SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 59, Jacksonville State 50 (OT)
@SIUE 85, Tennessee Tech 62
Murray State 66, @Morehead State 57
Southeast Missouri 77, @Tennessee State 62
@Ole Miss 92,
Austin Peay 63
@Eastern Kentucky 63, South Carolina State 52
EASTERN ILLINOIS 59, JACKSONVILLE STATE 50 (OT)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois once again rallied to pick up a win as the Panthers trailed by 12 points with 7:52 to play on Saturday afternoon. EIU would tie the game in regulation and then out score Jacksonville State 13-4 in the overtime period as the Panthers won 59-50.
EIU won its fifth straight game improving to 8-6 overall, 2-0 in the OVC. JSU lost its fifth straight game falling to 7-9 overall, 0-2 in the OVC.
Avery Moore hit a 3-pointer for JSU with 7:52 to play which gave the Gamecocks a 40-28 lead with 7:52 to play. It would be the final field goal of the second half for JSU as the Panthers would slowly whittle away at the lead starting with a Reggie Smith steal and dunk. LeTrell Viser followed with a jumper with 6:18 to play as EIU began a 12-0 run.
Viser sank a 3-pointer with 5:40 to go and Chris Olivier scored five straight points to tie game at 40-40 with 3:29 to play. Oliver finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds as he posted his third career double-double.
Jeremy Watson ended the Panthers 12-0 run with a pair of free throws with 2:58 to play. The Gamecocks would score their final six points of regulation from the free throw line.
D.J. Felder put JSU up two with a pair of free throws with 41 seconds remaining. Oliver then fed Josh Piper for a lay-up with 21 seconds to play which tied the game at 46-46 and forced overtime. Piper had eight points and seven rebounds.
In the extra session EIU jumped out to a 52-48 lead on a three points by Olivier and a 3-pointer by Viser with 3:13 to play. Viser finished with nine points.
After JSU closed the lead to two points on free throws by Felder, the Panthers scored the final seven points of the game. Oliver had a bucket and Cornell Johnston sank four free throws.
EIU’s defense held JSU to just 27 percent shooting for the game including 1-of-8 in the overtime period. Moore led JSU with 15 points. Felder had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
JSU led 23-17 at the half holding EIU to 29 percent shooting in the first half. EIU finished the game shooting 38 percent including 3-of-5 from the field in overtime.
SIUE 85, TENNESSEE TECH 62
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Five players scored in double figures Saturday and all 10 players scored at least a point as SIUE men's basketball enjoyed its most lopsided Ohio Valley Conference victory, defeating Tennessee Tech 85-62 at Vadalabene Center.
The Cougars, now 6-7 overall and 2-0 in the OVC, ran their winning streak to five games, the longest for SIUE at the Division I level. The 23-point win is the first victory by SIUE over an OVC team by more than 20 points.
Tennessee Tech, 8-7 overall and 0-2 in the OVC, took a 7-5 lead with a Torrance Rowe three-pointer 13:55 before halftime. Jake Newton answered with a layup 40 seconds later which spurned an 11-0 SIUE run. The Cougars never trailed again.
SIUE led 35-26 at the half after a three-pointer from Rozell Nunn with just a second remaining before the break.
The Cougars dominated the Golden Eagles in the second half, connecting on 64 percent of their shots. SIUE was 16 of 25 from the field, including 5 for 7 from three-point range.
The Cougars tied a season high with 42 points in the paint and used 13 Tennessee Tech turnovers to score 16 points.
Nunn led all scorers with 18 points. He was 7 of 13 from the field, knocked down two three-pointers and added six rebounds and three assists. Kris Davis scored 16 points. He was 8 for 9 at the free throw line. Davis now has 1,107 career points which is ninth best all-time at SIUE.
Keaton Jackson finished a rebound shy of his first career double-double. Jackson scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds. He added a game-high four blocks.
Michael Messer and Maurice Wiltz each added 11 points in the win. Messer added two rebounds, two assists, and two steals without committing a turnover. Wiltz was 3 for 3 from three-point range and added two free throws.
SIUE's defense held the Golden Eagles to just 62 points, more than 10 points below their season average. Tennessee Tech shot 38 percent (22-58) from the field and hit just 3 of 13 attempts from beyond the arc.
