SATURDAY'S SCORES
Southeast Missouri 77, @UT Martin 74
@Murray State 69, Morehead State 58
@Tennessee Tech 69, Jacksonville State 57
Eastern Kentucky 96, @Austin Peay 75
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 77, UT MARTIN 74
MARTIN, Tenn. - Freshman Antonius Cleveland banked in a halfcourt shot at the buzzer to help Southeast Missouri (15-13, 6-8) escape with a thrilling 77-74 win over UT Martin (3-21, 3-11) Saturday at the Elam Center.
Dee Oldham made two free throws to tie the game at 74-74 with 4.3 seconds on the clock. Southeast inbounded the ball to Cleveland who dribbled to halfcourt and launched his desperation shot. The ball banked off the glass and went through the net as time expired.
Southeast rushed the court to celebrate Cleveland's game-winner, which sent the Redhawks to their second-straight victory and third in four contests.
The Redhawks lost on buzzer-beaters away from home at Missouri State and Eastern Kentucky this season, and fell in overtime at SIU Edwardsville after the Cougars hit a shot to tie the game with less than a second left in regulation. However, this time, it was Southeast which came out on top.
Southeast led, 35-28, at the half, but UTM regrouped to turn things into a flair for the dramatic in the game's final 20 minutes. Moments after Oldham made a layup to give the Skyhawks a 39-38 lead with 16:58 left to play, UTM went on a 10-3 run to build an eight-point lead. Myles Taylor's jumper capped the surge at the 12:15 mark.
Justin Childs' jumper gave UTM another eight-point cushion (51-43) with 11:29 on the clock before Southeast countered with eight of the next 11 points. Cleveland threw down a dunk to cut the lead to 54-51 with just under eight minutes left and Jarekious Bradley split a pair of free throws to make it a two-point game. Southeast pulled to within two twice more when Cleveland made a layup and converted a big four-point play after being fouled on a made three. After that, things went haywire in the last five minutes.
Tyler Stone's layup tied the game at 60-60 on the Redhawks next possession. The deadlock was one of six ties in the final 4:09 as neither team led by more than three. UT Martin pulled ahead, 72-69, on Marshun Newell's three-pointer with 56 seconds left, but Bradley answered with a clutch three of his own to tie the game at 72-72 eight ticks later. Bradley then made two free throws to give Southeast a 74-72 advantage with 15 seconds remaining before Oldham's two free throws set up the exciting finish.
Southeast made eight of its first 12 field goals to ignite a 20-8 run in the first 9:30 of the game. The Redhawks hot start saw the frontcourt tandem of Stone and Nino Johnson team up for all but nine of the points during that span. Stone scored the first basket off the opening tip and Johnson contributed seven of his 12 first-half points over that period. Newell buried a three-pointer to narrow Southeast's lead to 31-27 with 1:45 left before the Redhawks went into the locker room with the lead.
Although Southeast did not make a three-pointer (0-of-6) in the first half for the second time this season, the Redhawks got to the free throw line often. Southeast made 13-of-20 free throws, attempting 12 more than UTM in the opening stanza alone.
Bradley led the Redhawks with 22 points on 8-of-15 field goals and 5-of-7 free throws. He also grabbed eight rebounds. Cleveland followed with 14 points in 20 minutes off the bench. Johnson added 13 points and eight rebounds, despite fouling out with over three minutes left in the game. Stone rounded out Southeast's double-digit scorers with a double-double 12 points and 11 boards.
Southeast shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field and made 50 percent (14-of-28) of its attempts in the second half. The Redhawks also made 24-of-35 free throws.
Additionally, Lucas Nutt broke Southeast's all-time career record in games started. Nutt started for the 102nd time in his career, surpassing Derek Winans (101, 2001-05) for the new mark.
Terence Smith led UTM with a game-high 23 points, while Oldham and Newell chipped in 19 and 16 points, respectively.
The Skyhawks, like Southeast, shot well better in the second half, making 17-of-32 shots for 53.1 percent.
MURRAY STATE 69, MOREHEAD STATE 58
MURRAY, Ky. (AP) - Cameron Payne sank four 3-pointers to finish with 23 points as Murray State defeated Morehead State 69-58 on Saturday night.
The Racers (17-9, 12-2 Ohio Valley) shot 51.1 percent from the field, with Jeffery Moss scoring 15 points, Jarvis Williams 13 and Dexter Fields 10. Jonathan Fairell had six points and hauled in 11 rebounds.
Morehead State (19-10, 10-4) went 4 of 21 beyond the arc and managed just five trips to the foul line (4-5). Angelo Warner led the Eagles with 18 points and Chad Posthumus added 14 with nine rebounds.
