SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 71, Tennessee Tech 53
Eastern Kentucky 66, @Morehead State 57
@Eastern Illinois 57, SIUE 54
Southeast Missouri 70, @Austin Peay 64
@Murray State 65, UT Martin 62
@Tennessee State 45, Jacksonville State 43
BELMONT 71, TENNESSEE TECH 53
NASHVILLE - Belmont University men's basketball delivered arguably its best defensive game of the seasno in defeating Tennessee Tech, 71-53, Saturday afternoon.
The Bruins, who showcased their offensive prowess in a 103-point performance vs. Jacksonville State Thursday, were efficient and unified in all phases. Two early three-pointers from sophomore Taylor Barnette gave Belmont a 9-7 lead three minutes in.
And despite early foul trouble for Golden Eagle center Charles Jackson, the vistors rode the assertive play of Torrance Rowe and Javon McKay to seize a 22-18 lead midway through the first half. The end to end action would slow somewhat, but a Barnette steal and layin from junior Craig Bradshaw gave the Bruins a 25-24 advantage.
The Bruins would hold Tennessee Tech without a field goal for nearly eight minutes late in the first half, and when sophomore Evan Bradds scored along the baseline to cap a 9-0 run, Belmont led 34-25 with 2:40 left in the half. Following three Golden Eagle points, Barnette would beat the shot clock with a dramatic, 35-foot three-pointer to push the Bruin lead back to nine with 44 seconds left in the half. Belmont led 37-30 at halftime.
Belmont shot 40 percent (12-for-30) from the field in the opening 20 minutes - including 7-for-17 from three-point distance. The Bruins outrebounded Tennessee Tech, 22-16, in the first half, and forced eight Golden Eagle turnovers.
The Bruins would would score on their first five possessions of the second half, but again Rowe and McKay would keep Tennessee Tech within range. But once again Belmont clamped down defensively, holding the visitors scoreless for nearly six minutes. A Bradshaw three-pointer and a gorgeous fast break layin from Barnette extended the Bruin lead to 55-41 with 10:09 remaining.
Bradshaw drained consecutive three-pointers to push the advantage to 63-45 with 6:31 remaining. From there, more strong interior defense from freshman Amanze Egekeze and efficient play from senior Reece Chamberlain and Bradds helped secure the victory.
All told, Belmont shot 50 percent (27-for-54) from the field - including 63 percent in the second half.
The Bruins limited Tennessee Tech to 36 percent shooting and forced 17 Golden Eagle turnovers. Belmont held the formidable frontcourt duo of Charles Jackson and Dwan Caldwell to a combined eight points for the game on 4-for-15 shooting. Barnette led three Bruins in double figures with 21 points and four steals. Bradds added 18 points and five rebounds, while Bradshaw had 16 points, five rebounds, and three steals.
McKay led Tennessee Tech (10-13, 2-8 OVC) with 16 points.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 66, MOREHEAD STATE 57
MOREHEAD, Ky. - A late 14-3 run allowed the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team to escape with a 66-57 victory at rival Morehead State University on Saturday.
The Colonels (12-9, 4-4 OVC) trailed 47-44 with 6:58 left in the game. Corey Walden put back his own miss to begin the run. He hit two free throws for a 48-47 lead and Eastern never trailed again. The teams then exchange a trio of three-pointers. Denzel Richardson hit one from the left corner to put EKU in front by four.
Angelo Warner answered with a triple at the 4:23 mark to get the Eagles (10-14, 5-4 OVC) within one. Eastern Kentucky’s Isaac McGlone found the bottom of the net at the other end as the visitors rolled off seven unanswered to cap the run and make it a 58-50 lead with less than three minutes remaining.
EKU made 6-of-8 at the free throw line down the stretch to secure the victory. After Warner’s three-pointer got MSU within one, the Eagles made just 2-of-7 from the field the rest of the game.
Walden didn’t attempt a field goal in the first half and didn’t make his first shot from the field until the 15:55 mark of the second half, but the senior finished with 20 points, four rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists. He finished 4-of-8 from the floor and 12-of-13 from the charity stripe.
Eric Stutz came back into the game with four fouls at the 6:58 mark and played the rest of the way, including going 4-for-4 at the free throw line to cap Eastern’s game-changing run. He recorded his sixth career double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds.
The Colonels were out-rebounded 20-9 in the first half, but turned the tables in the second half to the tune of a 20-11 edge. Morehead State shot just 26 percent (6-for-23) over the final 20 minutes of play.
