SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 82, UT Martin 75
@SIUE 67, Murray State 60
@Eastern Illinois 67, Austin Peay 65
@Eastern Kentucky 60, Jacksonville State 56
Southeast Missouri 83, @Tennessee Tech 74
Belmont 79, @Tennessee State 65
SIUE 67, MURRAY STATE 60
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Rozell Nunn and Christian Salecich combined for 31 points, and SIUE men's basketball held Murray State to a season-low 60 points in a 67-60 Ohio Valley Conference win Saturday in front of 2,787 at Vadalabene Center.
SIUE dealt Murray State its first OVC loss of the season, while improving to 3-3 in league play and 6-13 overall. The Racers are now 10-8 overall and 5-1 in the OVC. The win is the second straight for SIUE in the series with Murray State; both wins have come in Edwardsville.
Nunn led all scorers with a career-high 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting from the field. He also led the team with seven rebounds. The junior has combined for 35 points on 14-23 shooting and hauled in 13 rebounds over SIUE's last two games.
Salecich finished with 13 points thanks in large part to a 3 for 3 afternoon from beyond the three-point arc. He was 4 for 7 overall and 2 for 2 at the free throw line. He added four assists and three steals. Salecich's three-pointer with 8:33 to play put the Cougars in front for good at 54-53.
Donivine Stewart was the only other SIUE player to score in double figures. He finished with 11 points, four rebounds and a game-high six assists.
The Racers scored the last five points of the first half to take a 37-32 lead into the break. Murray State had a six-point lead after a Jeffery Moss three-point basket made it 42-36 with 17:35 left in the game.
Moss led Murray State with 17 points. T.J. Sapp scored 11 points and Dexter Fields added 10 points. Jarvis Williams scored 8 points and grabbed 12 rebounds.
The Racers held a 51-49 with 10:23 left, but were outscored 18-7 over the next 9:40, allowing SIUE to build its lead to nine (67-58) with a pair of Nunn free throws with 43 seconds left in the game.
The Cougars finished 27-54 (50 percent) from the field for the game, including connecting on 15 of 26 (57.7 percent) of their shots in the second half. For the game, SIUE outrebounded Murray State 35-34.
Murray State was 22-56 from the field and just 4 of 21 from three-point range.
MOREHEAD STATE 82, UT MARTIN 75
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior Angelo Warner tied his career-high with 25 points, and the Morehead State men's basketball team tallied an 82-75 win over Ohio Valley Conference opponent UT Martin on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles, who have won five of their past six games, improve to 13-7 overall, 4-1 in the league and 7-2 at home. The Skyhawks, who have dropped seven of their last eight, fall to 6-15 overall, 1-5 in the conference and 2-10 on the road.
Morehead State moves to 32-13 in the all-time series with its ninth consecutive victory over UT Martin. The Eagles also improve to 67-15 (82 percent) at home over the past six seasons.
Warner knocked down 8-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. He has now reached 10 points in 19 out of 20 games this year and 48 times in his career.
Junior Jordan Percell added 13 points for Morehead State on 5-of-7 from the field. It was his best scoring performance in 48 career games against Division I opponents.
Five Eagles registered double figures in the scoring column. Sophomore Brent Arrington posted 12, while freshman Greg Dotson collected 11 and senior Chad Posthumus recorded 10.
Arrington also tied his career highs with seven rebounds and five steals (four in the first half), while junior Kareem Storey was credited with a game-best seven assists (six in the second half).
UT Martin senior Mike Liabo paced all scorers with 32 points in just 25 minutes. He drilled 10-of-18 from the field, 6-of-12 from three-point range and 6-of-7 from the foul line. Junior Marshun Newell and junior Myles Taylor chipped in with 13 apiece for the Skyhawks.
Morehead State posted a 40-32 advantage on the glass. The Eagles, who lead the OVC in that department, have only been outrebounded once in 20 games this season.
MSU posted scoring advantages of 42-20 in the paint, 26-11 off turnovers and 12-4 on the fast break.
Morehead State drilled 44 percent (27-of-62) from the field and 70 percent (26-of-37) from the free-throw stripe, but only drilled 14 percent (2-of-14) from long range.
UT Martin only knocked down 39 percent (21-of-54) of its field-goal attempts and 31 percent (8-of-26) from beyond the arc, but drilled 93 percent (25-of-27) at the charity stripe.
The Skyhawks opened the contest with a 9-2 lead. Morehead State used an 8-0 run late in the first half to grab a lead it held for the remainder of the contest.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 67, AUSTIN PEAY 64
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Reggie Smith scored 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting to lead the Panther men's basketball team to a 67-64 win over Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon. EIU improves to 6-12 (3-4 OVC) on the year.
Leading 65-64 with 16 seconds remaining in the game, Sherman Blanford tipped in a missed shot by Luke Piotrowski to give EIU a three-point advantage. On the ensuing possession, Austin Peay's Damarius Smith missed a three pointer as time expired from the left baseline as the Governors dropped to 8-11 overall and 2-3 in Ohio Valley Conference action.
Trailing 56-55 with 4:06 on the clock, EIU went 5-for-6 from the floor and hit its only free throw attempt down the stretch to hang on for the victory. All told, the game had 18 lead changes and 11 ties.
EIU had its largest lead of the contest, 34-27, on a Dylan Chatman three pointer with 3:22 left before intermission. The Governors used an 8-0 run to end the half and take a 35-34 advantage into the locker room.
