SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Evansville 93,
Belmont 88
@Eastern Kentucky 92, South Carolina State 82
@IPFW 87,
SIUE 67
Cal Poly 73,
Austin Peay 64 (Greeley, Colo.)
Morehead State 64, @Northern Kentucky 56
FIU 69,
UT Martin 62 (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Western Illinois 83,
@Eastern Illinois 63
Middle Tennessee 69,
@Tennessee State 66
EVANSVILLE 93, BELMONT 88
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Belmont University men's basketball got career days from junior Evan Bradds and sophomore Amanze Egekeze, but were held off by Evansville, 93-88, Saturday afternoon.
Back-to-back layins from Bradshaw and Bradds gave Belmont an early 14-12 lead. However, Evansville received solid complementary scoring to Balentine and Mockevicius. After only making five total three-pointers in their first two games, the Purple Aces got long range shots from Jaylon Brown and Mislav Brzoja to lead 24-16 11 minutes in.
Meanwhile, the traditionally sharp-shooting Bruins would strangely miss their first nine three-point attempts before sophomore Austin Luke rung the bell at the 8:03 mark. A transition three-pointer from junior Taylor Barnette would get Belmont within 34-33, before Evansville closed the half on an 11-2 run. After a Mockevicius slam and a Bruin rim out, Balentine would sink an impressive fadeaway 28-footer right before the first half horn to give Evansville a 45-35 lead at the break.
Belmont shot 47 percent (14-for-30) in the opening 20 minutes - but only 3-for-14 from three-point distance. Bradds and Egekeze each had eight points at halftime.
Though Balentine would score 10 points in the first seven minutes of the second half, Belmont rode the play of Bradds and Egekeze to stay well-positioned. Belmont closed to 68-63 on a three-pointer from Barnette with 7:42 left, before Evansville responded with eight unanswered points. Bradds continued his onslaught - this time scoring from beyond the arc - to again get Belmont within seven, 79-72, with 4:28 remaining.
Freshman Dylan Windler sparked Belmont pressure defense and helped the Bruins get within 84-80 with 1:46 remaining. And after some uneasy Purple Aces' passing and free throw shooting, the Bruins looked to get within one possession with 26 seconds remaining. But Brzoja rebounded a free throw miss to give Evansville a reprieve. Mockevicius then added two free throws to extend the margin to 93-86 with 24 seconds to go.
All told, the Bruins shot 56 percent (35-for-63) from the field, including 64 percent in the second half. Belmont had 24 assists on 35 made field goals. Moreover, Belmont shot a mind-blowing 26-for-33 (.788) from two-point field goal range, but was an uncharacteristic 9-for-30 from three-point distance.
Bradds had a career-high 28 points on 13-for-13 shooting, and added 14 rebounds and four assists. Egekeze had a career-high 19 points. Bradshaw had 13 points and seven assists, while Luke continued his fine point guard play with eight points and 10 assists.
Balentine led Evansville (3-0) with 27 points.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 92, SOUTH CAROLINA STATE 82
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team rallied behind a hot-shooting night from freshman Nick Mayo to beat South Carolina State, 92-82, in the @EKUHoops Classic on Saturday afternoon in McBrayer Arena.
Less than 24 hours after being held scoreless by Ball State, Mayo went 9-of-11 from the field to finish with a career-high 20 points. He also pulled down five rebounds. Junior JaVontae Hawkins was right behind him with 19 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Senior Jarelle Reischel accounted for 18 points and seven rebounds.
The Colonels (3-1) wasted little time, opening the game on an 18-5 run that was capped by a K.J. Bluford three-pointer with 13:57 on the clock. The Bulldogs regrouped, though, and eventually tied the game at 24-24 when Ed Stephens knocked down a three-pointer at the 8:27 mark.
That was as close as SCSU got to the Colonels. Hawkins buried a jumper on Eastern’s next possession, sparking a 7-0 spurt that gave the Colonels a 31-24 advantage with just under seven minutes to play in the first half. A three-pointer at the buzzer by Mayo kept EKU’s lead at seven, 43-36, going into halftime.
