SATURDAY'S SCORES
SIUE 87, @UT Martin 82
Eastern Illinois 77, @Southeast Missouri 74
@Belmont 84, Eastern Kentucky 81
@Austin Peay 83, Tennessee Tech 69
Morehead State 80, @Tennessee State 74 (OT)
@Murray State 73,
Jacksonville State 65
SIUE 87, UT MARTIN 82
MARTIN, Tenn. - Four SIUE players scored in double figures, and the Cougars combined to shoot 61.2 percent from the field en route to their first road win of the year, an 87-82 win over UT Martin in Ohio Valley Conference action at Skyhawk Arena.
The win moves the Cougars to 4-4 in OVC play and 7-14 overall. UT Martin fell to 7-16 and 2-6 in the OVC.
Kris Davis scored a season-high 20 points on 7 of 10 shooting. He was 2 for 2 from three point range and 4 for 4 at the free throw line. The last two free throws came with less than two minutes to play, after the junior guard had sprained his ankle. He left the game immediately after making the shots.
Keaton Jackson turned in a career-high 17 points on 7 of 8 shooting and added five rebounds. Jackson also blocked four shots in the game; the fifth time he has done so this season. Donivine Stewart was 6 of 8 from the field and scored 15 points, while adding six assists. Maurice Wiltz scored 14 points. He was 4 for 4 from the field, including 2 for 2 from three-point range.
SIUE held an early 11-8 lead following a three-pointer by Tim Johnson, a UT Martin miss, a defensive rebound by Stewart and a dunk by Jackson in transition. UT Martin then pulled away thanks to an 11-0 run. The Skyhawks had their largest lead of the game at 24-13 after a Terrance Smith layup with 9:34 to play in the first half.
Davis, Stewart, and Christian Salecich hit three-pointers for the Cougars in a 15-3 run which put SIUE on top 28-27 with 5:51 left in the half. The Cougars led 34-33 at halftime.
Smith put hit a running layup for UT Martin 13 seconds into the second half to give the Skyhawks a 35-34 lead. It was the last time the Skyhawks led.
SIUE built its lead to 13 points on two occasions. Wiltz made it 64-51 with a layup with 10:11 to play. A Stewart layup with 9:25 left made it 66-53 Cougars.
Smith and Dee Oldham each hit two three-pointers down the stretch for UT Martin to make things interesting, but SIUE was able to hold off the late charge.
Smith led all scorers with 22 points. He connected on 8 of 10 shots from the field, including 4 of 6 three-point attempts. Oldham added 16 points, and also was 4 of 6 from three-point range. Myles Taylor scored 15 points and Mike Liabo scored 12 for UT Martin.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 77, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 74
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Panther men’s basketball team held off a late Southeast Missouri rally, defeating the Redhawks, 77-74, on Saturday evening at the Show Me Center. EIU improves to 7-13 on the year and 4-5 in Ohio Valley Conference action.
Trailing 70-58 with 2:41 left in the game, the Redhawks (11-10, 3-5 OVC) rallied to get within three (75-72) with 16 seconds on the clock on a Jarekious Bradley three pointer. Josh Piper hit one of two free throws on the ensuing possession to seal the win before Lucas Nutt hit a layup as time expired for the 77-74 final ledger.
Trailing 19-18 with 10:24 left in the first half, the Panthers went on a 19-1 run over the next seven minutes to take their largest lead of the game, 37-20. SEMO responded by closing the first stanza on a 13-2 run to make the score 39-33 at intermission.
EIU shot 50 percent or better from the floor for the third consecutive game, going 28-for-56 from the floor. The Panthers also went 7-for-13 from behind the arc and 14-for-24 from the charity stripe.
Reggie Smith led EIU in scoring with a game-high 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting. Chris Olivier nearly missed a double-double with 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Dylan Chatman added 13 points as the junior guard went 4-for-4 from behind the arc.
EIU held a 37-36 advantage on the glass and had 32 more bench points (40-8). SEMO was led on the glass by Tyler Stone who grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds. He also scored a team-high 22 points in the loss.
Bradley added 18 points for the Redhawks while Nutt rounded out the double-figure scorers with 17 points. SEMO finished the game going 26-for-61 from field and 4-for-21 from three-point range. The Redhawks also went 18-for-29 from the charity stripe.
BELMONT 84, EASTERN KENTUCKY 81
NASHVILLE - Belmont University men's basketball stormed out to a big lead, then held off Eastern Kentucky, 84-81, Saturday night.
Eastern Kentucky scored the game's first seven points before Reece Chamberlain capped an electrifying 22-3 Bruin run to give the host a 22-10 lead six minutes in. After the Colonels closed to 28-23 on a basket from Eric Stutz, Chamberlain capped a 10-0 Belmont run that pushed the margin to 15.
J.J. Mann capped a tremendous first half with a deep, contested three-pointer to close the first half and give Belmont a 50-30 lead at halftime. Mann had 23 first-half points on 9-for-12 shooting.
The Colonels quickly closed to 52-39 three minutes into the second half, before an Evan Bradds layin and a Chamberlain basket pushed the margin back to 64-42 with 10:28 left. The Bruin lead remained 21, 70-49, with 8:24 left before EKU guards Glenn Cosey and Corey Walden sparked a furious comeback.
A deep Cosey three-pointer made the score 76-70 with 2:23 remaining. The Colonels closed to 79-74 with possession under one minute left, but Cosey would be whistled for a traveling violation with 54 seconds left. But 5-for-6 free throw shooting and a Craig Bradshaw layin gave the Bruins enough cushion at 84-78. Cosey made a 30-footer at the horn to provide the final margin.
