SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Valparaiso 82,
Eastern Kentucky 60
@UT Martin 89, Longwood 79
Eastern Illinois 59, @Northern Illinois 47
Jacksonville State 71, @UNC Asheville 69
Oakland 82,
Morehead State 79 (OT)
@Central Arkansas 80,
SIUE 78
Ball State 85,
@Southeast Missouri 82
@Liberty 79,
Austin Peay 73 (OT)
Loyola (Md.) 69,
@Tennessee State 67
@Tennessee Tech 68, UMKC 62
@Murray State 73, South Dakota State 62
@Belmont 81, Ohio 62
VALPARAISO 82, EASTERN KENTUCKY 60
VALPARAISO, Ind. - Eastern Kentucky made just 33 percent of its shots in an 82-60 road loss to Valparaiso in the 2013 ESPN Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters.
The Crusaders (22-7) shot 68 percent from the field.
The Colonels (22-7) fell behind 11-2 out of the gate and trailed by seven, 24-17, with a little over eight minutes left in the first half. Eastern put together a strong defensive stretch that allowed the visitors to score eight unanswered.
Valparaiso had four turnovers and a missed shot on five straight possessions. The 8-0 run was highlighted by Timmy Knipp’s 3-pointer and ensuing free throw after being fouled on the shot. Two free throws by Mike DiNunno capped the run and gave EKU its first and only lead of the game, 25-24, with 5:32 left in the opening half.
The Crusaders answered with a run of their own to take control. Valpo ended the first half on a 15-4 run, then scored the first six points of the second half on 3-pointers by Ryan Broekhoff and Will Bogan to stretch the run to 21-4. Bogan’s trey pushed the lead to 16, 45-29. The Colonels never got closer than 11 the rest of the way.
Corey Walden scored a game-best 20 points. He made 7-of-13 attempts from the field, including 3-of-5 from behind the arc. DiNunno finished with 19 points. Eric Stutz contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
Broekhoff and Bogan led Valparaiso with 13 points each. Five Crusaders finished in double figures.
Valpo made 30-of-44 shots from the field, including 7-of-17 from three-point range (41.2 percent). VU out-rebounded Eastern by 14. EKU committed six fewer turnovers, but made just 20-of-61 attempts from the field.
UT MARTIN 89, LONGWOOD 79
MARTIN, Tenn. - Four University of Tennessee at Martin players reached double-figures in the scoring column this afternoon as the Skyhawks pulled away at the end of an 89-79 victory over Longwood at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Junior Mike Liabo flirted with a triple-double today, compiling 15 points, a career-high nine assists and eight rebounds for UT Martin. Terence Smith led the team with 21 points, while Myles Taylor pitched in 18 points and BJ McLaughlin tied a career-best with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Skyhawks (8-19), who doubled their season win total from last season with the victory today.
Jeremy Washington (eight points) and Dee Oldham (seven points, four assists, four steals, three rebounds) also heavily contributed to UT Martin’s offensive attack, as the Skyhawks notched their highest scoring game against a Division-I opponent this season.
Longwood (6-23) was led by Tristan Carey’s 23 points and a double-double by Michael Kessens (11 points, 14 rebounds). Karl Ziegler added 14 points while David Robinson and Lucas Woodhouse scored 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Early baskets by McLaughlin and Liabo resulted in a 5-5 tie, but Longwood would soon score six unanswered to lead 11-5 at the 17:22 mark. A little over three minutes later, four straight points by McLaughlin resulted in the third tie of the game at 16-all with just under 14 minutes to play in the first half.
A tip-in by Washington and a jumper in the paint by Justin Childs on back-to-back possessions gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the game (22-21) at the 10:20 mark. The Lancers then pieced together six straight points over the next 57 seconds to lead 27-22 with a little over nine minutes remaining in the first half.
The Skyhawks charged back, unreeling an 11-2 run over a span of 3:48 to go on top 33-29 thanks to a jumper by DeMarc Richardson. However, the Lancers accounted for eight of the next nine points to go ahead 37-34 until Bobby Jones sank a three-pointer at the 2:43 mark to even the score for the fifth time in the first half. Longwood used a buzzer beater to take a 43-42 lead into the halftime break.
In the first half, Carey’s 11 points led Longwood while Smith compiled nine points to pace the Skyhawks.