South Carolina State (2-2) pulled back to within one, 46-45, when Greg Mortimer converted a layup less than three minutes into the second half. However, the Colonels had an answer, and his name was Nick Mayo. Hawkins fed Mayo for a layup on the other end of the floor, igniting a 6-0 run that gave the Colonels some breathing room.
EKU slowly pulled away from there, stretching its lead back to double digits, 66-55, on a layup by sophomore Paul Jackson with 8:55 to play.
The Colonels never trailed in the game.
Stephens led the way for the South Carolina State, finishing with 21 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Gabriel McCray tallied 18 points and five rebounds.
IPFW 87, SIUE 67
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Grant Fiorentinos poured in 21 points Saturday to lead SIUE men's basketball, but it wasn't enough to overcome 11 three-pointers from IPFW. The Mastodons defeated the Cougars 87-67 at Memorial Coliseum.
IPFW has won three consecutive games and improved to 3-1 with the win. The Cougars dropped to 1-2 with the loss.
Fiorentinos scored 14 of his game-high 21 points in the first half, but IPFW connected on seven three-pointers in the period and too a 16-point lead (45-29) at the break.
Fiorentinos led the way thanks to strong play around the basket. He was 6 for 7 from the field in the half and 8 of 13 for the game, helping SIUE to a 36-26 advantage in points in the paint. Fiorentinos added five points from the free throw line and also grabbed six rebounds.
An initial surge to start the second half saw IPFW extend its lead to 20 points when back-to-back three-pointers by DeAngelo Stewart made it 59-39 with 13:35 to play.
Michael Calder hit a three-pointer at 10:05 to make it 62-45 when SIUE made a run. The Cougars proceeded on an 11-3 run over the next 3:11, capped by a three-pointer from C.J. Carr to make it 65-56 with 6:54 to play. Carr scored five points during the run and finished the game with eight.
The Cougars got as close as nine on two other occasions. Fiorentinos hit a pair of free throws to make it 67-58 with 6:15 left. Burak Eslik hit a runner to make it 69-60 with 4:51 to play. Eslik tied his career high with 15 points on a 6-for-13 shooting day from the floor. He led the team with seven rebounds.
IPFW was able to pull away and connected on 10 of 13 free throws in the final four minutes to help close out the win.
Jalen Henry scored in double figures for the third time this season. Henry scored 11 points, including seven at the free throw line.
Joe Reed led four IPFW players in double figures. He scored 20. Max Landis scored 19 and hit a pair of three-pointers. Stewart connected on three triples and finished with 12 points.
IPFW shot 47.5 percent from the field, including 51.9 percent (14-27) in the second half. The Mastodons were 11 of 27 (40.7 percent) from three-point range.
CAL POLY 73, AUSTIN PEAY 64
GREELEY, Colo. - Impatience down the stretch has Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team entering Sunday still seeking its first win of 2015-16 season.
After rallying to trail Cal Poly 64-61 with 4:41 left in the Jim Maui Jim Invitational regional second-round contest, the Governors committed five turnovers and failed to convert a field goal in the closing minutes as APSU fell 73-64, Saturday afternoon.
The loss leaves the Govs 0-4 on the season and playing in the tourney’s consolation game, Sunday.
That was never more evident than in Chris Horton’s numbers. After going 6-of-6 from the floor in scoring 14 first-half points, Horton only took three second-half field goals, finishing with 20 points and 12 rebounds—his career’s 38th double-double.
In addition to the five turnovers, the Govs were 0-of-5 from the floor, meaning 10 offensive trips came up empty. APSU’s only points came on two Josh Robinson free throws and a single by John Murry. Although Robinson was APSU’s only other double-figure scorer (14 points), it did not come without potholes. The sophomore was just 5-of-18 from the floor, including 1-of-6 from three-point territory. He also committed six of the Govs’s 16 turnovers. In fact, Cal Poly turned APSU turnovers in 23 points, nearly a third of its points.
APSU trailed by as much as seven first-half points but actually took the lead, 32-31 with 1:24 left in the half. But Joel Awich nailed a three at the buzzer to give the Mustangs a 34-32 lead at intermission.
In the second half, the 2-2 Mustangs bolted to a 54-43 lead with 11:49 left, with the Govs again clawing back to within reasonable striking distance for a possible stretch run, one that failed to materialize.
