SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 110, Longwood 97
UT Martin 78, @James Madison 75
@UAB 61,
Jacksonville State 55
Austin Peay 91, @Northern Colorado 76
EASTERN KENTUCKY 110, LONGWOOD 97
RICHMOND, Ky. - Senior Jarelle Reischel and sophomore Paul Jackson both recorded double-doubles as the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team picked up its third win in as many days with an impressive 110-97 victory over Longwood on Sunday, the final day of the 2015 @EKUHoops Classic at McBrayer Arena.
Reischel finished with a career-high 37 points and 13 rebounds for his second double-double of the year. His 37 points were the most by a Colonel since Shawn Fields scored 36 in a game at Morehead State on February 15, 2003.
Jackson, meanwhile, logged his first career double-double with 14 points and 13 assists.
Reischel and Jackson’s double-doubles marked the first time Colonel teammates posted double-doubles in the same game since Michael Haney and Mike Scott against Savannah State on December 20, 2003.
Junior JaVontae Hawkins added 26 points, five assists and two blocks for the Colonels.
The Colonels (4-1) shot a blistering 66.7 percent (40-of-60) from the field and 54 percent (13-of-24) from behind the arc. It was EKU’s best shooting night since posting a 67 percent mark from the field in a win over Cincinnati Christian College on November 23, 2010.
Lotanna Nwogbo and Tra’Vaughn White both finished in double-digits for Longwood. Nwogbo tallied 26 points and seven rebounds, while White logged 21 points and four rebounds in the loss.
The game featured nine ties and 14 lead changes, until the Colonels’ defensive pressure forced three straight turnovers to help put the game out of reach late in the second half. Reischel got the run going, as he picked the pocket of Chris Shields and took it to the rim for the finish and the foul, putting the Colonels up 80-78 with 7:05 left on the clock.
On the following Longwood possession, Jackson came away with a steal and found Hawkins for the slam, as Eastern extended its lead to four.
As the Lancers (2-3) looked to get the ball across midcourt, it was Reischel again that thwarted Longwood’s offensive attack. Reischel came away with his third steal of the contest and took it to the basket, putting the Colonels up six, 84-78, with 6:39 left to play.
A jumper from Reischel gave the Colonels a 10-point cushion with 3:21 remaining. With 2:12 showing, Jackson found Reischel for the lay-in, forcing a Longwood timeout.
The Colonels surpassed the century mark for the second time this season on a three-pointer from junior Isaac McGlone that put Eastern ahead, 101-88, all but sealing win number four on the season.
The up-tempo Colonels are now averaging 99.5 points-per-game in four home contests this season.
UT MARTIN 78, JAMES MADISON 75
HARRISONBURG, Va. - Twymond Howard hoisted a three-pointer from the left wing that found nothing but net with three seconds remaining to propel the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team to its first win of the season in a 78-75 thriller at James Madison.
After the 12th tie of the contest occurred with only 19 seconds remaining, the Skyhawks (1-4) put the game on the shoulders of Howard, who responded in crunchtime with his first three-pointer of the season. UT Martin’s final possession began with a delivery into the post, where Myles Taylor worked his way around a double team to find Alex Anderson on the left side. Anderson then quickly passed to his right to a wide-open Howard, who calmly rose up for a 22-foot jumper for the eventual game-winning shot.
Howard’s trifecta capped off a remarkable night for the Skyhawk frontcourt. Chandler Rowe accounted for a career-high 14 points while Myles Taylor came off the bench to score 11 points. Kedar Edwards tallied nine points and a game-high eight rebounds for UT Martin, who shot a season-best 54.5 percent (30-for-55) from the field.
UT Martin’s starting backcourt also led an effort where the Skyhawks were responsible for 12 three-pointers. Jacolby Mobley scored a team-high 16 points while Anderson added 12 points to cap off a spot on the Men Against Breast Cancer Classic all-tournament team.