A three-pointer by Taylor with 16:49 remaining tilted the score back in UT Martin’s favor (48-47), but Longwood answered back with five unanswered points. A Taylor layup at the 13:32 mark provided a 53-52 Skyhawk advantage – a lead UT Martin would not concede the rest of the way. Another Taylor jumper a minute later capped off a 9-0 Skyhawk run and made the score 57-52.
Longwood would tie the game at 57-all with 10:34 left, but Taylor connected on a three-pointer off an inbounds play on the Skyhawks’ next possession. A Smith three-pointer and Taylor jumper lifted UT Martin to a 65-59 lead with eight minutes to go.
The Lancers got within two points a little over a minute later, but a Liabo trey and four straight points by Washington provided an eight-point lead (72-64) with 4:36 left to play. On three different occasions, Longwood cut the Skyhawk lead to four but UT Martin iced the game at the free throw line – converting 12 of its final 14 attempts from the charity stripe in the final 43 seconds.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 59, NORTHERN ILLINOIS 47
DeKALB, Ill. - Morris Woods scored a game-high 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting to lead the Panther men’s basketball team over in-state foe Northern Illinois, 59-47, in the team’s Ramada Worldwide Bracketbuster game on Saturday afternoon.
The Panthers (9-20) started the second half on an 11-2 run to take a 38-27 advantage with just under 16 minutes left in the game. EIU never trailed for the duration of the contest and led by as much as 13 points (56-43) with 1:41 on the clock. The Huskies (5-20) got within one possession (44-41) with 7:10 left in the game but EIU would go 13-for-19 from the free throw line in the second stanza to seal the victory.
The first half was back and forth as the two teams exchanged the lead 11 times while having the score tied on five occasions. Neither squad led by more than two possessions with EIU leading by three (24-21) with 3:40 left on the clock. Trailing 25-24 with 20 seconds remaining before intermission, Malcolm Herron hit a baseline three pointer to give the Panthers a 27-25 halftime lead.
Offensively, Sherman Blanford and Josh Piper both added nine points while Alex Austin chipped in eight points. Blanford scored all of his points at the foul line, going 9-for-14.
Taylor Jones and Piper led the team on the glass with eight rebounds each. EIU posted nine more rebounds (37-28) than NIU in the win.
Abdel Nader was the lone Huskie in double figures with 17 points, going 8-for-17 from the floor. The sophomore guard also paced the team on the glass with seven rebounds.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 71, UNC ASHEVILLE 69
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - Ronnie Boggs tipped in a Brian Williams miss as time expired, lifting the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a 71-69 win over UNC Asheville in Saturday's BracketBusters event.
In a game that never saw a double-digit lead by either team and saw five ties and 11 lead changes, the Gamecocks (17-10) delivered the final blow in a back-and-forth win over a Bulldogs (15-14) team that has represented the Big South Conference in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two seasons.
That blow came after a pair of Sam Hughes free throws that tied the game at 69-69 with eight ticks on the clock. Williams brought the ball up the left side of the floor before pulling up from just inside the left wing. His attempt drew the back end of the rim but a trailing Boggs tipped it in and watched backboard light up as the ball fell hung over the rim.
The game winner gives JSU 17 wins for the first time since the 20-win season by the 2002-03 team. It ties the 1999-00 squad for the second-most wins in a season in the school's 18-year Division I history.
Four Gamecocks scored in double figures, a group that was led by senior Tarvin Gaines' 18 on a day in which open looks were hard for JSU's leading scorer were hard to come by. Williams scored 15 points in the win, and Boggs and sophomore Darion Rackley added 13 apiece.
Boggs went 6-for-10 from the floor and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Four of those boards were on the offensive glass, but none of which were nearly as big as his final one. The Kansas City, Mo., native also dished a career-high seven assists and swiped three of his team's seven steals.
UNC Asheville's leading scorer Jeremy Atkinson did his job on Saturday, putting in 29 points on an 11-for-18 day from the floor. Corey Littlejohn added 19 points in the losing effort, while D.J. Cunningham came off of the bench to lead all players with 11 rebounds.
The first half was a back-and-forth one, with the two exchanging the lead eight times and tying the score three times. The Gamecocks built the largest lead of the first 20 minutes early with a six-point advantage just five minutes in.
The Bulldogs got one of Atkinson's five first-half field goals with 18 seconds on the clock to give them a 32-31 lead at the half.