All told, Belmont shot 52 percent (26-for-50) from the field - including 9-for-24 from three-point distance. Mann scored a career-high 34 points while Bradshaw had 21.
Cosey led Eastern Kentucky with 24.
AUSTIN PEAY 83, TENNESSEE TECH 69
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Damarius Smith scored 18 points and dished out nine assists while Will Triggs recorded his season’s first double-double to lead Austin Peay State University to an 83-69 victory, Saturday night, in Ohio Valley Conference action in Dave Aaron Arena.
The victory snapped a four-game Govs losing streak and improved them to 9-12 on the season, including 3-4 in the OVC West Division. Tennessee Tech slipped to 10-12 and 3-4 in the OVC East Division.
After missing Thursday night’s game against Jacksonville State with an ankle sprain, Smith played all 40 minutes at point guard for the Govs against the Golden Eagles. His energy level was evident on both ends of the floor. He connected on 5-of-7 from the floor, including a couple of dramatic dunks. His offensive presence helped the Govs shoot 67.6 percent (25 of 37) from the floor, including 72 percent (13 of 18) in the second half.
Triggs, meanwhile, grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds while scoring 17 points—his season’s first double-double and fifth of his career. His 13 rebounds snapped teammate Chris Horton’s streak of leading or co-leading the Govs in rebounding in the team’s first 20 games. Horton finished with nine rebounds.
Senior guard Travis Betran led the Govs with 20 points, going 4-of-7 from three-point range. He made just five three pointers over the previous three games.
The Govs’ strong second half was completely opposite from its inauspicious start. The Govs fell behind 11-3 as they made just 1-of-5 shots and committing four turnovers. In other words, the Governors shot 73 percent from the floor after the sluggish start.
Trailing 16-8, the Govs went on an 11-0 run to take the lead, 19-16, after a Zavion Williams layup. The contest remained tight for much of the half’s remainder before APSU pulled away near half’s end for a 35-31 advantage.
Early in the second half, Tennessee Tech sliced the margin to three, 38-35 after a Dwan Cladwell layup but APSU scored the game’s next nine points, including three Triggs’ baskets, to go up 47-35. Tennessee Tech would cut their deficit to single digits just one more time the game’s remainder.
APSU ended with four double-figure scorers with Horton (12 points) going 5-of-5 from the floor. He also blocked three shots to move past Reggie Crenshaw and into second place for career blocks (164).
The Governors, who made just 2-of-11 first-half free throws in Thursday’s loss to Jacksonville State, connected on 26-of-32 (81 percent) against the Golden Eagles. APSU also out-rebounded the visitors 29-27 but permitted 18 offensive rebounds allowing Tech to own a 24-4 second-chance points edge.
Jeremiah Samarrippas led the Golden Eagles with 17 points and seven assists while Jordan Johnson, who knocked down four three pointers, added 14.
The Golden Eagles shot just 22 of 59 (37.3 percent) from the floor, including 7-of-22 from three-point range.
MOREHEAD STATE 80, TENNESSEE STATE 74 (OT)
NASHVILLE - Junior Angelo Warner scored a team-high 19 points, including 7-of-8 from the free throw line, and the Morehead State men's basketball team outlasted host Tennessee State 80-74 in overtime at the Gentry Center Saturday night.
The Eagles, who have now won six of their last eight games, moved to 14-8 overall and 5-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The host Tigers dropped their seventh straight and slumped to 2-21 overall and 1-8 in the conference.
MSU led 65-59 after a pair of Brent Arrington free throws, but TSU guard Patrick Miller knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the final 29 seconds to send the contest to an extra period. Warner scored seven of his points in overtime. Miller finished with a game-best 36 points.
The Eagles outscored Tennessee State 32-17 at the free throw line and out-rebounded their foes 35-30. MSU has still only been out-rebounded once in their 22 games in 2013-14.
MURRAY STATE 73, JACKSONVILLE STATE 65
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers moved to 7-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 73-65 win over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
The Racers (12-8) won for the eight straight time at home and are now 10-1 this season. JSU fell to 10-14 overall and 4-5 in OVC play.
MSU got 16 points each from Jeffery Moss and Cameron Payne and a 13- rebound day from Jonathan Fairell. MSU got two big 3-pointers at the end of the half and another close to the end of the game from Dexter Fields as he finished the game with 10 points.
After trailing early 5-0, the Racers got their first lead of the day on a 3-point basket by Moss for a 10-9 lead 8:30 into the contest.
JSU had their largest lead of the half at 10:21 when Brian Williams completed a three-point play for a 27-19 lead.
The Racers responded and ended the half with a 14-5 run started by a three-point play from Payne and a pair of free throws from Fairell. Jarvis Williams got a rebound and put-back with 42 seconds left. Fields hit his only field goal of the half, a straight-away and deep 3-pointer that swished at the buzzer. MSU regained the lead for the first time since 10:21 and led at the half 33-32.
The Racers put together a 10-0 run mid-way through the second half. T.J. Sapp came off the bench to key the burst with a pair of buckets and a steal for a 45-44 lead. Moss followed with a 3-point basket and MSU led 51-44 after a pair of Payne free throws with 11:43 left.
Moss nailed another 3-pointer for a 58-50 lead with 6:41 remaining. MSU stayed with the eight point lead with 3:05 remaining when Sapp hit from the corner on a 3-pointer. Payne hit two runners and Moss fed Williams for a slam to seal the win.