SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 84, Belmont 73
@UT Martin 75, Morehead State 72 (OT)
Eastern Kentucky 68, @Southeast Missouri 55
@SIUE 45, Tennessee State 38
@Tennessee Tech 72,
Austin Peay 56
EASTERN ILLINOIS 84, BELMONT 73
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men’s basketball once again played suffocating defense as they held Belmont to 38 percent shooting during an 84-73 win on Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena. The win was the seventh in a row for the Panthers as they improved to 4-0 in conference play for the first time since 1985-86 when they were members of the Mid-Continent Conference.
EIU improved to 10-6 overall, 4-0 in the OVC. Belmont dropped to 10-6 overall, 2-1 in the OVC.
Eastern Illinois slowly build a 39-26 halftime lead as the Panthers made timely baskets and frustrated the nation’s ninth leading scorer Craig Bradshaw. The Panthers held Bradshaw to two first half points and nine for the game.
Reggie Smith gave EIU a seven point lead in the opening half with his jumper with 6:53 to play. EIU led 23-16 at that point. A jumper by Spencer Turner and three point play by Reece Chamberlain cut the margin to two points at 23-21 as Chamberlain converted with 5:02 to play.
The Panthers closed the half on a 16-5 run with lay-ups by Trae Anderson, Chris Olivier and a jumper by Luke Norman starting the run. Smith made it a 16 point lead for EIU with a bucket with 12 seconds left in the half. Taylor Barnette hit a 3-pointer for Belmont as time expired. Smith was one of five EIU players in double figures finishing with 15 points.
Bradshaw would score his second basket of the game with 17:10 to play bringing EIU’s lead back to single digits at 41-33.
EIU answered with the same six point offensive spurt it did in the first half with consecutive baskets by Anderson, Olivier and Norman. Anderson scored 13 points in his first action since the Cleveland State game. Anderson had missed the opening three OVC games due to injury. Olivier led EIU with 16 points while Norman was 4-of-4 from the floor scoring ten points.
Belmont would cut the lead to eight on a Mack Mercer jumper with 12:54 to go and Evan Bradds made it a seven point game with a pair of free throws with 1:18 to play. Belmont extended its full court defense midway through the second half forcing 16 EIU turnovers which they converted into 19 points. Bradds led the Bruins with 16 points.
Smith gave EIU its biggest lead of the second half with a lay-up with 6:07 to play. Smith, Cornell Johnston and Josh Piper each converted a pair of free throws in the final 1:05 of action. EIU ended the day shooting 59 percent from the floor including a 64 percent clip in the second half. LeTrell Viser rounded out the EIU double figure scorers with 13 making 4-of-6 from 3-point range.
Barnette had 15 points and Chamberlain 14 to close out the top scorers for Belmont.
EIU’s bench finished the game outscoring Belmont 54-13.
UT MARTIN 75, MOREHEAD STATE 72 (OT)
MARTIN, Tenn. - Marshun Newell poured in a season-best 20 points – six of which came in the overtime period – to help the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team seize a 75-72 victory over Morehead State at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The win was the first Ohio Valley Conference victory in the young career of first-year Skyhawk head coach Heath Schroyer and also gave UT Martin nine wins – one more than the program tallied all of last season. The victory also was UT Martin’s first over Morehead State since Feb. 28, 2009 – snapping a nine-game losing skid to the Eagles.
A trio of Skyhawk newcomers joined Newell with double-figures in the scoring column. Deville Smith had 18 points (five of which came in overtime), while Arkeem Joseph established new career-highs in points (18), rebounds (eight) and minutes played (36) tonight. Twymond Howard chipped in 14 points and seven rebounds for the Skyhawks, who made four of their six field goal attempts and both free throw shots in overtime.
Along with Newell’s heroics, sophomore reserve forward Chandler Rowe impacted the game defensively, taking a pair of charges in an overtime frame where neither team would lead by more than three points.
Morehead State (6-12, 1-2 OVC) was led by Kareem Storey’s 22 points. Brent Arrington and Angelo Warner also added 15 points apiece for the Eagles, who were held to 16.7 percent shooting (1-for-6) in the overtime period.