Still APSU’s head man was able to cull positives from the team’s improving defensive performance. The Mustangs shot just 43 percent (26 of 60) from the floor, including 8-of-24 (33 percent) from three-point territory.
MOREHEAD STATE 64, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 56
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Senior guard Corban Collins led the way with 22 points as Morehead State downed Northern Kentucky on the road, 64-56. The Eagles outscored the Norse, 11-2, in the final six minutes to seal the victory.
The win moves MSU's record to 2-1 and gives them a big non-conference road win.
For the first 34 minutes, the Eagles trailed most of the way, as they struggled to put the ball in the basket, shooting just 35 percent on the night. But, Collins kept them close throughout and then he led MSU in their late rally.
NKU's Lavone Holland's layup with 6:19 to go, put the Norse up, 54-53. But, one minute later, junior guard Xavier Moon delivered a jumper at the top of the key, giving the Eagles a 55-54 lead that they would not relinquish. The Norse managed just two points the rest of the way.
Collins finished the game with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-18 shooting. He was 4-of-9 from three-point range and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. A game after missing the final seven minutes after fouling out in the loss to ISU, he played all 40 minutes.
A big reason why the Eagles were able to pull away late.
Moon was second on the team in scoring with 11 points and has now scored in double figures in his last two games. Senior forward Anthony Elechi also had a big game for the Eagles as he recorded nine points and a team-high eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Miguel Dicent added nine points and senior guard Brent Arrington had eight points and six rebounds.
FIU 69, UT MARTIN 62
HARRISONBURG, Va. - For the second straight game, senior guard Alex Anderson was on fire from beyond the three-point arc but the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team was hampered by turnovers and could not crawl out of a first-half deficit in a 69-62 loss to FIU.
After burying seven 3-pointers in the Skyhawks’ first game of the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic yesterday, Anderson knocked down a career-high eight trifectas on his way to a game-high 26 points tonight. Overall, the senior out of Memphis made nine of his 17 shot attempts, including an 8-for-14 effort from three-point land in 38 minutes of play.
Kedar Edwards made seven of his nine field goal attempts for 15 points to go along with six rebounds tonight for UT Martin (0-4). Twymond Howard added nine points and six rebounds for the Skyhawks, who whittled a 42-23 halftime deficit as low as three points in the second half thanks to a defensive effort that limited the Panthers to 30.4 percent shooting (7-for-23).
FIU (3-1) was led by Daviyon Draper’s 19 points and seven rebounds. Adrian Diaz compiled 17 points, seven rebounds and five blocks while Ray Rodriguez pitched in with 10 points off the bench for the Panthers, who turned 20 Skyhawk turnovers into 24 points.
Edwards sank a three-pointer from the left wing to give UT Martin its first lead of the contest (5-4) at the 18:31 mark. Anderson added five straight points to cap off an 8-2 run that resulted in a 10-6 Skyhawk advantage.
FIU would soon answer with an 8-1 run to reclaim the lead at 19-15. Anderson drained another three-pointer at the 11:46 mark to slice UT Martin’s deficit to one but the Panthers eventually scored 10 unanswered points to take a 29-18 lead until another Anderson trifecta got the Skyhawk back to single digits with 5:40 remaining before the halftime break.
However, FIU would conclude the first half on a 13-2 run to take a 42-23 lead into the halftime break.
Anderson tossed in 11 first-half points to lead UT Martin, who shot 34.6 percent (9-for-26). The Panthers were led by Diaz, who scored 15 points to help FIU shoot 66.7 percent (16-for-24) in the first 20 minutes of play.
The Skyhawks held FIU without a field goal for the first 4:39 of the second half, using an 11-2 run to get back in the mix. Edwards had four points during the run while Anderson knocked down four 3-pointers in the span of 3:45 to will UT Martin back within single-digits at 47-42.
FIU was able to extend its lead to nine points before an old-fashioned three-point play by Howard and a trio of Taylor free throws made the score 55-52 with 7:31 remaining in the contest.
