WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 64, @Tennessee State 57
@Belmont 73, SIUE 69
EASTERN ILLINOIS 64, TENNESSEE STATE 57
NASHVILLE - Eastern Illinois once again rallied late in the second half as the Panthers improved to 3-0 to start the Ohio Valley Conference season for the first time in their 19 years in the league. EIU beat Tennessee State, 64-57, on Saturday night after trailing by 12 points in the second half.
EIU improved to 9-6, 3-0 in the OVC in winning its sixth straight game TSU dropped to 3-14, 0-2 in the OVC.
Darreon Reddick extended TSU’s lead to 12 points at 43-31 with 11:37 to play as he sank a pair of free throws.
The Panthers then started a slow run to eventually take the lead and improve to 3-0 in the OVC for the first time in school history. Reggie Smith hit a jumper and 3-pointer to make it a 44-39 lead with 8:13 to play.
Josh Piper hit a pair of 3-pointers with his shot from beyond the arc with 3:33 to play giving EIU the lead for good. Piper finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The Panthers set themselves up with good defense during the extended run. TSU finished the game shooting 39 percent from the field. EIU added three steals and two blocks as they closed out the game with the 33-14 run to end the game.
Tennessee State led 28-23 at the half as the Tigers held Eastern Illinois to only 36 percent shooting in the opening half. Jay Harris has nine points off the bench hitting 2-of-3 from 3-point range. Harris finished with 11 points.
The Panthers led 21-19 with 6:43 to play in the first half as Cornell Johnston hit a jumper. TSU would answer with a 9-0 run. Luke Norman scored the final points of the half for either team with a lay-up with 2:36 to play.
Johnston and Chris Olivier added double figure scoring nights. Johnston had 12 points and six assists. Olivier had 14 points.
Reddick led TSU with 13 points. Marcus Roper added 12. Zachary Lee had 10 points.
BELMONT 73, SIUE 69
NASHVILLE - Belmont University men's basketball defeated SIU Edwardsville, 73-69, Wednesday night.
Perhaps the arctic air that brought near record-low temperatures to the Music City snuck into the Curb Event Center, as the Bruins (10-5, 2-0 OVC) battled through an unusually cold shooting night from behind the arc.
Entering play as the nation's No. 6 three-point shooting team at 10.4 makes per game, Belmont went just 4-for-19 from long distance.
That coupled, with strong play from visiting Kris Davis and Rozell Nunn, led to an entertaining and highly-competitive game.
Marked by 17 ties and 18 lead changes, neither team could break free.
SIU Edwardsville led 38-36 at halftime, but strong play from junior Craig Bradshaw and sophomore Evan Bradds enabled Belmont to get the lead.
In addition, freshmen Amanze Egekeze and Mack Mercer would play integral roles in the paint.
A Bradds basket with 2:24 left gave Belmont the lead to stay as the Bruins limited the Cougars to one made field goal the final 7:25.