Howard gave UT Martin an early lead, scoring the first seven points for the Skyhawks. After a Smith three-pointer from the left corner put UT Martin ahead by a 10-9 margin, Storey reeled off seven unanswered points in 1:05 to provide Morehead State with a 16-10 lead with just under 15 minutes to play in the first half.
Joseph then helped the Skyhawks trim their deficit, as he scored six of UT Martin’s nine points in a span of three minutes to even the score at 19-all at the 9:32 mark. The Eagles followed with a 12-0 run, with the last eight points coming from Angelo Warner.
The Skyhawks answered right back with 13 unanswered points, as three-pointers by Smith, Newell and Alex Anderson helped tilt the score in UT Martin’s favor at 32-31. Morehead State would briefly reclaim a lead but a fadeaway jumper by Smith with 18 seconds left in the first half provided the halftime score of 35-all.
Smith’s 10 first-half points paced the Skyhawks, who knocked down six of their seven 3-point attempts (85.7 percent) in the first half. Storey’s 12 points led Morehead State.
An old-fashioned three-point play by Howard only 12 seconds into the second half gave UT Martin a lead it would not relinquish until Corban Collins gave Morehead State a 46-44 lead with a three-pointer from the right corner at the 15:11 mark of the second half.
Joseph then tallied back-to-back turnaround jumpers in the lane to push the Skyhawks ahead by a 48-46 margin with 13:37 remaining in the contest. UT Martin held the lead until another Collins three-pointer gave the Eagles a 51-50 advantage at the 11:40 mark.
UT Martin reclaimed the lead after Newell scored four straight points but Morehead State tallied a quick 7-0 run over a stretch of 1:05 to go ahead by a 60-56 margin.
The Skyhawks then strung together six unanswered points, as a nifty up-and-under layup by Smith started an old-fashioned three-point play. Smith’s ensuing free throw provided UT Martin with a 61-60 advantage with 2:28 remaining.
A Warner layup with 56 seconds to go tied the score at 62-all but Newell nailed a pair of clutch free throws with 34 seconds left to put the Skyhawks on top by two points. However, Storey converted a layup on the ensuing possession to send the game into overtime.
Newell accounted for the first points of overtime with a strong take to the hoop but Morehead State registered the next four points to take a 68-66 advantage. Smith then buried a big three-pointer from the right wing gave UT Martin a one-point lead (69-68) with 3:14 to go.
Newell padded the Skyhawk lead to 73-70 with another drive to the basket but Morehead State would soon get within one point with 49 seconds left on the clock. Smith came right back with a swooping layup to push UT Martin’s lead back out to 73-70. Arrington made a pair of free throws before Newell sank two more attempts from the charity stripe with six seconds remaining. Morehead State’s last-second three-point attempt fell short and the Skyhawks corralled the rebound to close out the victory.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 68, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 55
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team completed an Ohio Valley Conference road trip sweep with a 68-55 victory at Southeast Missouri State on Saturday. The Colonels held both opponents to less than 60 points on the road trip.
The Redhawks (7-10, 1-3 OVC) cut Eastern’s lead to five, 55-50, on two free throws by Jarekious Bradley with 5:50 left in the game. However, the Colonels (10-5, 2-0 OVC) held the home team scoreless until Bradley hit two more free throws with 28 seconds left in the game. By that point, EKU’s lead had grown to 18.
Corey Walden scored a game-best 23 points. He shot 50 percent from the field and made all 10 of his free throw attempts. The senior added five rebounds, one assists and one steal. Eric Stutz had 18 points and five rebounds. Timmy Knipp contributed seven points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Knipp and Walden got the big run started with two free throws each. Stutz got his own rebound and put it back in to extend the lead to 11, 61-50. Walden scored Eastern’s final seven points.
Eastern limited Southeast to 26 percent shooting from the field in the second half and 33 percent for the game. After getting out-rebounded by seven in the first half, the Colonels won the battle of the boards by four in the second half.
Bradley, SEMO’s leading scorer, finished with just 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting from the field. Aaron Adeoye scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the home team.