The two kept exchanging blows to start the second half before a pair of steals and easy dunks from Williams and Rackley gave the Gamecocks a 56-48 lead with just under seven minutes remaining. They would stretch it to nine at 60-41 on a pair of Nick Cook free throws, but UNC Asheville wouldn't go away.
Atkinson found a slight cushion between Boggs' defensive coverage and knocked down a long 3-pointer that pulled the Bulldogs within six at 62-56 with 3:52 on the game clock. They would continue to claw back, getting an old-fashioned 3-point play from Atkinson that cut the Gamecock lead to 64-61 with under four minutes remaining.
They got another stop and then another Atkinson basket that cut the lead again, this time to 66-65 with over a minute to play. Rackley turned it over under the JSU basket, setting up a floater from Meyer that fell with 42 seconds left and gave the Bulldogs a 67-66 lead.
The Gamecocks ran the clock for about 10 seconds before Gaines drained a deep 3-pointer that put the Gamecocks back up 69-67 with just 28 seconds remaining. The Bulldogs answered again, this time with a pair of free throws from Sam Hughes that tied it again with 8.6 seconds to play.
That set up the game winning drive from Williams that handed the Gamecocks their ninth non-conference win in 12 tries this season.
OAKLAND 82, MOREHEAD STATE 79 (OT)
ROCHESTER, Mich. - Junior Travis Bader poured in a game-best 27 points and the Oakland (Mich.) men’s basketball team posted an 82-79 overtime victory over Morehead State on Saturday afternoon at the Athletics Center O’rena.
The Golden Grizzlies improve to 16-14 overall and 10-1 at home, while the Eagles fall to 13-16 on the season and 3-11 on the road. It was the first meeting between the two schools in the final Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters event.
Bader knocked down 6-of-12 overall, 5-of-8 from three-point range and all 10 free-throw attempts before fouling out. He has now canned 130 threes this season, which leads the nation, and 348 in his career, which equals a school record.
Junior Ryan Bass added 18 points for OU, while senior Drew Valentine contributed 15 and junior Duke Mondy tossed in 10. Valentine also pulled down eight rebounds, while Mondy was credited with team highs of five assists and four steals.
Junior Chad Posthumus paced Morehead State with a career-best 19 points on 7-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line. He also pulled down a team-high nine rebounds in 23 minutes before fouling out in the extra session.
Junior Bruce Reed added a career-best 14 points for the Eagles, while senior Milton Chavis and sophomore Angelo Warner registered 12 apiece. Reed drilled 6-of-9 from the field, but Chavis and Warner combined on just 8-of-30 overall.
Oakland connected on 43 percent (23-of-53) from the field, 54 percent (7-of-13) from beyond the arc and 71 percent (29-of-41) from the free-throw line.
MSU made just 38 percent (27-of-71) from the floor and 13 percent (4-of-31) from long distance, but did convert on 84 percent (21-of-25) from the charity stripe.
Morehead State continued its recent dominance in the rebounding department with a 43-37 edge, including 18-10 on the offensive end. The Eagles are now +146 over the past 16 affairs and have outrebounded 14 opponents during the stretch.
Morehead State’s biggest lead of 11 points came with 17:55 to play in the second half. Oakland’s largest advantage of seven points came with 1:28 remaining in overtime.
The Eagles hit just 2-of-9 from the field in overtime, while the Golden Grizzlies canned 5-of-8 from the free-throw line. OU also had a 6-4 rebounding edge in the final period.
MSU led for the first 28 minutes of the contest. There were five ties and five lead changes.
CENTRAL ARKANSAS 80, SIUE 78
CONWAY, Ark. - Mark Yelovich’s game-winning attempt from 25 feet away glanced off the front of the rim as time expired and Central Arkansas escaped with an 80-78 win over SIUE Saturday in the annual BracketBusters game.
SIUE, now 9-16 overall, led for the majority of the game.
Central Arkansas, now 10-16, went up 2-0 on a pair of free throws by Anthony Borden. Michael Messer hit the first of three three-point shots to make it 3-2 Cougars and SIUE didn’t trail again in the half. SIUE extended its lead to double digits when Ray Lester hit a turnaround jumper to make it 34-24 with 7:04 to play before halftime. Kris Davis gave SIUE its largest lead of the day at 40-29 with 4:00 to play in the first half. The Cougars led 43-36 at the break.
Jordan Harks and LaQuentin Miles each hit jumpers to open the second half before Robert Crawford tied the score at 43 with a three-pointer 2:28 seconds into the second half.
