WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 78, Denver 57
Morehead State 77, @Marshall 68
@Southeastern Louisiana 86,
Tennessee Tech 65
Eastern Kentucky 73, @Southern Utah 64
BELMONT 78, DENVER 57
NASHVILLE - Behind 28 points from junior Craig Bradshaw and stingy team defense, Belmont University men’s basketball defeated Denver, 78-57, Wednesday afternoon.
Fresh in mind for the Bruins (5-1) was last season's stinging setback at Denver, and the team looked to atone in all facets.
A floater from Bradshaw and two free throws from senior Reece Chamberlain got the Bruins off to a 4-0 start. But perhaps more importantly, Belmont showcased tough, unified team defense against the Pioneers' Princeton-style offense, getting stops on five of Denver's first six possessions.
A three-pointer from sophomore Taylor Barnette increased the lead to 9-2 five minutes in. After five points from Bradshaw, Barnette sank another three-pointer in transition to stretch the margin to 17-4 at the 12:57 mark. The lead swelled to 23-7 on one Bradshaw free throw before Nate Engesser made a three-pointer for the visitors.
In fact, Engesser would be the lone Denver player to score in the final 12:34 of the half. Denver swingman Cam Griffin was called for his third personal foul midway through the half, as Bradshaw took a charge on the baseline drive. Two free throws from freshman Tyler Hadden increased the lead to 27-10.
After another defensive stop, Chamberlain delivered a slick behind-the-back pass to freshman Josh Lester for an easy layin and a 32-13 advantage. Belmont led 34-16 at halftime. The Bruins held Denver to five first half field goals while forcing the Pioneers into 10 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Belmont shot just 32 percent (8-for-32) from the field in the first half, but did go 14-for-16 from the free throw line.
A reverse layin from sophomore Evan Bradds made the score 36-16 with 18:57 remaining. Denver got within 36-25 with 16:52 left on a Cam Griffin slam, but Bradshaw answered with six consecutive points. Belmont exhibited good offensive patience, but was unable to break free in large part to the shooting of Engesser. The Denver junior would go 5-for-5 from behind the arc in the second half to keep the Pioneers within distance.
But each time, Bradshaw had a response, as a fast break slam and a straight-on three-pointer pushed the margin back to 59-42 with 8:36 left. Denver got no closer than 11 points the rest of the way. Belmont closed the game on a 17-7 run.
All told, Belmont shot 41 percent (20-for-49) from the field - including 9-for-24 from three-point distance. The Bruins also went 29-for-32 from the free throw line. Belmont forced 17 Denver turnovers; the Pioneers averaged fewer than 10 turnovers per game last season. Bradshaw led Belmont with 28 points and four rebounds. Barnette added 21 points. Bradds led Belmont with eight rebounds.
Engesser led Denver (2-2) with 26 points.
MOREHEAD STATE 77, MARSHALL 68
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Senior Angelo Warner poured in a game-high 23 points on 7-of-10 from the field, and the Morehead State men's basketball team held regional rival Marshall to 36 percent shooting en route to a 77-68 non-conference win on Wednesday night at the Henderson Center.
The Eagles, who compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, improve to 3-4 overall and 1-3 on the road. The Thundering Herd, which plays in Conference USA, slips to 3-2 overall and 3-1 at home. MU continues to hold a 50-46 advantage in the all-time series, but MSU has won the last two meetings.
Morehead State raced out to a 16-4 lead less than six minutes into the contest. The Eagles knocked down 57 percent (17-of-30) before intermission on their way to a 50-point first period. It was MSU's biggest output in a half since scoring 57 against South Dakota on Dec. 19, 2013.
Marshall pulled to within six points on multiple occasions in the second half and trimmed the deficit to four with 13:44 to play, but the Eagles held off each charge with key baskets and by forcing turnovers. The Thundering Herd led for just 26 seconds, all of the start of the evening.
Morehead State knocked down 49 percent (26-of-53) from the field, including 56 percent (10-of-18) from three-point range. Marshall was limited to 23-of-64 from the floor, including just 7-of-29 (24 percent) from long distance. Both teams canned 15 free throws in the game.