The Colonels were down three, 30-27, before going on a 10-1 run over the final three minutes of the first half. Walden scored the first five before Denzel Richardson hit a three-pointer from the right wing. Jonathan Hood’s offensive rebound and put-back at the buzzer capped it and sent the visitors to the locker room up 37-31 at the break.
Four straight to start the second half allowed Southeast Missouri to close the gap to two, 37-35.
SIUE 45, TENNESSEE STATE 38
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Senior Kris Davis buried a three-pointer from the left corner with a 1:02 to play and fellow senior Rozell Nunn scored the final four points of the game as SIUE men's basketball edged Tennessee State 45-38 Saturday at Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars, who have won six of their last seven games and six consecutive games at home, improved to 7-8 overall and 3-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The win is the first for SIUE in the all-time series with Tennessee State. The Tigers fell to 3-15 overall and 0-3 in the OVC.
Maurice Wiltz gave SIUE its first lead of the second half with a three-point play with 11:59 to play. Wiltz tied the score 27-27 with a layup and was fouled. He hit the free throw to put the Cougars up 28-27.
Davis' second three-pointer of the game gave SIUE the lead for good and came off an inbound pass from Donivine Stewart. On the ensuing play, Nunn jumped in front of a pass from the Tigers' Jay Harris near midcourt and then finished with an uncontested layup. Nunn was fouled on a rebound attempt with 26 seconds left and converted both free throws for the game's final margin.
Tennessee State held a 21-15 lead after a half in which both teams struggled to hit shots. The Cougars shot just 26 percent (6-23) over the game's first 20 minutes. Tennessee State was 9 for 26 (34.6 percent) during the first half.
The 15 points scored in the first half were the fewest for SIUE since scoring 15 points in the second half at Belmont Feb. 27, 2013.
The SIUE defense limited Tennessee State to 17 second-half points. The Tigers connected on just 5 of 25 attempts over the final 20 minutes.
Nunn led SIUE with 10 points and was the only Cougar to score in double figures. Keaton Jackson added eight points and eight rebounds. Davis, Stewart, and Wiltz each scored six points for the Cougars.
Freshman Christian Mekowulu led the Tigers with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Belleville, Illinois-native Darreno Reddick scored 11 points and chipped in eight rebounds.
TENNESSEE TECH 72, AUSTIN PEAY 56
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - They had played each other 137 times through the years, and only one game separated Tennessee Tech and Austin Peay in one of the state's oldest and fiercest college basketball rivalries.
Pretty much dead-even.
And that's how Saturday's edition of the game went…at least for the first half.
Tennessee Tech (9-8/1-3 OVC) clamped down on defense in the second stanza, limiting the Austin Peay (5-11/0-2 OVC) to just 26 points on the way to running away with a 72-56 Ohio Valley Conference victory in Eblen Center.
It left Tech with a slim 70-68 edge in the series.
After a first half which saw the score tied seven times, the Golden Eagles held the Governors to 38 percent shooting after the break to claim their first conference win of the season. Tech improved to 7-1 at home this season.
Torrance Rowe scored 13 of his 18 points in the first half, and led the Golden Eagles in scoring, one of four TTU players in double digits. Josiah Moore finished with 13 points and eight rebounds while Charles Jackson grabbed his 12th double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. He also blocked six shots and had two of Tech's 11 steals. Jordan Johnson added 12 points.
Khalil Davis was the top point-getter for APSU with 14 points, also notching a double-double with 10 rebounds. Ed Dyson and Josh Robinson scored 10 points. Chris Horton also nabbed 10 boards for the visitors along with scoring six points.
The Govs trimmed the difference to a single point, 39-38, on a 3-pointer by Dyson with 15:20 to play, and were within three points with nine minutes left after Horton hit two free throws.
Tech then slammed the door, reeling off a 15-1 run to build a 61-44 lead with 5:30 to play. Johnson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the run, and the Golden Eagles forced two missed shots and four turnovers during the three-and-a-half minute blitz.
Tech's largest lead of the night came with 3:19 remaining when Johnson's two free throws made it a 20-point bulge, 69-49.
The largest lead in the first half was seven points.