The Cougars pulled away again and a Tim Johnson three-pointer put SIUE back on top by five at 52-47 with 15:25 left. Crawford tied the score at 52 with 14:23 left. Johnson hit a jumper and a three-pointer to push the lead back to five at 57-52 with 13:54 left.
Johnson led all scorers with a career-high 22 points. It is the third consecutive game the junior has equaled or established his career-high in scoring. Johnson added a team-high seven rebounds. Since moving into the starting lineup four games ago, Johnson is averaging 16.5 points a game.
Yelovich scored 20 points. It was the third time this year and the 20th time in his career that Yelovich had scored at least 20 points. In three BracketBusters games Yelovich has averaged 24.7 points. Davis and Messer each added 15 points. Messer grabbed 15 rebounds.
Central Arkansas took its first lead of the second half with 4:43 to play on a jumper by Miles that made it 71-69. Miles made it a four-point lead with a jumper at 1:54 put UCA on top 77-73. Forrester called his team’s final timeout with 1:38 to play.
Following the timeout Davis pulled the Cougars within two at 77-75. SIUE then began fouling UCA in order to stop the clock. Miles hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 79-75. Johnson banked in a three with seven seconds left to make it 79-78. Jarvis Garner hit one of two free throws with three seconds left to make it 80-78.
Miles led UCA with 20 points and nine rebounds. Garner added 19 points. Crawford scored 18.
SIUE finishes its regular season with a pair of road games.
BALL STATE 85, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 82
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Jauwan Scaife scored 18 points and buried the game-winning three-pointer with 1.7 seconds left to lead Ball State (11-14) to an 85-82 win over Southeast Missouri (14-15) Saturday night in the ESPN Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters.
Southeast erased a 10-point deficit in the final 1:33 with a ferocious comeback, but came up short in its final home game of the season. The Redhawks were down, 77-67, when Corey Wilford scored five-straight points to cut BSU's lead in half.
After Chris Bond hit a free throw to give the Cardinals an 80-75 advantage, Marland Smith answered with a three to narrow the lead to two with 45 seconds. BSU later took a four-point lead on Scaife's two free throws 19 seconds later and Nino Johnson followed with a free throw to slice the lead to 82-79.
Johnson then tipped a BSU in-bounds pass and Wilford came up with a steal. Wilford passed the ball to Johnson who then dished off to Smith for a wide open three which knotted the game at 82-82 with seven seconds remaining.
Immediately after the Cardinals took a 30-second timeout, Scaife came off a screen on the right perimeter and nailed his game-winner with Johnson defending.
BSU trailed for 31:23 before Bond's jumper gave the Cardinals their first lead of the game at 56-54 with 8:37 left in the second half. After that, BSU never relinquished its lead to grab the win in the first-ever meeting between these clubs.
Southeast shot 52 percent (13-of-25) from the field and used more hot shooting from long range, sticking 6-of-11 three-pointers in the first half.
The Redhawks opened the game with an 11-2 run, as Wilford buried two threes and A.J. Jones added one to get Southeast a nine-point advantage nearly three minutes in. After Scaife's jumper knotted the score at 24-24, Southeast managed to build a six-point lead when Johnson threw down a dunk (33-27) and Nick Niemczyk buried a three (36-30) in the last four minutes.
Niemczyk then knocked down another trey to send Southeast into the locker room with a 39-34 lead, marking the sixth-straight game where the Redhawks have led at the half.
Scaife shot 6-of-15 from the field, made two threes and sunk a perfect 4-of-4 free throws to lead BSU. Matt Kamieniecki (12 points, 14 rebounds) and Bond (11 points, 11 rebounds) followed with a double-double apiece, while Marcus Posley chipped in 15 points.
BSU outrebounded Southeast, 46-36, and finished wiht a 19-10 advantage on the offensive glass.
Smith, who scored 19 second-half points and made all five of his threes in the final period, led the Redhawks with 21 points. He shot 7-of-10 from the field and 5-of-7 from downtown in his last home game at Southeast. Johnson, who broke the school's single-season record in blocked shots, added a double-double 16 points and 14 rebounds. He also dished out three assists and had three blocks. Wilford contributed 15 points, Niemczyk had 13 and Tyler Stone contributed 12 to round out Southeast's double-digit scorers.
The Redhawks fell to 1-7 all-time in BracketBuster games. That record includes an 0-5 mark against Mid-American Conference schools.
