophomore Brent Arrington added 19 points for MSU, while junior Angelo Warner posted 16, senior Chad Posthumus managed 14, junior Luke Pajkovic registered 11 and junior Billy Reader had 10. Warner now owns 41 double-figure scoring efforts in 77 career tilts.
Junior Kareem Storey tied a school standard with 16 assists. The Eagles finished with just 11 turnovers and nearly a 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Morehead State turned in a 43-32 rebounding advantage, including 16-8 on the offensive end. The Eagles have not been outrebounded in 13 contests this season. Posthumus added 10 rebounds in 23 minutes for his league-leading seventh double-double this year.
Warner tallied a career-best nine assists, while Arrington chipped in with a season-high five steals.
Morehead State jumped out to an 8-0 advantage and held the upper hand from start to finish. The Eagles pushed out to a 25-point lead late in the first half and were on top by 23 at the break. MSU's biggest lead, of 41 points, came with 1:17 to play in the second half.
Sophomore Casey Kasperbauer paced five South Dakota played in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-7 from three-point range. The Coyotes hit 45 percent (26-of-58) from the field, 43 percent (9-of-21) from long distance and 79 percent (22-of-28) from the foul line.
Morehead State drilled 55 percent (44-of-80) from the floor, including 17-of-32 from beyond the arc. Warner made 6-of-9 from the field, Posthumus went 5-of-9 and Arrington swished 7-of-13. Pajkovic added a 4-of-5 effort, including 3-of-3 from three-point land.
LIPSCOMB 88, AUSTIN PEAY 83
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Lipscomb connected on a trio of three pointers in a 1 ½- minute span down the stretch as the Bisons handed Austin Peay State University an 88-83 defeat, Thursday night, in Dave Aaron Arena.
It was the Govs’ second home loss this season and dropped APSU to 5-7 on the season. Lipscomb defeated the Governors for a fifth straight time since the series resumed in the 2010-11 season as the Bison improved to 5-6 on the season.
With the score tied at 67 with 2:51 left, Martin Smith knocked down a three pointer from the left wing to give Lipscomb the lead. After a pair of Zavion Williams free throws narrowed the Govs deficit to one, 70-69, J.C. Hampton hit a three pointer from the corner to put Lipscomb up 73-69. Following a Govs’ turnover on the next possession Khion Sankey found Josh Williams for another three to give the Bisons an insurmountable 76-69 lead with 1:20 left. That last three was one of 13 the Bisons (28 attempts) connected on during the night.
If that was the most noticeable statistic for Lipscomb then 22 turnovers was the Govs’ most glaring one. The turnovers offset an efficient 28-of-54 (52 percent) shooting night for the Governors and a 20-of-26 (77 percent) effort at the free-throw line. It also negated a Govs 35-28 rebounding advantage.
Martin Smith led Lipscomb with 27 points, cashing seven free throws in the final half. Hampton added 19, including six three pointers in 14 attempts. Malcolm Smith tallied 16 points before fouling out.
Five players scored in double figures for the Govs, led by Ed Dyson’s 15 points while Chris Horton and Zavion Williams added 14 apiece. Williams made a pair of three pointers in the final minute to make things interesting, but the Govs could never get closer than three points.
The two teams battled to a 40-40 tie at halftime—the 10th tie of the half—as neither team led by more than four points. APSU led by as much as five points, 49-44, early in the second half but Horton had to sit down with his third foul and that helped change game’s momentum as Lipscomb immediately went on an 11-0 run to take 55-49 lead.
However, the Governors scrapped back, using its defense to create turnovers as they tied it, 59-59 on a Dyson layup as a Smith steal and pass led to the bucket. The game would be tied three more times but Lipscomb never allowed the Govs to take the lead before starting its final three-point barrage.
ARKANSAS 102, UT MARTIN 56
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Redshirt junior guard Terence Smith poured in a game-high 19 points tonight for the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team but the Skyhawks fell 102-56 to the Arkansas Razorbacks at Bud Walton Arena.
Smith made six of his 11 field goal attempts, including a 2-for-3 performance from beyond the three-point arc. He also sank five of his six shots from the charity stripe for the Skyhawks (5-9), who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end tonight.
Myles Taylor and Bobby Jones each added eight points apiece for UT Martin, who got open looks throughout the night but shot just 27.5 percent (19-for-69) this evening.
Arkansas (8-2) was led by Coty Clarke and Bobby Portis, who each tallied 15 points and nine rebounds. Moses Kingsley had a double-double (12 points, 12 rebounds) off the bench while Rashad Madden and Michael Qualls scored 11 points apiece. The Razorbacks converted 60.9 percent of their field goal attempts (42-for-69).
A Smith pull up jumper on a fast break put the Skyhawks on the scoreboard at the 17:47 mark. Arkansas would open up a 12-2 lead with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half but UT Martin responded with five unanswered points, capped off with a Dee Oldham three-pointer to make the score 12-7.
Javier Martinez kept the margin at five points (14-9) with a fast break layup at the 13:08 mark but the Razorbacks followed with five unanswered points. The Skyhawks would later score on three straight trips down the floor to stay within striking distance (29-17) but Arkansas used a 12-2 run to go on top 41-19 with 4:36 left to play in the first half.