Nursing a 10-8 lead in the first half, the Racers stormed ahead with a 28-9 surge capped by Payne with a layup, 3-pointer and jumper.
The Eagles opened the second half with an 8-0 run to pull within single digits, but Murray State answered by reeling off 11 straight points to go up by 20 with 13:06 remaining.
TENNESSEE TECH 69, JACKSONVILLE STATE 57
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The senior class took one final curtain call in Eblen Center Saturday night, posting a 69-57 victory over Jacksonville State that clinched Tennessee Tech a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament next month in Nashville.
Senior Dennis Ogbe took his final bow with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Jeremiah Samarrippas added 13 points. Seniors Matt Marseille and Mitchell Hill were in the starting lineup for their final effort in front of the home fans, and both got into the scoring.
Junior Dwan Caldwell added 13 points and freshman Shirmane Thomas scored 10, both hitting double digits.
Brian Williams was the lone Gamecock in double figures, scoring 13, while Darion Rackley, Mike Louder and Giovanni Smith each scored eight.
Tech, which has won five of its last six games, improved to 15-14 overall and 8-6 in OVC play. Jacksonville State, which took two losses at the hands of coach Steve Payne's team this season, left tow with a 10-20 overall record and a 4-11 mark in league action.
A 12-2 run late in the first half pushed Tech into a comfortable lead, and they maintained a double-digit advantage the entire second half. Tech was on top by 21 points twice in the game, leading 57-36 with 8:24 to play and again with 7:31 remaining with a 59-38 margin.
The closest JSU got after that was the final 12-point difference.
For the first 10 minutes, Jacksonville managed a slim lead, going up by 12-7 with 13:25 remaining after the teams fought through a span of nearly four scoreless minutes.
Tech took the lead for good when Shirmane Thomas scored a layup with 10:47 to go in the first half, putting his team on top, 15-14. The Golden Eagles crept out further, leading by eight points on a 3-pointer by Javon McKay with 4:13 to play.
Tech closed the half on a 12-2 run to open a 15-point margin at the break, leading 37-22 when the teams went to the dressing rooms. The first half included 51.6 percent shooting (16-for-31) by the home team and a commanding 24-12 edge in rebounds.
Tech cooled off to 39 percent in the second half, finishing the game with a 45.8 percent mark (27-for-59) from the field. JSU shot 37.9 percent (22-for-58) for the game. Both teams hit exactly the same from long range, with Tech going 2-for-10 and JSU posting 4-for-20.
The Golden Eagles owned a 43-34 advantage on the glass, and outscored JSU 44-28 in the paint.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 96, AUSTIN PEAY 75
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team made 17 three-pointers on its way to a 96-75 victory at Austin Peay State University on Saturday. The Colonels had lost eight straight in Clarksville, not winning on the Governors’ home court since 2005.
Glenn Cosey knocked down eight of Eastern’s three-pointers and finished with a game-best 27 points to go along with nine assists and one steal. Fellow senior Tarius Johnson made four 3-pointers and finished with a new career-high 24 points.
The Colonels went 17-of-32 from long range for a season-best 53.1 percent. EKU shot 57.9 percent from the field, had 25 assists on 33 field goals and committed 10 fewer turnovers.
Eastern (19-9, 9-5 OVC) trailed by two with 2:31 left in the first half but closed the first stanza with eight unanswered to begin what would turn into a 19-4 run stretching into the second half. Cosey hit three 3-pointers during the run and capped it with an old-fashioned three-point play to put the Colonels on top by 13, 51-38.
EKU stretched its lead to 20 points with just under seven minutes remaining in the game and led by 20 or more for the final 5:26.
Travis Betran had a team-best 23 points for Austin Peay (11-17, 5-9 OVC). The Governors shot 58 percent from the field, but made just 3-of-12 attempts from behind the arc.
Corey Walden added 16 points for EKU. Eric Stutz finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Eastern built two nine-point leads in the first half but the Governors came back. Isaac McGlone’s three-pointer capped a 13-2 run to put EKU in front 21-12. A three-pointer by Jeff Johnson kept the margin at nine, 24-15, with 10:11 left in first half. APSU scored seven straight to get within two.
Betran’s three-pointer with 5:26 left in the opening half tied the score at 29-29. Chris Horton’s dunk moments later completed the comeback and put the home team up two, 31-29.
Eastern trailed 34-32 with 2:31 on the clock, but held the Governors scoreless the rest of the way while rolling off eight unanswered to end the half. Cosey got it started with a three-pointer. Tarius Johnson ended it with a trey for a 40-34 lead at the break.