LIBERTY 79, AUSTIN PEAY 73 (OT)
LYNCHBURG, Va. - Overtime and Austin Peay State University basketball just don't mix.
After Travis Betran's long three pointer tied the game and the Govs defense denied Liberty at regulation's end, the Governors year-long free-throw shooting woes caught up with them in overtime as Liberty held off APSU, 79-73, in the ESPN Ramada Worldwide BacketBusters contest at the Vines Center.
It was APSU's fourth overtime defeat in five extra-session games. It also left the Governors 3-7 all-time record representing the Ohio Valley Conference in the BacketBusters, which is ending this season.
The Govs slipped to 7-22 on the season while Liberty, of the Big South, improved to 11-19.
After the Governors played an efficient first half, taking a 39-31 lead into halftime, they literally had trouble finding any offensive flow or defensive efficiency in the second half. After shooting 50 percent in the first half, the Govs barely shot 20 percent for much of the second.
As a result, the Govs found themselves down by six with 3:02 remaining. But Betran, who had struggled all second half, found the range to cut the deficit in half. After Liberty missed inside, Betran again took control, driving to the hoop for a layup to make it a one-point game with 1:54 remaining.
But JR Coronado was able to throw away Will Triggs to grab an offensive rebound and scored with 1:15 left again to make it a three-point game with 1:15 left.
Jerome Clyburn's attempt to tie rattled in and out. With only three team fouls, APSU immediately fouled. They continued to do so during in-bounds plays if they could not get turnovers. But that turnover finally came with 39 seconds left.
After a Govs timeout, the play was set for Anthony Campbell to attempt to tie. However, the senior was covered and he dished it to Betran who tied the game from the deep left wing.
The Governors defense failed to allow Liberty to get a good look in the final 25 seconds, sending it to overtime.
APSU got the first chance to score in overtime as Chris Horton controlled the trip, but Will Triggs was fouled attempting to make a shot. He missed both free throws, starting a 1-of-6 overtime free-throw disaster while Liberty was a perfect 8-of-8.
Campbell led the Govs with 21 points, including a trio of three pointers. Betran added 18 on a tough 7-of-21 shooting night. Triggs added 12.
The Govs, who out-rebounded Liberty, 18-12, in the first half, finished the night on the downside of 41-39 margin, meaning they were out-rebounded 29-21 after intermission. Coronado finished with 18 grabs for the Flames, 12 after intermission.
Five Flames scored in double figures, led by Tavares Sparks' 18 and Davon Marshall's 16. However, it was 6-0 point guard John Caleb Sanders who controlled the second half and overtime. After owning two points, two points and one rebound in the opening half, he finished with 14 points, six assists and nine rebounds.
LOYOLA (MD.) 69, TENNESSEE STATE 67
NASHVILLE - A 31-18 second-half disadvantage doomed the Tennessee State men’s basketball team on Saturday night. The Tigers fell to the Greyhounds, 69-67, after missing a buzzer beater that would have sent the game to overtime.
Patrick Miller had a team-high 17 points for Tennessee State (16-12, 10-4 OVC) on 6-of-11 shooting. Kellen Thornton added 15 while Jordan Cyphers and Robert Covington poured in 11 and 10, respectively.
Covington also had a team-high nine boards, helping the Tigers to a 35-30 advantage on the boards.
TSU finished the game shooting 43.4 percent from the field (23-of-53) and 42.9 percent from downtown (6-of-14).
After scoring a team-high 22 points in TSU’s last contest, Thornton went right back to work on Saturday, draining the Tigers’ first two baskets. The first was a pretty right-handed floater on TSU’s opening possession while the latter was a powerful slam to put his team ahead, 4-3. The forward’s dunk was the start of an 11-0 Tiger run that put Tennessee State up, 13-3.
Thornton ended the first half with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting. He also had five boards and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe.
After TSU’s big start, Loyola mounted a comeback and got within four at 23-19 when the Greyhounds’ Dylon Cormier converted on a layup at the 11:17 mark. On TSU’s next possession, Miller drove to the basket and used his right hand to get a layup of his own and draw a foul. The junior converted on his freebie, padding the Tigers’ cushion to seven.
Miller finished the first period with eight points and helped TSU end the half 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
Following Miller’s and-one, the Tigers raised their lead to 12 thanks to a barrage of threes and long two-pointers. A triple by Tashan Fredrick at the seven-minute mark made the score 37-25 in favor of the home team.