MSU was credited with a season-best 20 assists and committed just 13 turnovers. MU distributed 16 helpers and only gave the ball away nine times. The Eagles registered a 41-39 rebounding edge, but the Thundering Herd posted a 12-8 advantage on the offensive end.
Warner moved into 18th on Morehead State's career scoring list. He now has 1,233 points in 104 games as an Eagle. He tallied 16 points in the opening period on 6-of-7 from the floor. The performance was his 65th in double figures and 14th of 20-or-more at MSU.
Freshman Marquel Willis posted 11 points in 13 minutes off the Morehead State bench. Senior Karam Mashour added 10 points, nine rebounds and four assists for the Eagles, while senior Kareem Story contributed 10 points, four boards and four assists. Nine MSU players scored.
Marshall's scoring and rebounding leader, sophomore Ryan Taylor, managed team highs of 13 points and 10 boards. He was also credited with three turnovers and three blocked shots. Senior Shawn Smith and sophomore Austin Loop chipped in with 10 points each for the Thundering Herd.
SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA 86, TENNESSEE TECH 65
HAMMOND, La. - It was a tale of two halves Wednesday night as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team couldn't overcome a hot-shooting Southeastern Louisiana squad on the road, falling to the Lions in Hammond, La., 86-68.
The Golden Eagles dominated the first half offensively, scoring a season-high 48 points on 62.5 percent shooting from the field, and walking into the dressing room with a 14-point lead. The Tech defense held the Lions to just 36 percent from the floor over the first 20 minutes.
Maybe it was basket, but in the second half, the teams practically switched identities. Southeastern caught fire early in the second stanza and never looked back, shooting 64.5 percent from the floor and 46.7 percent from downtown. On the flip side, the Golden Eagle struggled to find the bottom of the net, shooting 20 percent in the second half.
Leading the second-half surge by the Lions was guard Josh Filmore, who finished the night with a game-high 27 points while hitting on seven of his 12 3-point attempts. Zay Jackson tallied 25 points and DeVonte Upson finished the contest with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Tech big man Charles Jackson recorded a career-high 17 points in the affair, shooting 80 percent from the floor and pulling down 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the year. He is now the first Golden Eagles to record a double-double in his first five career games, let alone the first five games of a season, in over 30 years. Damien Kinloch recorded four double-doubles in his first four career games back in 2001-02.
Torrance Rowe tallied double-figures for the third consecutive game, scoring 13 points in 32 minutes of action. He was followed by Josiah Moore who dropped 12 points in the contest while also dishing out three assists and pulling in three rebounds.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 73, SOUTHERN UTAH 64
CEDAR CITY, Utah - Trailing by eight early in the second half, Eastern Kentucky scored 12 straight to key a 20-4 run to go on top by eight on its way to a 73-64 victory at Southern Utah on Wednesday.
It was the Colonels (4-0) first road game of the season.
Corey Walden scored a career-best and game-high 33 points. His lay-up at the 4:55 mark of the second half made the senior the 33rd player to score 1,000 points as a Colonel.
He made 10-of-17 from the field, 5-of-6 from three-point range and 8-of-10 from the stripe. He also had three assists and two steals.
Timmy Knipp scored 13 points, all in the second half. Eric Stutz pulled down a game-high 11 rebounds.
Eastern was behind 42-34 when a three-point barrage began the game-changing run. Jonathan Hood got it started, Knipp hit one, then Walden and another from Knipp for 12 unanswered. Two free throws by Walden finished off what became a 20-4 run.
After making just 27 percent of its three-pointers in the first half, the Colonels made 6-of-15 in the second for 40 percent. EKU out-rebounded the home team 38-37 and committed seven fewer turnovers.
SSU made 52 percent of its first half shots, but connected on just 33 percent in the second, including only 3-of-11 from behind the arc.
Southern Utah (0-4) scored the first basket of the game to put Eastern behind for the first time all season. The Colonels trailed 5-2 before using a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead. Jaylen Babb-Harrison had and old-fashioned three-point play and Walden and Hood each drained a three-pointer during the run.
The Thunderbirds answered with a 15-4 run to tie the game 24-24. The home squad used a late 7-0 first half run to build edge in front 32-30 and took a 34-31 lead into the break at the half.