Two more free throws by Taylor kept the Skyhawk deficit at three points with 6:49 to go but the Panthers scored on back-to-back possessions to go on top by a 62-54 margin. Taylor (two free throws) and Anderson (three-pointer) was able to keep UT Martin within five points late but the Skyhawks ultimately could not complete the comeback.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 83, EASTERN ILLINOIS 63
CHARLESTON, Ill. - A strong surge by Western Illinois midway through the second half carried the Leathernecks to a 4-0 start to the season with an 83-63 win over Eastern Illinois on Saturday night at Lantz Arena.
The game was the home opener for EIU as the Panthers fell to 0-3 on the season. EIU hosts Green Bay next Saturday at 7 p.m.
EIU led 37-33 at the half with a strong 3-point shooting performance. The Panthers knocked down 5-of-9 from beyond the arc with Cornell Johnston and Casey Teson each draining a pair. J.C. Fuller was able to keep WIU within striking distance in the first half with 11 points going 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Four of his free throws came on the result of a foul and technical foul called on the same play that gave WIU four straight trips to the line. WIU was 8-of-10 from the stripe in the first half.
The trips to the line continued in the second half as WIU quickly was able to force EIU senior Trae Anderson into picking up his third and fourth fouls. Anderson left the game within the first minute of action with EIU trialing 38-37. WIU was 10-of-13 from the free throw line in the second half and 18-of-23 for the game.
Garrett Covington began to warm up for the Leathernecks at the 15:58 mark knocking down a 3-pointer that pushed WIU’s lead to five points. Teson answered with a 3-pointer to pull EIU back within two points. Covington then capped a 10-2 run at the 13:02 mark with a 3-pointer that gave WIU its first double digit lead of the game. Covington finished with 26 points, one of two WIU players with more than 20 points. Fuller led all scorers with 29.
EIU cut the margin in half with a 3-pointer by Johnston and put back basket by Marshawn Blackmon. Fuller drained a 3-pointer followed by four straight Covington free throws to extend WIU’s lead back to double figures and the Leathernecks slowly pulled away over the final 10:02.
WIU shot 68 percent in the second half and 55 percent for the game. They were 9-of-16 from 3-point range.
Teson led EIU with 12 points going 4-of-8 on 3-pointers. EIU shot 43 percent from 3-point range. Johnston added 11.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 69, TENNESSEE STATE 66
NASHVILLE - Despite a career-high 28 points from redshirt senior Keron DeShields (Baltimore, Md.), the Tennessee State men’s basketball team suffered a 69-66 loss at the hands of visiting Middle Tennessee at the Gentry Center on Saturday night.
TSU (2-2) outscored the Blue Raiders (1-1) by a 36-32 margin in the second half, but the Tigers could not overcome a 37-30 first-half deficit as MTSU earned its 10th-consecutive win in the series.
On the offensive end, senior Marcus Roper added a season-best 12 points off the bench with redshirt juniorTahjere McCall and sophomore Darreon Reddick scoring eight points apiece for the home side.
The Blue Raiders gained the upperhand early in the game and led by as many as nine points at 15-6 with six minutes gone. Over the next 5:30 of action, the Tigers clawed back into the game, taking their first lead at the 8:39 mark of the half on a pair of DeShields free throws for a 19-18 edge.
MTSU retook the lead on a three from Xavier Habersham on the following possession and did not give up the advantage the rest of the half. Behind 19 first-half points from Giddy Potts, the Blue Raiders were able to take a 37-30 lead into the locker rooms.
A 6-0 spurt to open the half brought the Tigers within one at 37-36 nearly six minutes into the second half. Later the half, TSU took a 59-58 lead on DeShields’ layup with 3:49 left, and after a three from MTSU, DeShields leveled the score at 63-63 with 1:47 remaining.
Over the final 1:30, the Blue Raiders outscored TSU by a 6-2 margin to earn the victory.
Both teams finished with 35 rebounds with Wayne Martin corralling a team-best nine boards for TSU, while Reggie Upshaw had 11 for the Blue Raiders. Entering the game shooting 28.0 percent from three-point land, the Tigers connected on 8-of-20 three-pointers (40.0 percent) on the night.
From the field, TSU shot 40 percent (18-for-45) with MTSU shooting 41.5 percent (22-for-53). Potts finished with 21 points to pace the Blue Raiders' offense.