The Razorbacks led by 27 points until an old-fashioned three-point play by Martinez closed out the scoring for the first half, making the score 49-25.
Smith compiled eight points to pace the Skyhawks in the first half, while Clarke and Portis each had nine points to lead Arkansas.
At the start of the second half, Smith picked up right where he left off – pouring in eight of the Skyhawks’ first 10 points over a span of 4:05. After Smith’s last bucket made the score 60-35, Arkansas would go on a 20-6 run.
Jones would go on a scoring streak for the Skyhawks midway through the second half, as the senior out of Memphis, Tenn. was responsible for eight of UT Martin’s nine points in a stretch of 2:09. However, Arkansas proved to be too much for the Skyhawks in the second half.
TENNESSEE TECH 112, HILLSDALE 56
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Senior Dennis Ogbe was the top scorer in a balanced attack as Tennessee Tech scored its most points in six seasons with a 112-56 victory Thursday night over visiting Hillsdale (Okla.) College in Eblen Center.
Tech fans had plenty to cheer for in the team's final contest heading into a Christmas break. The victory left coach Steve Payne's team with a 7-7 overall record while Hillsdale fell to 4-5.
Ogbe had 22 points, on 8-for-10 shooting, and added eight rebounds, three blocked shots and four steals. His steal total was a career-high, and his seven offensive rebounds was also his personal best.
Altogether, Tech charted 11 individual career-best numbers across the box score, including nine points and four rebounds from sophomore Ammanuel Diressa, making his first career start. Redshirt freshman DeOndre Haynes, who saw the most minutes of his career wth 18, posted career-best numbers in points (15), rebounds (3) and assists (3).
Junior Ladon Carter finished with seven points and 11 rebounds, with a career-best seven offensive boards. Other career-best numbers were five assists for junior Jordan Johnson and four rebounds for freshman Shirmane Thomas. Johnson also finished with six points, four rebounds and four steals, while Thomas had nne points.
Senior point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas played just 18 minutes and chipped in with 11 points, four assists and three steals.
Hillsdale had two players reach double figures, led by Phil Carey with 15 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Marquis Burden added 12 points. The Saints also got eight points and five rebounds from Chris Hobgood, and six points and five rebounds from Randall Henderson.
Hillsdale hung around for the first 12 minutes, keeping the margin under double figures until Samarrippas hit a 3-pointer with 7:43 remaining in the first half to make it a 32-19 Tech lead. The basket opened a 16-4 Tech run and the Golden Eagles were up by 31 points at halftime 58-27.
The 112 points was the most by a Golden Eagle squad since a 117-88 win over Bluefield College on Nov. 27, 2007.
ILLINOIS STATE 64, TENNESSEE STATE 58
NORMAL, Ill. - Senior Patrick Miller recorded his 24th straight double figure game in a hard fought loss at Illinois State.
Miller finished with 13 points, six rebounds and six assists in the defeat. Kennedy Eubanks, joined Miller in double figures tallying 11 points and a team high nine rebounds.
Defensively the Tigers held the Redbirds to their second lowest scoring performance of the year (64), dating back to their opener on Nov. 9 at VCU, a 96-58 loss. TSU also won the battle on the boards, out rebounding the Redbirds, 44-39.
Illinois State (6-5) raced out to a 10-4 lead with 15:04 on the clock in the first half. To start the game, the Redbirds went 4-of-7 from the floor, shooting 57.1 percent.
Tennessee State (1-11) battled back into the game trimming the home team’s lead down to just four, 13-9, after a senior Chaed Wellian 3-pointer. Tennessee State followed Wellian’s three ball with a triple from junior Jay Harris put the Redbirds lead at just one point, 13-12. During the six point swing the Tigers held ISU scoreless for nearly four minutes.
Leading 15-14, Illinois State used a 9-0 run to put its lead out to double digits, 24-14. Tennessee State battled back to close the frame, using an 8-4 run to trim the lead down to six, 28-22, giving the Tigers all the momentum into the locker room.
At the break Wellian had a game high seven points. Senior Patrick Miller was held to two points, but added three rebounds and three assists to push the Tigers. As a team, the Tigers shot 31.0 percent from the field, 22.2 percent from 3-point land and 33.3 percent from the line.
Both teams got off to slow starts to begin the second stanza, with the Redbirds lead hovering at six points.
Illinois State made the first run of the second half, using a quick 5-0 spurt to extend its lead to double-digits, 38-27, with 11:58 on the clock.
During the run the Tigers were held scoreless for nearly five minutes of game time. Miller ended the streak with an and-1 basket to bring the Tigers within eight, 38-30.
Miller’s basket ignited the Big Blue attack, as they closed the home team’s lead down to three, 41-38, after a 6-0 run capped by a layup from junior Kennedy Eubanks.
The Redbirds Bobby Hunter nailed a corner 3-pointer to push the ISU lead out to six, at 46-40, with 4:11 on the game clock. Hunter’s three sparked a 7-0 push from Illinois State increasing the home team’s lead to 10, 50-40.
Tennessee State clawed its way back in the game, closing within five, 61-56, after a Jacquan Nobles 3-pointer with 14 seconds on the clock.
The Redbirds closed the game away at the line, taking the contest 64-58.
Illinois State had three players finish in double figures, with Daishon Knight leading the way with 16 points.