Luke Piotrowski scored a season-high 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting while Blanford rounded out the double-figure scoring with 11 points. Blanford also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Smith also added a game-high five assists and recorded two steals.
Will Triggs led three Governors in double figures with 15 points, going 6-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the charity stripe. Travis Betran added 11 points while Chris Horton posted a double-double as the sophomore forward scored 13 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Austin Peay held a 27-25 advantage on the glass and had five more points off of turnovers (16-11). Defensively, EIU had four blocks and steals in the win.
EIU posted a .531 field-goal percentage on the day, including a .609 field-goal percentage in the second half. EIU also went 7-for-16 from behind the arc and 8-for-11 from the foul line. Austin Peay went 23-for-47 from the floor and 3-for-14 from three-point range. The Governors also hit 71.4 percent of their free-throw attempts (15-for-21).
EASTERN KENTUCKY 60, JACKSONVILLE STATE 56
RICHMOND, Ky. - Junior Eric Stutz poured in a season-high 20 points to lead the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team to a 60-56 win over visiting Jacksonville State Saturday night.
With the victory, the Colonels (12-7, 4-2 OVC) move to 10-0 all-time against the Gamecocks (9-13, 3-4) in McBrayer Arena.
Saturday’s game was close throughout as the largest lead by either team was six points, and that came very early when Jacksonville State held a 9-3 advantage.
The Colonels won the game at the free throw line where the home team made 18-of-20 (90 percent) at the charity stripe in the second half. Meanwhile, the Gamecocks missed eight free throws in the final 20 minutes (11-of-19).
Eastern took the lead for good with 4:30 remaining, 48-46, thanks to a pair of Corey Walden free throws. Jacksonville State’s Brian Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity on the opposite end and senior Marcus Lewis followed with a dunk to extend the cushion to four points, 50-46.
The Gamecocks closed the gap to one point with 3:08 left, but senior Glenn Cosey answered with a three from the left wing to push the advantage back up to four, 53-49. Eastern hit 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) free throws in the final two minutes, including a pair of clutch free throws by Cosey with four seconds remaining, to keep JSU at bay.
EKU won despite having one of its worst shooting nights of the season. The Colonels netted just 36.8 percent (14-of-38) of their shots from the field, marking just the third time this year Eastern finished below 40 percent.
The first half ended in a deadlock at 23-all. Senior Tarius Johnson hit a three-pointer in the final minute to level the score. Johnson was 2-of-3 from long range in the first half while the rest of the Colonels were a combined 0-for-7.
Stutz led all players with his 20 points and nine rebounds. Cosey added 17 points, 11 of which came from the free throw line.
For Jacksonville State, Williams posted 16 points and six assists. Darion Rackley came off the bench to chip in with 12 points and three steals. The Gamecocks grabbed a season-low 17 rebounds, none of which came on the offensive end.
BELMONT 79, TENNESSEE STATE 65
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont University men's basketball used an efficient first half to defeat Tennessee State, 79-65, Saturday night.
The Bruins shot 53 percent in the first half and limited the Tigers to 31 percent shooting in building a 41-19 halftime lead.
But a near seven minute field goal drought to open the second half enabled Tennessee State to close within single figures.
The Tigers got within six points, before clutch plays from freshman Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) and senior J.J. Mann (Smyrna, Ga.) stretch the margin back out to double figures.
Mann led five Bruins in double figures with 17 points.
Patrick Miller paced the Tigers with 21 points while M.J. Rhett added 13 and Kennedy Eubanks had 10 points.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 83, TENNESSEE TECH 74
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Golden Eagles feasted for most of the first half, taking as much as a 15-point lead, but when Southeast Missouri finally found the range the Redhawks turned the tide to take an 83-74 Ohio Valley Conference victory.
The Golden Eagle defense held the league's top-scoring offense without a point for more than five minutes to start the game, ripping off an 11-0 run. Pounding the boards, Tech extended the lead to 18-3 with 12:07 to play in the first half.
But the 3-pointers began to fall for SEMO and the Redhawks surged back to tie the game, then took a five-point lead into halftime, 34-29.
After shooting 50 percent for the first 10 minutes, Tech cooled off and finished the half hitting 29 percent.
Southeast continued to roll early in the second half, climbing on top by as many as 17 points midway in the period. Tech fought to the finish, using a 16-8 run to pull within nine with three minutes to play but could never quite complete the comeback.
Tyler Stone led SEMO (10-9/2-4 OVC) with 23 points and 16 rebounds as the Redhawks held a 49-32 advantage on the glass and placed five scorers in double figures. Paul McRoberts added 16 points, Jarekious Bradley had 12 points and seven rebounds, Jamaal Calvin scored 12, and Nino Johnson netted 10 in the winning effort.
Tech (10-10/3-2 OVC) also had five players in double figures, including four starters. Jordan Johnson led Tech with 13 while going 4-for-8 from long distance. Point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas had 12 points, six assists and five steals, Ladon Carter added 11 points and six rebounds, Dennis Ogbe had 10 points and six boards, and Josiah Moore finished with 10.
The Golden Eagles shot 31.3 percent for the game while SEMO used 57.7 percent accuracy in the second half to finish the night at 49.1 percent overall.
Tech lost only 10 turnovers in the contest, and finished with 10 more shots after forcing 22 Redhawk turnovers. The Golden Eagles held a 29-17 edge in points off turnovers, but SEMO outscored Tech in the paint, 38-26.