The Tigers finished 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from beyond the arc during the first 20 minutes. Fredrick and Covington had two of TSU’s makes from deep while Miller had the other. With time running out in the first half, the Greyhounds trimmed the Tigers’ lead to 11, 49-38, when Franz Rassman beat the buzzer following a Loyola air-ball from deep.
TSU only allowed Loyola to make one of its four three-point attempts during the opening stanza, but the Greyhounds still managed to shoot 58.6 percent from the field (17-of-29). The Tigers shot 54.8 percent (17-of-31) after the first period, but were benefitted by nine second chance points and an 18-10 edge on the glass.
The Tigers started slow to start the second, making just two of their first 10 shots. The cold spell allowed Loyola to pull within six with 13 minutes left in the game. Cyphers finally ended the draught with a pocket three, making the score 56-47.
Over the next seven minutes, Loyola went on a 19-5 stretch to take the lead, 67-65, for the first time since the 19:33 mark of the first half. TSU had six fouls and six turnovers during the Loyola run.
Miller tied the game with a pair of free throws, but neither team would re-take the lead for the next two minutes.
Loyola got fouled with 11 seconds left on the clock and made both free throws to make the score 69-67 with the road team on top. TSU took the ball past mid court and immediately called time leaving the Tigers 8.9 seconds to try to get off a shot.
Following the stoppage, the Tigers inbounded the pass and gave the ball to Covington. He went up for the shot, but it went wide and TSU dropped its first home game of the year, 69-67.
TENNESSEE TECH 68, UMKC 62
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - He had the longest name on the court, took some of the longest shots in the game, and had perhaps the greatest impact on its outcome.
Tennessee Tech junior point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas hit two clutch 3-pointers late in the second half, forced a turnover in the final minute, and directed the Golden Eagles (11-16) to their fourth consecutive homecourt victory, a 68-62 non-conference win over UM Kansas City Saturday night in Eblen Center.
He was one of four Golden Eagles to score in double figures. Jud Dillard led the parade with 20 points and eight rebounds while Dennis Ogbe added 16 points and eight boards. Samarrippas and Lanerryl Johnson each finished with 10 points.
UMKC (7-22) was led by Nelson Kirksey with 16 points and eight rebounds while Estan Tyler added 14 points. Fred Chatmon finished with seven points and a game-igh 10 rebounds.
The win sends the Golden Eagles into their most important week of the season on a high note. The Golden Eagles host two Ohio Valley Conference games that will determine whether or not they advance to the OVC Basketball Tournament.
The mission is simple: Two wins and Tech is in the tournament.
Tech hosts Eastern Kentucky Thursday night, then wraps up the regular season Saturday night when it welcomes Morehead State.
On Saturday, the Golden Eagles and Kangaroos wages a close fight throughout the first half of their BracketBuster contest. Tech’s largest lead of the half was four points and UMKC held a five-point edge, before they retreated into halftime with the Golden Eagles grasping a slim, 28-25 lead.
With the score knotted for the tenth time of the night, 36-36, the Golden Eagles looked ready to take control. Johnson scored six points and had a steal as Tech rolled through a 9-0 run to build a 45-36 lead, the largest margin of the night. A redshirt freshman guard, Johnson scored another layup to keep Tech on top by eight, 49-41, with 8:03 remaining.
But the Kangaroos bounced back with an 9-2 run to close the gap to 51-50, capped by a 3-pointer from Kirk Korver with 6:14 remaining.
Up by a single point, 53-52, Tech got a huge boost when Samarippas drained a 3-pointer. Once again, UMKC came back, this time with back-to-back 3-pointers from Tyler and Korver, knotting the score at 58-all, the 11th time of the game.
Samarrippas hit two free throws for a two-point edge, then dropped in another 3-pointer to make it 63-58, with 1:39 to play. That’s all Tech needed. The Golden Eagles got a jumper from Javon McKay with 20 seconds to play and made three of their final four free throws to preserve the six-point victory.
MURRAY STATE 73, SOUTH DAKOTA STATE 62
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers overcame a 14-point deficit and scored a 73-62 win over South Dakota State Saturday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky., in the final playing of the Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters.
Isaiah Canaan led the way for MSU with 22 points, while Stacy Wilson added 15 to go with a game-high four steals. Jeffery Moss led MSU with seven rebounds.
