TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 68, Indiana State 62
@Western Kentucky 86,
Eastern Kentucky 84
@Belmont 105, Lipscomb 89
@UMKC 74,
UT Martin 70
Samford 77,
@Jacksonville State 71
EASTERN ILLINOIS 68, INDIANA STATE 62
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men’s basketball posted its first win of the season on Tuesday night behind the sharp shooting of freshman guard Casey Teson and the clutch free throws of junior college transfer A.J. Riley as the Panthers beat Indiana State, 68-62.
EIU improved to 1-4 on the season and will host Northern Kentucky on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ISU fell to 3-3.
Leading for the third straight game at home EIU opened its second half lead to eight points as Demetrius McReynolds knocked down a 3-pointer with 11:07 to play pushing the Panthers lead to 46-38.
Devonte Brown answered with a 3-pointer for ISU before the two teams traded baskets over the next four minutes. Emondre Rickman then had a 5-0 run with a free throw, dunk and lay-up which cut the EIU lead to 53-51 with 5:49 to play.
Trae Anderson knocked down a pair of free throws and Riley hit a lay-up to push EIU’s lead back to six with 4:46 remaining. Riley was one of three EIU players in double figures finishing with ten points and three assists.
The Sycamores closed the gap to one point on free throws by Everett Clemons with 1:19 left to play. Cornell Johnston drained a 3-pointer to extend EIU’s lead back to two possessions with 59 seconds left.
Riley then made two clutch free throws with 20 seconds left in the game as EIU had missed five of six at the line in the previous two minutes.
EIU shot 48 percent from 3-point range with Teson going 6-of-8 for a team-high 18 points. The six 3-pointers by Teson set an EIU school record for 3-pointers made in a game by a freshman. Seven freshmen had previously hit five 3-pointers in a game, the last was Cornell Johnston last season. Teson hit 4-of-5 from beyond the arc in the second half.
EIU led 27-23 at the half holding ISU to 33 percent shooting in the first half and 38 percent for the game. Both teams finished with 35 rebounds, the first time this season EIU has not been outrebounded in a game. Anderson had six rebounds to go with 12 points. Marshawn Blackmon had six rebounds.
ISU was led by Brown with 22 points. The Sycamores led by ten points early in the game opening with a 16-6 run. Teson’s 3-pointer with 1:33 to play in the first half gave EIU’s its first lead. Teson followed with another 3-pointer to give EIU its four point halftime advantage.
Brenton Scott added 11 points while Rickman had 10 points for the Sycamores.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 86, EASTERN KENTUCKY 84
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team had a one-point lead over Western Kentucky University as the clock clicked down, but Justin Johnson hit a three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left to give WKU an 86-84 victory on Tuesday at Diddle Arena in Bowling Green.
Eastern (6-2) trailed by five before staging a comeback in the final two minutes. Nick Mayo scored on a lay-up and K.J. Bluford hit a free throw to get the visitors within two. After Western (4-3) missed two lay-ups, Jarelle Reischel knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to put the Colonels in front 84-83 with 19 seconds left.
Johnson appeared to be in trouble at the top of the key on the WKU end looking for an open player as the clock clicked toward zero. He was forced to throw up a desperation three-pointer that found the basket. It was his first career trey. EKU got of a half court shot at the buzzer but the attempt missed to the right.
Jaylen Babb-Harrison led Eastern Kentucky with 18 points, hitting on 6-of-7 three-pointers. JaVontae Hawkins added 17 points and a team-best seven rebounds. Reischel had 16 points and six boards. Mayo contributed 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field.
Eastern Kentucky overcame a big first half deficit and then recovered from 10-point second half deficit.
A lay-up by Hawkins gave Eastern a 45-43 lead with 17:05 remaining in the game, but the Colonels went over four minutes without scoring as WKU rolled off 12 straight to take a 10-point lead. EKU slowly chipped away, closing the gap to one twice before tying the score, 78-78, with 2:47 to go.
Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field and from three-point range for the game. Eastern Kentucky made 51 percent of its shots and 60 percent (15-of-25) from deep. The Colonels came into the game ranked third in the nation in three-point field goal percentage (45.3 percent).
The first half was highlighted by two long runs. WKU began the game by hitting on 5-of-8 from behind the three-point arc and led 21-2 just over seven minutes into the game. However, the Colonels answered with a 25-5 run of their own to take the lead.
