MONDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 87, North Florida 84
Morehead State 95, @Central Arkansas 60
@TCU 60,
Tennessee State 40
TENNESSEE TECH 87, NORTH FLORIDA 84
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Charles Jackson sure picked a good time for a great game.
The Tennessee Tech junior went wild Monday night with career-highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds to lead Tennessee Tech to a slim, 87-84 victory over UNF in non-conference action. The victory kept Tech unbeaten at home in Eblen Center this season at 6-0.
Tech (8-5) never led by more than five points, and had to overcome a UNF effort that featured four players in double figures. It gave Tech a sweep of the home-and-home series with the team from Jacksonville, Fla., following a two-point win on the Ospreys’ floor two weeks ago.
The Golden Eagles were led by the 6-10 Jackson, who was 12-for-18 from the floor and 4-for-5 at the free throw line. But he got plenty of support as senior Dwan Caldwell notched 14 points and true freshman Aleksa Jugovic added 13 well-timed markers including a 3-pointer and three free throws in the final six minutes as UNF was threatening. Josiah Moore played a big role in the win, as well, with seven points, six rebounds and a game-high five assists.
Dallas Moore led UNF with 20 points and four assists, while gunner Trent Mackey added 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the perimeter. Beau Beech also scored 19 and grabbed eight rebounds, and Chris Davenport finished with 12 points. Jalen Nesbitt also put up impressive numbers for the Ospreys (7-7) with nine points, 11 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots.
Trailing for the final five minutes of the first half and the first eight in the second, the Golden Eagles finally caught up at 55-55 with 12:03 remaining on a 3-pointer by Moore.
Mackey knocked down a trey just nine seconds later, and UNF went back on top for the next six minutes, including a six-point bulge on a Mackey 3-pointer with 7:48 remaining.
A 3-pointer by Jugovic lifted Tech to a 71-70 lead with 6:25 to play, and the teams were tied once again, 75-all, with 4:21 to go on another Mackey bomb.
Fouled on a 3-point attempt with 3:52 remaining, Jugovic calmly stepped to the line out of a timeout and the true freshman made all three freebies for a lead that Tech was able to hold until the final buzzer…barely.
The Ospreys pulled within one twice, including 80-79 with 1:56 to play, but Jackson hit a jumper with 1:43 left on the clock, then added two free throws. DeOndre Haynes made three straight at the line and the Golden Eagle defense, which had allowed the Ospreys to hit 10-for-22 from long distance to that point, didn’t give UNF a good look in the final 20 seconds. Beech fired up a long trey with three ticks on the clock that missed and the horn sounded.
UNF was pesky throughout the first 15 minutes, never allowing Tech to establish its homecourt advantage by more than five points. The Ospreys tied it twice during that stretch, but never led.
Finally, with 5:21 to play, Demarcus Daniels’ dunk put UNF on top, 29-28, for the first time in the contest and the visitors led until the intermission…and beyond. The largest UNF lead in the first half was six points, 37-31, with 1:42 to go, before taking a 39-36 lead into halftime.
MOREHEAD STATE 95, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 60
CONWAY, Ark. - Morehead State men's basketball team knocked down 59 percent from the field, posted a 16-rebound advantage and forced 22 turnovers on its way to a 95-60 non-conference victory over Central Arkansas on Monday night at the Farris Center.
The Ohio Valley Conference Eagles wrap up non-conference play 5-10 overall and 2-6 on the road. The Southland Conference Bears are still winless in 11 contests overall and four affairs at home. It was the first-ever meeting between the schools in men's basketball.
Sophomore Corban Collins and freshman Marquel Willis paced five Eagles in double figures with 15 points apiece. Senior Angelo Warner added 13 points in 13 minutes for MSU, while senior Billy Reader chipped in with 11 and junior Brent Arrington netted 10.
Collins drilled 6-of-9 from the floor, while Willis connected on 7-of-8 en route to his best total at the collegiate level. Reader yanked down a game-best seven rebounds, while classmate Kareem Storey was credited with a game-best five assists in only 18 minutes.
MSU made 18-of-29 from the field in the first half and 17-of-30 the rest of the way.
Morehead State registered advantages of 38-22 on the glass, 14-7 in offensive rebounds, 50-22 in paint points, 30-9 in points off turnovers, 55-14 in bench points and 18-9 in assists. The Eagles were plus eight in the turnover department, coughing the ball up just 14 times.
MSU manufactured a 12-2 run midway through the first period to grab control. The Eagles led by 20 points at intermission, which was their largest halftime advantage against a Division I opponent in over a year. The cushion grew to a game-high 37 with 9:38 remaining.
The Eagles held the Bears to 39 percent (16-of-41) from the field and 33 percent (5-of-15) from long distance. Morehead State used all 13 players who dressed, and all 13 scored.
Freshman Thatch Unruh paced Central Arkansas with 16 points and five assists. No UCA player collected more than four rebounds in the affair. The Bears managed a 6-2 advantage in blocked shots, giving MSU just 18 true missed field-goal attempts.
TCU 60, TENNESSEE STATE 40
FORT WORTH, Texas - The Tennessee State University men’s basketball team fell to Texas Christian University on Monday night 60-40 at the University Rec Center.
The Tigers (2-12) battled with the Horned Frogs (13-0) for much of the second half but fell victim to a five minute scoring drought, ultimately meaning that TCU would stay unbeaten.
Jay Harris led TSU with 10 points (4-for-8) on the night. He also recorded his first block of the season. The senior has had one block in each season of his career.
Kyan Anderson led all scorers with 16 points, shooting 4-of-14 from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
The Tigers burst out of the gates with an 8-7 lead over the Horned Frogs by the time the first media timeout came around. They had three blocks and six defensive boards in those first six-plus minutes.
TCU then flipped the script and outscored TSU 26-11 the rest of the half. Heading into the locker room, the Horned Frogs had staked their claim on the boards with 22 rebounds compared to 12 for the Tigers.
TSU was 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from the free-throw line, through the first 20 minutes, giving them an advantage in that area. They struggled from beyond the arc, though, going just 2-for-7 (28.6 percent).
The Tigers pulled within eight points thanks to a 12-6 run beginning the second half. The bench erupted when Darreon Reddick sliced through the defense and knocked down a layup while drawing a foul. His free-throw brought TSU to as close as they would get the rest of the way.
TCU countered the TSU resurgence with a 13-0 run between the second and third media timeouts. The Tigers stared at a 52-34 deficit with 5:42 to play. The Tigers were held to six points in the final 10 minutes of play by the Horned Frogs.
It is the 11th straight loss for TSU.