James Madison, who returned all five starters from last season’s Colonial Athletic Association championship team, was led by Ron Curry’s 21 points. Dimitrije Cabarkapa also added 12 points and six rebounds off the bench for the Dukes (2-3).
Four different Skyhawks accounted for three-pointers in the first 4:39 to help UT Martin jump out to a 14-3 lead. After Howard began the game’s scoring with a jumper in the lane on the opening possession, Mobley, Edwards, Rowe and Anderson each accounted for trifectas for the Skyhawks.
A Mobley free throw and finger-roll runner by Anderson padded UT Martin’s lead out to 17-3 at the 13:25 mark. Edwards followed with back-to-back scoop shots off hard drives to the rim to keep the Skyhawk lead in double-figures midway through the first half.
UT Martin would later go on an 8-0 run – capped off by five straight points by Fatodd Lewis – to go on top by a 32-16 margin with 5:42 remaining in the first half.
The Dukes answered with 10 straight points before a left corner three-pointer by Richard Lee pushed the Skyhawk advantage back out to 35-26. UT Martin’s lead remained at nine until Curry sank a pull-up three-pointer from 30 feet out at the halftime buzzer to make the score 37-31.
Eight different Skyhawks scored a bucket in the first half, led by Anderson’s eight points. Edwards also tallied seven points and seven rebounds for the Skyhawks, who shot an even 50 percent from the field (14-for-28) and from three-point land (8-for-16). Curry led James Madison with 11 points but the Dukes shot just 37.9 percent (11-for-29) with a 29.4 percent effort from three-point range (5-of-17) in the first half.
James Madison hit three-pointers on its first two possessions of the second half but baskets by Rowe (backdoor layup), Mobley (right wing three-pointer) and Anderson (18-foot jumper) kept the Skyhawks ahead by a 44-37 margin.
The Dukes then went on a quick spurt with three buckets in the span of 37 seconds before a Joey McLean three-pointer tied the game at 46-all with 15 minutes remaining.
Rowe’s second three-pointer of the game gave UT Martin a 49-46 advantage but James Madison went on a 7-0 run to take a four-point lead with 12 minutes to play. However, the Dukes’ lead was short-lived as the Skyhawks reeled off six unanswered to go back ahead thanks to a thunderous dunk by Edwards midway through the second half.
The two teams then combined for seven ties over the next seven minutes. James Madison took a three-point lead with four minutes to go but Taylor answered right back with an old-fashioned three-point play to tie the score at 69-all.
The game was knotted at 73-all with less than a minute to play before Rowe grabbed an offensive rebound and a putback layup that resulted in a two-point lead for UT Martin. On the ensuing possession, Curry converted a tough layup to tie the game once again with 19 seconds to play.
Howard then became the hero of the night for the Skyhawks, nailing the game-winner to lift UT Martin to its first win of the season.
UAB 61, JACKSONVILLE STATE 55
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Jacksonville State put a serious scare into UAB on Sunday afternoon at Bartow Arena, but the Blazers were able to do just enough to hold off the Gamecocks and escape with a 61-55 win.
Malcolm Drumwright and Jeremy Watson each scored 14 points to lead the Gamecocks (2-4), while Watson added seven rebounds in his hometown. The senior that prepped at Homewood High School scored eight in the second half, while Drumwright put in 12 in the final 20 minutes.
The Blazers (3-1) got 23 points off the bench from Chris Cokley and used a big advantage in length to outrebound JSU 40-28 and turn that into a 38-16 advantage in the paint.
JSU senior JaQuail Townser added 13 points and dished five assists.
The Gamecocks started cold from the floor, allowing the Blazers to jump to an early 15-7 lead, but UAB went cold for a stretch of its own, one that saw the home team go 2-for-9. JSU took advantage with a 10-2 spurt that was keyed by a pair of Andre Statam 3-pointers, the last of which tied the game at 17-17.
