SATURDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 86, @Eastern Kentucky 79
Tennessee Tech 72, @Jacksonville State 60
Southeast Missouri 74, @Eastern Illinois 68
@Belmont 93, Austin Peay 68
Murray State 73, @Tennessee State 65
@SIUE 84, UT Martin 78
MOREHEAD STATE 86, EASTERN KENTUCKY 79
RICHMOND, Ky. - Junior Angelo Warner exploded for a career-high 33 points, and the Morehead State men's basketball team surpassed last year's win total with an 86-79 decision over Ohio Valley Conference rival Eastern Kentucky on Saturday afternoon at McBrayer Arena.
The Eagles, who have won eight of their last 11 tilts, improve to 16-9 overall, 7-3 in the league and 7-5 on the road. The Colonels, who have still won seven of their last nine, drop to 17-8 overall, 7-4 in the conference and 10-2 at home. MSU also snaps a three-game skid against EKU.
Morehead State continues to be on pace for its first 20-win season since 2010-11. The Eagles finished that campaign 25-10 and upset fourth-seeded Louisville in the NCAA Tournament.
MSU tallied 15 total victories and just four road wins in 2012-13. The outcome marked win No. 31 for Woods, which is more than any other head coach in his first two years in Morehead.
Warner, in his 89th contest at Morehead State, reached double figures for the 52nd time and the 20-point plateau for the 10th time. He connected on 10-of-15 from the floor, 3-of-6 from three-point range, made all 10 of his free-throw attempts and pulled down three rebounds.
Morehead State, which leads the OVC in total rebounds, offensive boards and rebounding margin, posted a 34-20 advantage on the glass. The Eagles have only been outrebounded once in 2013-14.
Morehead State knocked down 58 percent (28-of-48) from the floor, including 42 percent (5-of-12) from three-point range. The Eagles also converted 81 percent (25-of-31) from the free-throw stripe.
Freshman Greg Dotson recorded a career-best 14 points for MSU, while senior Drew Kelly added 10. Senior Chad Posthumus yanked down a game-high 13 rebounds off the bench, while sophomore Brent Arrington and junior Kareem Storey were credited with four assists apiece.
Morehead State turned in a 46-36 edge in paint points to offset Eastern Kentucky's 21-10 advantage in points off turnovers. The Eagles committed 16 turnovers, while forcing just eight.
Senior Glenn Cosey paced five Colonels in double figures with 18 points on 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. EKU drilled 46 percent (25-of-54) overall and 69 percent (22-of-32) from the foul line.
MSU led by one at intermission and opened up its biggest lead of 13 with 4:25 to play. The contest featured 12 lead changes and seven ties. EKU's last lead came at 16:42 of the second half.
The contest was shown live on ESPNU. It was Morehead State's fifth nationally-televised game of the season. The Eagles can add to that total by making the semifinals of the OVC Tournament.
TENNESSEE TECH 72, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Just one week after upsetting the top team in the Ohio Valley Conference behind arguably its most complete game of the season, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (12-13, 5-5) put together another contest that could bear the same title, using an all-around group effort to knock off East Division foe Jacksonville State (10-16, 4-7) on the road Saturday morning, 72-60.
Four Golden Eagles scored in double figures and five more contributed offensively to the 12-point victory over the Gamecocks. Leading the way for Tech was senior Dennis Ogbe, who put up 15 points and eight rebounds. Ladon Carter enjoyed a great game across the board, scoring 12 points, pulling down eight boards, and blocking a career-high four shots.
Helping Ogbe and Carter dominate the post was junior big man Dwan Caldwell, who chipped in 11 points to give Tech an impressive 44-24 advantage in the paint.
The Gamecocks opened the game with a 3-pointer from the corner by Avery Moore, but the 3-0 lead would prove to be short lived as Tech used consistent play inside to grab a 35-28 lead heading into the half.
Tech extended that lead to as much as 19 points in the second half behind the brilliance of Alabama native DeOndre Haynes, who scored all 10 of his points in the second half. The redshirt freshman guard provided a noticeable spark off the bench for the second straight game, energizing the Golden Eagles on both sides of the ball.
Nearly half of the Gamecocks' 60 points came from the charity stripe as the Jacksonville State squad converted 26 of its 33 attempts. Sinking 10 of those free throws was Darion Rackley, who led JSU with 16 points. Also contributing to the Jax State offense were Brian Williams with 14 points, D.J. Felder with 13, and Avery Moore with 10.
Senior Jeremiah Samarrippas put together a solid night, scoring nine points while dishing out a game-high five assists. The Bartow, Fla. native sank a 3-pointer mid-way through the first half, giving him 13 consecutive contests with a made trey.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 74, EASTERN ILLINOIS 68
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Darrian Gray scored 18 points to lead three Redhawks in double figures, as Southeast Missouri (13-12, 4-7) defeated Eastern Illinois (9-15, 6-6), 74-68, Saturday afternoon in Ohio Valley Conference action at Lantz Arena.
Southeast ended a three-game losing streak in OVC play.
The Redhawks were ahead, 68-62, with 2:49 left to play when Jarekious Bradley drew a charge. Instead, Sherman Blanford's basket was waved off.
EIU managed to pull to within two (69-67) with 37 seconds left, however, Southeast made five free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
Southeast took a slight 34-33 halftime lead, as neither team was up by more than five points.
The Panthers opened the game with a 5-0 run in the first 1:44. Reggie Smith buried a three and Blanford made a pair of free throws to grab EIU the early lead.