Charles Jackson led TTU with his 11th double-double of the season. He finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Dwan Caldwell scored a team-high 17 points, all in the second half. Torrance Rowe scored 11 for the Golden Eagles.
MURRAY STATE 66, MOREHEAD STATE 57
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Ohio Valley Conference season began with a road win Saturday for the Murray State Racers with a 66-57 victory over the Morehead State Eagles at Johnson Arena in Morehead, Ky.
The Racers (11-4, 1-0 OVC) have won seven-straight OVC openers and moved their current win streak to nine in a row. The Eagles fell to 4-10 and 0-1 in the OVC.
Jeffery Moss scored a season-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Jarvis Williams and Cameron Payne each scored 12 points for the Racers.
MSU used some big moments of tenacity and toughness to win the OVC opener which begins a three-game road swing to start league play.
MSU led by 11 points when Moss made a shot just inside the mid-court line as the shot clock ran out to give the Racers their largest lead of the day with 7:10 remaining. The Eagles made a run to cut the lead to three points before Justin Seymour made a steal and hit a 3-pointer. His only field goal of the game gave the Racers a 56-50 lead with 3:56 left. Williams added a three-point play with 2:38 left to extend the lead to nine.
The Racers were only 4-of-13 from long range, but scored inside the 3-point line enough to finish the game with a total shooting night of 51 percent on 22-of-43. MSU was 11-of-19 in the second half for 58 percent. The defense forced the Eagles into 33percent from the field on 17-of-52 shots including 5-of-23 from the 3-point range.
Murray State lost the rebound battle 37-30, but managed to force Morehead into 17 turnovers which matched a tough shooting night that produced only 17 field goals.
The Racers led 31-26 at the half.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 77, TENNESSEE STATE 62
NASHVILLE - Jarekious Bradley scored a season-high 29 points to lift Southeast Missouri (7-8, 1-1) to its first Ohio Valley Conference win, a 77-62 victory over Tennessee State (3-13, 0-1) Saturday night at the Gentry Center.
Bradley missed only twice from the field, knocked down a pair of threes and went a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line, helping Southeast end a five-game losing streak on the road.
Guard Isiah Jones was inserted in the starting lineup for the fourth time this season and first since Nov. 18. The adjustment paid off as it moved Bradley closer to the basket. Both Jones and Bradley picked apart a young TSU team that started five freshmen.
Southeast set the tone early, hitting six of its first seven field goals en route to a 17-4 lead.
The Redhawks made four-straight shots during that stretch, including a three-pointer on three consecutive possessions. Jones hit back-to-back treys before Bradley knocked down his 100th career three with 17:06 remaining in the first half.
After Marcus Roper made a three-pointer to cut Southeast's lead to nine (19-10), the Redhawks answered with a 20-7 run to push their lead over 20.
Jones hit another three to spark the surge, as TSU missed nine field goals and turned the ball over three times during that stretch. Bradley added eight more points before Antonius Cleveland's layup gave Southeast a 39-17 lead at the 4:23 mark.
The Tigers outscored the Redhawks 13-3 in the last 4:23 to narrow the gap to 42-30 at the half.
TSU managed to get within single digits on four occasions in the final five minutes of the game, but Southeast didn't panic. After Roper's three made it a 69-61 game with 3:23 left, Bradley scored eight-straight points to nail down the win.
Bradley shot 10-of-12 from the field, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out two assists in 30 minutes. He scored 20 or more points for the fourth time this year and kept his free throw streak alive at 24-consecutive makes. Bradley's free throw streak is the longest since Luca Nutt made 22 in a row in 2010-11.
Jones, like Bradley, also finished with a season-high. He scored 13 points and had seven rebounds. Jones made a season-best four threes and played the entire game.
Cleveland was Southeast's other double-digit scorer with 15 points and seven rebounds. He shot 6-of-11 from the field in 34 minutes.
Southeast shot 50 percent (28-of-56) on the night and boasted a 54.2 percent (13-of-24) clip in the second half alone. In addition, the Redhawks outrebounded the Tigers, 37-32, and held a 44-28 advantage in the paint.