The Blazers made just one of their last eight attempts from the floor and the Gamecocks got to the line, where they went 9-for-10 in the half and pulled ahead to build a 28-25 halftime lead.
The Gamecocks held off the Blazers for the first seven minutes of the second half until a Cokley layup tied the game at 36-36 with just over 13 minutes on the clock. After a Jeremy Watson spin move and layup put JSU back up 38-36, the Blazers scored four straight to take their first lead of the second half.
The Blazers built a 43-39 lead on the back end of a 7-1 run, their largest since midway through the first, but JSU stormed right back with a Drumwright trey that tied it again at 48-48 with 7:12 to play.
The two exchanged blows over the next three minutes before UAB got a basket from William Lee, a defensive stop and two Denzell Watts free throws to rebuild a four-point lead at 56-52.
A Watson putback cut the deficit to two and JSU got a look to tie, but a block by Lee set up a breakaway and a dunk by Cokley that put the game out of reach.
AUSTIN PEAY 91, NORTHERN COLORADO 76
GREELEY, Colo. - The stats will show Austin Peay State University’s offensive effort was stellar, Sunday, in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational consolation game against Northern Colorado. The Governors scored more than 90 points and shot 60 percent or better from the floor in each half.
But in the 91-76 victory it was the Governors’ second-half defensive effort that head coach Dave Loos saluted as APSU finally captured its first 2015-16 verdict—and a road victory at that—in improving to 1-4. After watching the Bears shoot 52 percent in the opening half, including 5-of-10 from three-point land, the Govs held Northern Colorado to just 41 percent (11-of-27) shooting in the final half. The Bears made only three second-half three pointers.
Murry not only helped limit Johnson to seven second-half points after the guard torched the Govs for 13 in the first half, but he also collected two steals. The former juco All-American from Owens (Ohio) Community College contributed 11 points and two assists.
His former juco teammate, forward Kenny Jones, also had his first double-digit scoring effort with 15 points, including a pair of three pointers, and five rebounds, all after senior center Chris Horton picked up two first-half fouls.
Despite Horton’s absences—he played only 26 minutes—the Governors were able to maintain their first-half lead (they took a 39-38 advantage into intermission) and then continually build their advantage in the second half. The Govs had only a 59-54 second-half lead when Horton picked up his third foul and was forced with 12:31 left.
Northern Colorado cut it to three, 59-56, but that was close as they could get. Josh Robinson, who struggled from the floor against Cal Poly, helped swing momentum completely towards the Govs when he hit a lane floater to give APSU a 64-58 lead. After Northern Colorado made two free throws—the Bears were 20 of 22 on the night—Khalil Davis scored on a layup to put it back to six. After the Bears failed to score on their next trip, Robinson nailed a long three pointer and the advantage was at nine before Chris Porter-Bunton, playing in place of Horton, made it an 11-point game, 71-60, with 8:03 left.
Northern Colorado would not get closer than eight the game’s remainder as Murry’s three pointers and Jones’ second long-range bomb helped sniff out any Bears hopes for a comeback.
Robinson and Davis led the Govs with 17 points apiece while Horton and Jones each added 15 points. Despite his foul troubles, Horton snared 10 rebounds, giving a double-double in both Northern Colorado games. The Govs placed five players in double figures for the first time Jan. 1, 2014.
Davis, who struggled with fouls against Cal Poly, also led the Govs with five assists,
The Govs shot an impressive 61 percent (14 of 23) in the first half and 65 percent (17 of 26) in the second half for an overall 63 percent effort. The 91 points were the most by a Governors team since they beat NAIA foe Dalton State, 93-57, Dec. 20, 2013. It was the first time APSU scored 90 points against a Division I foe since downing UT Martin, 91-58, to end the 2012-13 season.
Johnson and forward Jeremy Verhagen each had 20 points for Northern Colorado, which fell to 1-3 this season.