Bluford got it started with a three-pointer and then hit two more treys during the run. Babb-Harrison also had a pair of three-pointers. A turnaround jumper from Mayo cut the deficit to two points. Reischel came up with a big steal under his own basket and dished to Paul Jackson on the wing who drained a three-pointer to give EKU its first lead, 27-26, with 5:25 left in the first half.
After starting the game with a hot shooting stretch, the Hilltoppers made just 4-of-14 from the field during the Eastern run.
Western led 39-38 at the break.
Aaron Cosby led WKU with 26 points. Johnson finished with a double-double, posting 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds.
BELMONT 105, LIPSCOMB 89
NASHVILLE - The Belmont University men's basketball team (5-3) defeated Lipscomb (4-5) 105-89, Tuesday evening at the Curb Event Center, as the program scored over 100 points for the 16th time in its NCAA history.
Taylor Barnette was one of five Bruins in double figures, and paced the Bruins with a season-high 24 points, including a season-high six 3 pointers. Evan Bradds and Craig Bradshaw also recorded impressive performances, as they scored 19 and 20 points respectively. Bradds grabbed 12 rebounds to register his second double double of the year.
After holding a 48-45 edge at the half, the Bruins stormed out of the gate in half number two with a 10-2 run. The stretch, highlighted by 3 pointers from Barnette and Amanze Egekeze, forced Lipscomb to take a timeout. Belmont would stretch its lead back to double digits, as it came out hot from beyond the arc, netting 3-of-4 from long distance before the first media timeout of the half. The Bruins would not look back as they led by as many as 18 points in the second half, in what was an exciting 40 minutes of basketball in the Battle of the Boulevard.
BU finished shooting 59.3% from the field, along with 51.6% from 3 point land.
The Bruins' bench play was a key factor as their reserves scored 33 points. Freshman Dylan Windler provided a 13 point, 8 rebound effort, and Mack Mercer scored 11 points in 12 minutes.
After trailing early, 12-7, BU utilized an 11-0 run to jump ahead of the Bisons. Bradshaw scored with a deep transition 3 pointer, much to the delight of the Belmont faithful, to give the Bruins a 15-12 lead. Windler capped off the run with a 3 pointer of his own. A 20-5 run by Belmont over five minute stretch midway throug the half helped the home team grab the momentum and ignite the crowd.
Lipscomb would battle back, and employ a late run of its own and cut the deficit to three, as Belmont led 48-45 at the intermission. Bradshaw finished the half with 15 points, scoring all of his points on five 3-pointers. Bradds joined Bradshaw in double figures with ten, and collected seven rebounds and dished out four assists in the game's first 20 minutes. BU led for 14 minutes of the first half while Lipscomb led for four minutes.
BU finished the first half shooting 62%, the highest mark in a first half since its home opener against Western Kentucky. Lipscomb finished shooting 48.3% from the field. It was truly an up and down game with no shortage of offense.
Tuesday's matchup marked the 137th meeting between Belmont and Lipscomb. Belmont has now won the last eight meetings.
Lipscomb saw three players tally double digits, and Josh Williams led that group with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field.
UMKC 74, UT MARTIN 70
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Twymond Howard and Richard Lee each eclipsed the 20-point mark tonight for the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team but UMKC protected its home floor with a 74-70 win at Municipal Auditorium.
The Skyhawks (2-6) held a 40-37 halftime lead before UMKC took a 10-point advantage with a little over seven minutes to play in the game. UT Martin then buckled down defensively, holding the Kangaroos without a field goal for over five minutes while cutting its deficit to one point with 90 seconds remaining. However, UMKC was able to hang on for the win after two Skyhawk turnovers down the stretch.
Twymond Howard scored 22 points (one shy of his career-high) while grabbing a game-high seven rebounds for UT Martin. He was joined in double-figures by Richard Lee, who went off for a career-high 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including four 3-pointers. Howard and Lee become the first pair of Skyhawk teammates to each score 20 or more points in a single game since Alex Anderson (30) and Deville Smith (21) accomplished the feat at Northwestern State on March 19, 2015.
UMKC (5-2) was led by 24 points out of Martez Harrison while LaVell Boyd (16), Darnell Tillman (11) and Broderick Newbill (10) also reached double-figures in the scoring column for the Kangaroos.