EIU led by five on four more occasions before Gray's free throws gave Southeast its first lead of the game at 16-15 with 12:05 left.
After Keenan Anderson's free throw tied the game at 16-16, the Redhawks went on a 7-2 run to pull ahead, 23-18. Jamaal Calvin and Jarekious Bradley each made layups, while Gray capped the surge with a three at the 8:35 mark.
Gray started in place of Antonius Cleveland, who had a sore tailbone. He made 5-of-10 field goals, buried three 3-pointers and made 5-of-6 free throws in 35 minutes. Tyler Stone followed with 16 points and seven rebounds, while Bradley turned in a double-double 13 points and 10 boards.
Blanford led EIU with 20 points and nine rebounds.
Southeast limited the Panthers to 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the field and under 40 percent from three-point range. EIU made 7-of-20 threes for 35 percent.
BELMONT 93, AUSTIN PEAY 68
NASHVILLE - Behind five double figure scorers, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Austin Peay, 93-68, Saturday afternoon.
In front of a boisterous Homecoming crowd, Belmont raced out to a 20-8 lead eight minutes in.
After Austin Peay closed to within 31-29 on two Chris Horton free throws, J.J. Mann and Reece Chamberlain sparked a 22-7 run that pushed the Bruin lead to 53-36 with 2:02 left in the first half.
Mann had 22 first half points.
But with guard Craig Bradshaw in foul trouble, Belmont lost a bit of momentum as the Governors made the score 53-48 with 18:28 left on an Ed Dyson layin.
Three-pointers from Nick Smith and Drew Windler and a Bradshaw latin extended the Belmont lead back to 61-49 with 15:21 remaining.
From there, Chamberlain and Evan Bradds spearheaded another Bruin scoring run that stretched the margin to 76-53 with 10:40 remaining.
All told, Belmont shot 53 percent (35-for-66) from the field - including 13-for-30 from three-point distance. The Bruins handed out 22 assists, while forcing 15 turnovers.
Mann led the way with 28 points. Chamberlain added 13 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists, while Bradds scored 12 points and five rebounds.
Blake Jenkins had 11 points, and Bradshaw 10.
Chris Horton led Austin Peay with 18 points.
MURRAY STATE 73, TENNESSEE STATE 65
NASHVILLE - The Murray State Racers built a 13-point lead and held on for a 73-65 win over the Tennessee State Tigers Saturday at the Gentry Center in Nashville, Tenn.
The win pushed the Racers to 14-9 overall and 9-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Racers lead the OVC West Division ahead of second place SIUE at 6-5.
Jonathan Fairell scored a career-high 17 points hitting 8-of-9 from the field to go with seven rebounds.
Jarvis Williams and Cameron Payne each added 16 points. Williams recorded his 11th double-double of the season while Payne led the Racers with six assists.
The Racers hit 3-pointers from Payne and Jeffery Moss for a 9-3 run and a 25-16 lead with 8:25 remaining in the first half. When T.J. Sapp made a 3-pointer and Moss finished a fast break, the Racers were up by 13 at the 3:28 mark. But TSU chipped away and MSU's lead at the half was 37-28.
Fairell scored the Racers' first six points in the second half and Payne added a 3-pointer to keep MSU in front by nine points with 15:42 left. MSU's lead went to 13 again (60-47) with 8:20 remaining. MSU survived an offensive slowdown but still led by eight with 1:51 left on a Fairell fast break dunk. The Racers salted away the remaining time for the 73-65 final.
SIUE 84, UT MARTIN 78
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Donivine Stewart scored a career-high 24 points Saturday to lead SIUE to its sixth consecutive home win, an 84-78 victory over UT Martin in Ohio Valley Conference play at the Vadalabene Center.
The win moved the Cougars to 6-5 in the OVC and into second place in the West Division, one-half game ahead of Eastern Illinois. SIUE is now 10-15 overall. Both win totals are a game better than last season's totals. The win also gives SIUE a 9-3 record in home games. The nine home wins are the most for the Cougars since moving to Division I.
Stewart, who scored 17 of his 24 points in the first half, finished the night 8 for 9 from the field, including 3 for 4 from three-point range. He was 5 for 7 from the free throw line. He added a game-high eight assists with two rebounds and two steals.
Kris Davis chipped in a season-high 21 points. He was 8 of 13 from the field and 2 of 5 from long range.
Stewart and Davis have combined for 80 points and 20 assists in two games this season against UT Martin.
Christian Salecich was the only other SIUE player to score in double figures. He finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting and a trio of three-pointers.
All eight players to appear in the game scored for SIUE. Rozell Nunn scored seven points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Keaton Jackson scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked a career-high six UT Martin shots.
SIUE shot 60.7 percent (17-28) from the field. The Cougars were 8 of 13 from three-point range during the first half and held a 47-40 edge at halftime.
The Cougars never trailed in the second half despite a Skyhawk run midway through the period. SIUE had its largest lead of the game with 12:38 to play when Salecich hit a three-pointer to make it 63-51. UT Martin proceeded on a 10-0 run to cut the lead to two points (63-61) with 7:32 to play.
Five Skyhawks finished with double figure scoring totals. Mike Liabo led the charge with 17 points, including three triples, and eight rebounds. Myles Taylor and Terence Smith each scored 13 points. Smith scored all 13 in the second half. Justin Childs scored 12 points, and Marshun Newell scored 10.