Warner scored a team-best 17 points off the bench for MSU.
Eastern Kentucky went 23-of-27 at the free throw line while the Eagles made just 14-of-22 at the stripe.
Morehead State took control in the first half with an 11-2 run. The Colonels were up 19-15 before the Eagles scored six straight to get the run started. A three-pointer by Corban Collins finished it off and gave the home team a 26-21 lead with 4:54 left before intermission. MSU scored seven of the final nine points to take a 34-27 advantage into the locker room at the break.
EKU opened the second half with a 10-1 run to erase Morehead State’s seven-point halftime lead. An offensive rebound and put-back by Stutz put Eastern in front 37-35 with 14:18 left in the game.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 57, SIUE 54
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Trae Anderson converted a three point play with 26 seconds remaining followed by a defensive stand by Eastern Illinois as the Panthers pulled out a 57-54 win over SIU Edwardsville on Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena.
EIU improved to 13-9 overall, 7-3 in the OVC. SIUE dropped to 9-12 overall, 5-5 in OVC play.
In a back-and-forth game that had nine ties in the second half along with six lead changes, EIU led 50-46 with 3:37 to play on a 3-pointer by Cornell Johnston. SIUE then went on an 8-2 run with 3-pointers by Donivine Stewart and C.J. Carr. Carr’s 3-pointer with 42 seconds remaining gave the Cougars a two point lead.
Anderson then drove the lane in the left block and was fouled while making a lay-up. His free throw gave the Panthers a 55-54 lead with 26 seconds left. EIU then forced a double-dribble violation as Reggie Smith helped on the defensive stop giving EIU the basketball with five seconds left. Johnston then made two free throws to ice the game as a half court heave by SIUE fell short. Johnston had 12 points to go with four assists.
EIU opened the game on an 11-0 run with Anderson scoring six of his game high 20 points in the first 4:30 of the game. SIUE’s first points came at the free throw line with 14:56 to play as Rozell Nunn knocked down a pair. The first Cougars field goal did not come until 13:25 with EIU leading 13-4.
EIU would lead by as many as 12 points in the first half before SIUE closed to within two points on a Keenan Simmons 3-pointer at 4:02 trimming EIU’s lead to 19-17. The Panthers led 26-19 at the half as Anthony Johnson had a lay-up and Smith knocked down a pair of free throws.
The Panthers extended their lead to nine points on a jumper by Anderson to open the half. Stewart capped a 9-0 run by SIUE with a 3-pointer at 17:44 to tie the game at 28-28. Stewart led SIUE with 19 points.
Both teams finished shooting below 40 percent as EIU connected for 34 percent and SIUE shot 37 percent. The Panthers were 14-of-18 at the free throw line with Reggie Smith hitting 6-of-6.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 70, AUSTIN PEAY 64
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Southeast Missouri (10-12, 4-5) shot 57% from the field and 44% from 3-point range as the Redhawks earned a 70-64 win at Austin Peay Saturday night. Jarekious Bradley and Nino Johnson both scored a team-high 15 points to lead the way.
In a game that featured 11 lead changes and four tied scores, Johnson grabbed 10 rebounds to record a double-double and added three blocks and two steals. Antonius Cleveland contributed with nine points, four assists, three steals and a block. Jamaal Calvin and J.J. Thompson both reached double figures in scoring with 11 points each.
Southeast got out to an early 9-4 lead on a 3-point play by Nino Johnson and back-to-back triples by Calvin, who made his first start of the season. Austin Peay battled back and pulled within one at 18-17 with 11:41 left before halftime and took its first lead on a 3-pointer by Jeremy Purvis at the 8:22 mark, capping a 6-0 run.
Cleveland scored five straight points and converted a 3-point play to tie the score 27-27 with 5:02 remaining in the first half. Cleveland made it seven straight points to regain the lead for Southeast with 3:43 left before intermission. The lead would change sides four times the rest of the half. Calvin drained his third shot from beyond the arc with five seconds on the clock to send the Redhawks to the locker room with a 38-36 halftime lead.
Southeast shot 60% (15-for-25) from the field and 42% (5-for-12) from long range in the first 20 minutes. Austin Peay shot 43% (12-for-28) from the field, 40% (4-for-10) from 3-point range and 89% (8-for-9) from the free throw line in the opening half.
Calvin paced the Redhawks with 11 first-half points. Cleveland had seven points and Johnson added six at the break. Ed Dyson and Chris Horton both led APSU with seven points at intermission.