TSU was led by Roper and Jay Harris who dropped in 13 points each.
OLE MISS 92, AUSTIN PEAY 63
OXFORD, Miss. - Ole Miss closed the first half on a 14-3 run and were never headed as Austin Peay State University dropped a 92-63 decision, Saturday afternoon, in Tad Smith Coliseum.
This was the final non-conference game for the Govs, who are now 5-9 on the season. They will open Ohio Valley Conference play, 8 p.m., at Jacksonville State still seeking their seasons' first road victory. Ole Miss improved to 9-4 before heading to Southeastern Conference action.
Saturday's game slipped away from the Governors in the final 2:40 of the opening half. Trailing 28-26 after a pair of Chris Horton free throws, APSU had no answer for the Ole Miss onslaught. Stefan Moody knocked down a three pointer to extend the Rebels lead to five before two Govs turnovers against the Ole Miss half-court trap and a missed APSU layup turn into Ole Miss points. A minute after trailing by just two, the Govs now were down 37-26.
Another wayward Govs shot was followed by a Jarvis Summers three pointer. APSU's only answer in the final 2:44 was a free throw by Jeremy Purvis and a Purvis layup at first-half buzzer, allowing the Govs to trail 42-29 going to intermission.
That late first-half spurt wiped out APSU's opening salvo that saw it race out to 7-2 and 10-4 leads behind Ed Dyson's perimeter shooting and Chris Freeman's inside scoring. APSU's final lead came on a Josh Robinson three pointer with 8:18 left to lift the Govs to a 17-16 advantage.
Ole Miss opened the final half on a 14-6 burst, ending APSU's hopes for a comeback. The Govs fell behind by as much as 27 before a 13-4 run, punctuated by a Dyson dunk, sliced it to 18, 71-53, with 8:15 left and forcing Ole Miss to call timeout. But the Rebels depth and strength inside immediately shut off the Govs momentum.
Khalil Davis scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lead the Govs while Freeman finished with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Dyson ended 10 points after a promising start. Leading scorer Chris Horton scored six points—all at the free-throw line—as he went 0-of-7 from the floor. Horton did grab eight rebounds as Ole Miss dominated the glass 41-30.
Summers led four Ole Miss players in double figures with 18 points while leading scorer Stefan Moodly added 14, including four three pointers. Former UT Martin guard Terence Smith tallied 10 points off the bench as the Rebels reserves outscored the Govs by a definitive 39-10 margin.
The Rebels finished the night shooting 54.8 percent (34 of 62) from the floor, including 11-of-21 from three-point range. Leading the nation in free-throw shooting, the Rebels were 13 of 17 (76.5 percent), barely off their 78.5 percent shooting entering the contest.
The Govs, meanwhile, shot just 19 of 54 (35.2 percent)—the seventh time the Govs shot less than 40 percent from the floor. The Govs also were victimized by 16 turnovers—seventh time this season with 15 or more turnovers, with 10 coming in the opening half.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 63, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 52
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky rang in the New Year with a convincing 63-52 win over South Carolina State Saturday evening in McBrayer Arena. This was the final regular season non-conference game for the Colonels.
Eastern (8-5) never trailed as the Colonels scored the first 15 points. Five different players lit up the scoring sheet during the opening spurt.
South Carolina State (4-12) missed its first eight shots and turned the ball over five times before finally making a bucket with 12:29 left in the first half.
The Bulldogs hung around in the opening 20 minutes thanks to grabbing 11 offensive rebounds and tallying 13 second-chance points. However, a strong first half from senior Eric Stutz, 12 points on 6-for-6 shooting, helped EKU take a 35-24 advantage into intermission.
The Colonels stretched their lead to a game-high 21 points, 51-30, following senior Timmy Knipp’s lay-in with 12:41 remaining. South Carolina State, which was held below 60 points for the 12th time, would only get as close as 11 points the rest of the way.
Stutz and junior Denzel Richardson each produced a game-high 18 points. Stutz netted 80 percent (8-of-10) of his field goal attempts while Richardson chipped in with a career-best four three-pointers.
For South Carolina State, Darryl Palmer was the only player in double figures with 16 tallies.