SUNDAY'S SCORES
American 51,
Morehead State 46 (Ruston, La.)
@Cincinnati 54,
Eastern Illinois 49
@Vanderbilt 78,
Tennessee State 46
AMERICAN 51, MOREHEAD STATE 46
RUSTON, La. - The American men's basketball team turned 22 turnovers into 24 points and scored a 51-46 non-conference victory over Morehead State on Sunday afternoon at the Thomas Assembly Center. The game was part of a four-team Coaches vs. Cancer Classic round robin.
American, which is the defending Patriot League Tournament champion, improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 on a neutral floor. The Eagles, who compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, slip to 2-4 overall and 1-1 on a neutral court. It was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Morehead State gave the ball away 11 times in each half en route to its season-high total. American converted the miscues into 10 points before the break and 14 in the second half. MSU had committed just 56 turnovers through five games (11.2), compared to 75 last season (15.0).
Morehead State made a season-high 46 percent (19-of-41) from the field, including 55 percent (11-of-20) in the first half, but had a season-low in attempts due to the turnovers. American converted on 42 percent (17-of-40) from the floor, but drilled just 36 percent (8-of-22) before intermission.
Morehead State grabbed its biggest lead at 30-20 with 17:56 to play, but American finished the contest on a 31-16 surge. MSU led for nearly 25 minutes, while AU was in the driver's seat for less than nine minutes. The weekend finale featured just six ties and four lead changes.
American senior Pee Wee Gardner was held scoreless in the first half, but finished with a game-high 12 points on 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. Junior Jesse Reed and senior John Schoof added 10 points apiece for AU, which had only six players register a point.
Senior Karam Mashour led Morehead State with 11 points and nine rebounds, while senior Billy Reader contributed 10 points and seven boards. Senior Angelo Warner and junior Brent Arrington collected nine points apiece for MSU. Warner entered the day with double figures in 11 straight tilts.
CINCINNATI 54, EASTERN ILLINOIS 49
CINCINNATI - Eastern Illinois closed to within three points with 13 seconds remaining but Cincinnati was able to hang on for a 54-49 win in the opening round of the Emerald Coast Classic on Sunday evening at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati.
EIU returns to action on Tuesday night at Creighton with a 7 p.m. start followed by two games in Destin, Florida next weekend. EIU fell to 1-3 on the year. Cincinnati improved to 3-0.
The game was tied at the half at 26-26 as both teams shot below 40 percent in the opening half. Reggie Smith and Trae Anderson each scored eight first half points. Smith and Anderson both finished with 12 to lead the Panthers.
EIU shot 25 percent in the second half but had a scoring draught of nearly five minutes late in the second half. Chris Olivier brought the Panthers to within two points with a tip-in at 7:49. EIU’s next basket would come on a Reggie Smith lay-up with 2:03 to play.
Cincinnati closed the game with four free throws and a basket by Shaq Thomas with 1:46 to play. LeTrell Viser hit a 3-pointer with making it 52-47 with 1:25 to go. After missed Bearcat free throws and a defensive stand, EIU trimmed the lead to 52-49 on a lay-up by Cornell Johnston. UC iced the game at the line as Farad Cobb made a pair of free throws.
Troy Caupain was the only Bearcats player in double figures finishing with 17. Octavius Ellis pulled down 13 rebounds for UC as they held a 45-29 advantage on the glass.
Chris Olivier closed out the EIU players in double figures with 11. EIU finished the game shooting 29 percent from the field. UC shot 41 percent for the game.
VANDERBILT 78, TENNESSEE STATE 46
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State University men's basketball team fell to Vanderbilt University on Sunday night 78-46 at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Tigers (2-2) dropped a tough game to the Commodores (3-0). TSU did a good job, early, of denying the two Vandy big men the ball, but ultimately fell into foul trouble.
Charles Tucker led the team with nine points and put in four assists as the Commodores held TSU without a double-digit scorer. Xavier Richards added seven points and led the team with six boards.
Vanderbilt was led by Luke Kornet who scored 24 points on 10-of-11 shooting (3-for-4 from behind the arc). His play was what gained the Commodores early separation from which they never looked back.
TSU headed into the locker room with an 18-point deficit despite cutting the Commodore lead to four with 4:32 left in the half. The Tiger defense did a good job of holding Vanderbilt star Damian Jones to four points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Tigers had four players with four points, apiece. Richards, Tucker, Demontez Loman, and Darreon Reddick all made a pair of buckets for TSU.
Foul trouble cost the Tigers the ability to deny the Vanderbilt post the ball and opened up scoring opportunities for Damian Jones (13 points). TSU had held the Vanderbilt leading scorer without a point for the first 16 minutes of the game.
The Tigers were held to just 30 percent shooting in the second frame (32 percent, overall) while the Commodores shot 66 percent.
Christian Crockett made his TSU debut tonight after missing the first three games with an injury. His return will add much needed depth as he scored five and grabbed four rebounds.