Southeast continued the hot shooting early in the second half as the Redhawks went on a 7-2 run to begin, which opened up a 45-38 lead with 16:46 left. The lead grew to 53-42 on a layup by J.J. Thompson with 13:20 remaining. After Austin Peay trimmed the lead to 56-52, Johnson made a driving basket at the 10:03 mark. Dyson drained a 3-pointer for the Govs to cut the lead to three at 58-55 with 8:36 left. Horton added a dunk on a follow-up to pull within one with 7:51 left.
Bradley converted a crucial 3-point play after driving baseline and scoring to give the Redhawks a 62-57 lead with 7:20 remaining. Southeast would increase the margin to 66-59 with 4:27 left following a layup by Thompson and two successful free throws from Johnson. That score would hold until Purvis drained a triple with 2:58 remaining to make the score 66-62.
Thompson scored on another driving layup with 2:25 left to push the lead back to six points. Horton answered on the ensuing possession with a layup. Following a steal by Damarius Smith, Purvis and Horton missed layups and Cleveland grabbed the rebound at the 1:39 mark. From there, the Redhawks defense would not allow another point and Johnson clinched the game with two additional points from the charity stripe.
Horton finished with a double-double as he registered game-highs with 23 points and 18 rebounds. Dyson scored 12 points while Chris Freeman scored 10.
Defensively, Southeast held APSU to a 38% (22-for-58) shooting line. The Governors shot 33% (6-for-18) from beyond the arc.
MURRAY STATE 65, UT MARTIN 62
MURRAY, Ky. (AP) - T.J. Sapp nailed a 3-point jumper from the corner and Cameron Payne blocked a shot under the basket with four seconds remaining as Murray State held on to win its 17th straight game, defeating UT Martin 65-62 on Saturday night.
UT Martin's Deville Smith made a layup to tie at 60 with 1:31 remaining in the game. Sapp knocked down his trey for a 63-60 lead with 54 seconds left. Smith played the clock and drove the lane with four seconds left. Payne met him under the basket and rejected the layup to secure the win.
Sapp finished with 20 points and Payne added 16 with seven assists for Murray State (19-4, 9-0 Ohio Valley Conference). Jarvis Williams had six points and 11 rebounds. Payne has now scored 1,013 points in his career.
Smith made 20 points, Marshun Newell had 18 and Twymond Howard added 13 for UT Martin (13-8, 5-3).
TENNESSEE STATE 45, JACKSONVILLE STATE 43
NASHVILLE - After trailing by 15 with 13 minutes left in the game the Tennessee State University men’s basketball team defeated Jacksonville State University 45-43 at Gentry Center on Saturday night.
The Tigers (5-18, 2-6 OVC) held the Gamecocks (9-15, 2-8 OVC) to four points over the final 12-plus minutes of the game to secure their first come-from-behind victory of the season.
This, along with the victory over Tennessee Tech, makes for the first back-to-back wins of the season.
TSU was led by Darreon Reddick and his 14 points (5-for-11). Demontez Loman (11) and Charles Tucker (11) gave the Tigers three double-digit scorers. Loman added eight rebounds on the night.
Darion Rackley led all scorers with 16 points (5-for-12) in a losing effort for JSU.
The first half saw a low-scoring affair. The Gamecocks went into the locker room with a 22-19 lead. The 19 points was tied for the second lowest first half point total of the season for the Tigers. They also scored 19 at TCU (Dec. 29).
TSU was held to 8-for-26 from the field (30.8 percent), 2-of-7 from behind the arc (28.6 percent) and made just 1-of-7 free throws (14.3 percent).
The Tigers offensive woes continued as they didn’t make their first bucket of the second half until a Demontez Loman jumper 9:59 into it. Despite over 13 minutes without a bucket, TSU was still within eight points after the made shot. A three-point play, the old fashioned way, by Xavier Richards brought the score to 36-31, Gamecocks ahead, with 8:16 remaining.
After Charles Tucker made it a four-point gap with a trey in the corner by the TSU bench, JSU called timeout with 7:38 to play.
With 4:45 left, Reddick drained a three-pointer to put TSU ahead 39-38. After making a crucial rebound and calling timeout to ensure possession, Jay Harris was met on the floor by head coach Dana Ford who fervently praised the senior leader’s effort.
TSU was able to close out its most dramatic win of the season.
Jacksonville State’s 43 points is the lowest total that the Tigers have held an opponent to since Tennessee Tech’s 42 in 1997-98.