Lee converted an old-fashioned three-point play on UT Martin’s first possession of the game. Howard followed with back-to-back jumpers to keep the Skyhawks on top. Back-to-back trifectas by Lee and Alex Anderson padded UT Martin’s advantage out to five points (13-8) with just under 14 minutes to go in the first half.
UMKC answered with six consecutive points to take a brief lead but four straight free throws by Howard ignited a 10-2 Skyhawk run – capped off with a pair of treys by Lee and Anderson. The surge lasted a total of two minutes and resulted in a 30-23 UT Martin lead at the 7:06 mark of the first half.
However, the Kangaroos responded with a run of their own – outscoring the Skyhawks by an 11-2 margin over a span of 2:51 to go ahead by a 34-32 margin. Fatodd Lewis then gave UT Martin a lift with five straight points, followed by another Lee three-pointer to slingshot the Skyhawks into a 40-34 lead before UMKC hit a three-pointer to cut UT Martin’s halftime lead to 40-37.
Lee was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field – including a 4-of-4 effort from three-point land – for a game-high 15 points at the break. Howard also had 10 points for UT Martin, who shot 53.8 percent (7-for-13) from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. The Kangaroos were led by Harrison’s 10 points in the first half.
The start of the second half mirrored the beginning of the game as Lee accounted for the Skyhawks’ first bucket. UMKC followed with 13 of the next 17 points, taking a 50-46 lead in the process. A fast break layup by Lee and a pair of Howard free throws evened the score at 52-all at the 12:32 mark.
Over the next 5:17, the Kangaroos would unreel an 11-1 run to go on top by a 63-53 margin. UT Martin got within six points on two different occasions but Harrison then scored five straight points for UMKC – including a 35-foot three-pointer off a loose ball as the shot clock expired.
Howard then poured in six straight points for UT Martin before Jacolby Mobley knocked down a three-pointer from the left wing with 1:30 to go, slicing the Skyhawk deficit to 71-70. The UT Martin defense got another stop, setting up a chance to go ahead with 57 seconds remaining. However, a pair of Skyhawk turnovers sandwiched around a Harrison stepback jumper plus a Kyle Steward free throw iced the game for UMKC.
SAMFORD 77, JACKSONVILLE STATE 71
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Malcolm Drumwright scored 21 to lead three Gamecocks in double figures, but Samford pulled off a 77-71 win at Pete Mathews Coliseum in a renewal of JSU's oldest rivalry.
In the 89th meeting but the first time since the 2007-08 season the two schools have met on the hardwood, the Bulldogs (6-2) were 28-for-32 from the free throw line to hold off a Gamecocks (3-7) rally.
JSU got 14 apiece from freshman Christian Cunningham and junior Cam Biedscheid. Cunningham was 5-for-6 from the floor before sitting much of the second half with an injury.
Biedscheid was 5-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-9 from behind the arc in 27 minutes off the bench in his JSU debut. The transfer from St. Louis, Mo., made his first collegiate appearance since his freshman campaign at Notre Dame.
The Gamecocks took a 26-25 lead with 4:58 remaining in the first half off a Drumwright 3-point basket, but that was the last time JSU held a lead in the game. Drumwright scored his 21 points before fouling out with 26 seconds left trying to bring his team back. He also dished out four assists, brought down two rebounds and had two steals in a game-high 37 minutes of game action.
Cunningham also had a game-high three blocks and two rebounds, while Biedscheid brought down four boards and dished out three assists. Jared Hamilton and Erik Durham both finished with nine points each. Senior JaQuail Townser had a game-high six rebounds despite struggling in an 0-for-6 night from the floor.
With 6:25 remaining in the second half, Jacksonville State got as close a one point to Samford, but that was as close as the Bulldogs let the Gamecocks set for the remainder of the game.
Samford's lead was stretched out to eight with 1:05 remaining the game before Biedscheid and Durham sank a 3-point basket to the Bulldogs' two free throws to draw within three with 16 seconds before Darius Jones-Gibson sealed the win with three of four made free throws.
For Samford, Jones-Gibson finished with a team-high 12 points in 33 minutes as a starter. Jamal Shabazz and Alex Peters were the additional Bulldogs in double figures as they each had 13 and 10 points respectively. Wyatt Walker and Marcus Johnson scored eight points apiece while Walker had six boards.