The Racers moved to 20-7 on the season marking their 28th 20-win season in program history and tying the school record with four straight.
MSU took their first lead since the 11:51 mark of the first half at 57-56 when C.J. Ford scored back-to-back baskets with 9:06 left. When Moss hit a three at the shot clock buzzer, the Racers had a 9-0 run and outscored SDSU 29-19 over a span of 10:14 to take a six point lead with 7:23 left.
Canann scored nine straight points for MSU to give MSU a 71-58 advantage with 2:08 left.
MSU outscored the visitors 40-23 in the second half in holding the Jackrabbits to 44 percent shooting (10-of-23) from the field and 3-of-10 from three-point range for 30 percent. MSU heated up to 49 percent in the second half (16-of-29) and 50 percent from three 6-of-12. MSU came away with eight steals (with Wilson getting half) on 13 SDSU turnovers. MSU also pressed the tempo and had 16 points on fast breaks.
The game featured only 16 combined fouls and eight free throws.
When SDSU started the second half on an 8-0 run, the Racers were down by their largest deficit of the day at 14 points (47-33), but answered with their own 7-0 run when Canaan hit a three and was fouled, his free throw made it a four-point play and when Dexter Fields hit a three, MSU trailed 47-40 at the 16:36 mark.
MSU made a 12-5 run keyed by their defense. A pair of steals led to a pair of Wilson dunks and it was followed by another MSU stop and a three-point play by Ed Daniel to get the Racers to one down (54-53) with 10:04 remaining.
In the first half the game was tied 13-13 at the 11:48 mark when the Jackrabbits put together a 17-3 run over the next 4:42 to lead 30-16. SDSU hit 5-of-6 from three-point range. The Racers saw Wilson and Canaan hit back-to-back threes to cut the lead to eight at 32-24 with 4:25 remaining. MSU cut the lead to eight once more with 3:48 left on a pair of free throws from Canaan.
Moss scored two late baskets for the Racers, but Marcus Heemstra’s tip in at buzzer gave SDSU a 39-33 lead at the break.
The Racer four-year senior class of Canaan, Daniel and Jordan Burge set the new record for total wins at 105, surpassing the former record of 104 set just last season by Ivan Aska, Jewuan Long and Donte Poole.
BELMONT 81, OHIO 62
NASHVILLE - On an unforgettable night, Belmont men's basketball defeated Ohio, 81-62, Saturday night in the Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters.
An electric, overflow crowd in front of an ESPN2 national television audience was treated to one of Belmont's most complete games in recent memory, against the Sweet 16 Bobcats from a year ago.
After falling behind by three points early, junior J.J. Mann (Smyrna, Ga.) capped an 11-1 Belmont run with a wing three-pointer to give the Bruins a 13-6 lead.
Consecutive three-pointers by freshman Craig Bradshaw (Franklin, Tenn.) and senior Trevor Noack (Keller, Texas) pushed the lead to 21-10 with 8:53 left in the half.
Belmont rode active, unified team defense and balanced offense to maintain a double figure lead, before Belmont had a scare when leading scorer and senior All-America candidate Ian Clark(Memphis, Tenn.) was shaken up with a leg injury late in the first half. However, Clark would return in the second half.
A Brandon Baker (Milford, Ohio) basket and a buzzer-beating three-pointer from Mann sent Belmont to halftime with a 41-24 lead. Belmont shot 52 percent in the first half and forced eight Bobcat turnovers.
Ohio closed to 46-36 on one D.J. Cooper free throw, before Mann hit another three-pointer and junior Blake Jenkins (Knoxville, Tenn.) added a layin.
With senior point guard Kerron Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) controlling play on both ends, Belmont remained aggressive. A spinning layin by Mann sent the crowd into a frenzy and made the score 61-41 with 9:40 left.
A Clark three-pointer provided the largest margin, 71-48, with 7:01 left. With two free throws with 58 seconds left, Clark passed Wes Burtner to become Belmont's NCAA era career scoring leader. Clark now has 1,835 career points.
For the game, Belmont shot 52 percent from the field - including 8-for-22 from three-point distance. Clark led four Bruins in double figures with 18 points and six rebounds. Mann and Noack each had 17, while Johnson added 16 points and five assists.
Reggie Keely led Ohio (20-7) with 12 points. The Bobcats had won 12 of their last 13 games entering play. Belmont (22-6) also limited NCAA assist leader Cooper to six points and three assists - both marks one off season lows.