SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 64, Grambling 52 (Chicago, Ill.)
@IPFW 85,
Austin Peay 68
Ole Miss 75,
@Southeast Missouri 64
@Western Illinois 64,
Eastern Illinois 57
@SIUE 74, Portland State 64
@Marshall 96,
Eastern Kentucky 72
@Arkansas 83,
Tennessee Tech 57
TENNESSEE STATE 64, GRAMBLING 52
CHICAGO - Stifling defense and a balanced attack carried the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to a 64-52 victory over Grambling State on Saturday afternoon at the Kroc Center as part of the HBCU Legends Hardwood Classic. Redshirt senior Keron DeShields paced the offense with 16 points on the day.
For the Tigers (6-2), it is their fourth win in a row, marking their longest winning streak since the 2012-13 season. Grambling State falls to 2-7 on the year. Eight games into the season, TSU already has more wins (6) than last year's total (5).
TSU held Grambling to 21-for-62 (33.3 percent) shooting from the field and ran out to a 32-20 halftime lead. It is the fourth consecutive game holding an opponent to 20 or fewer points in the first half for the Tigers.
On the offensive end, sophomore Darreon Reddick tallied 11 points with Tahjere McCall, Johnny Woodard and Wayne Martin adding nine points apiece. Martin also secured a team-best 11 rebounds for TSU, which finished with a 43-34 rebounding edge.
TSU never trailed in the game, and led by seven with two minutes left in the opening half. The Tigers were able to gain control thanks to a 7-2 run to close the half.
In the second half, Tennessee State led by as many as 21 points on two occasions, the last coming on a layup from Demontez Loman with 14:37 left for a 47-26 advantage. For Loman, who turned in another solid performance with eight rebounds, it was his only basket of the game.
TSU maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half.
IPFW 85, AUSTIN PEAY 68
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - It was like trying to eat fruit with milk or drink milk with steak….things that just don’t go together.
Seniors Chris Horton and Khalil Davis picked up their respective third and fourth fouls early in the second half with the Governors leading IPFW by four points. At the same time those two were forced to exit IPFW senior guard Max Landis caught on fire from the perimeter.
As a result, the Mastodons went on a 21-0 run to erase a seven-point deficit and race past Austin Peay State University, 85-68, Saturday after in War Memorial Coliseum. With the win IPFW swept the season series from the Govs and improved to 8-4 while the Govs fell to 4-6 overall and 1-2 on the current five-game road trip.
Landis hit three of his six three second-half pointers in the six-minute game-determining span—Landis finished with 28 points on nine three pointers and one free throw.
That quickly, a game that APSU controlled with its defense in the first half, had all but slipped away. The offense, which struggled some in the first half--APSU went more than nine minutes without a field goal—saw much standing around, with almost all movement coming from the ball handler attempting to make a play. By the time, Horton and Davis returned, the Govs already were trailing by nine, 56-47—a 16-point swing. Not even their respective reentries could change the momentum.
In the first half, the Govs offense slowed appreciably when point guard Terrell Thompson picked up his second foul. Right before the 12-minute media timeout the Govs connected on 7-of-11 shots to take a 20-12 lead. But APSU went just 2-of-14 the half’s remainder but still held a 33-29 halftime lead, thanks to a defense that limited IPFW to just 35 percent (7-of-20) shooting and forced 11 Mastodons turnovers. It also helped APSU it went 11-of-14 at the free-throw line.
But the combination of the Horton-Davis exit with Landis owning the perimeter just didn’t mix as IPFW outscored APSU 56-35 in the final half.
In addition to Landis’ 19 second-half points, point guard Max Landis had 15 of his 22 points. With Landis doing almost all the second-half three-point damage, IPFW was 7-of-13 from behind the arc in the closing half.
Horton led the Governors with 16 points and 15 rebounds—his season’s eight double-double—but he missed his first seven shots in going 4-of-13. He also had seven turnovers, matching the number he had against the Mastodons back in November. Davis had 15 points while Josh Robinson added 14.
The Govs finished the night shooting just 35 percent (22-of-63) from the floor, including 5-of-16 from the three-point line.
OLE MISS 75, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 64
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Antonius Cleveland scored a career-high 25 points and Southeast Missouri (0-9) gave Ole Miss (7-2) all it could handle in a 75-64 loss Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
Ole Miss was the first Southeastern Conference opponent to play at the Show Me Center. Today also marked the first time an SEC school played a basketball game on an Ohio Valley Conference campus in 22 years.
Southeast started strong scoring the first six points of the game to grab its biggest lead. Cleveland made two free throws, while Joel Angus III scored a layup and knocked down a pair of free throws in a 2:48 span.
After Isiah Jones tied things up at 19-19, Ole Miss went on a 16-6 run in the final 7:23 of the first half to take a 35-25 lead at the break. The Redhawks shot 50 percent (13-of-26) from the field in the second half.
Ole Miss ended a 3:45 scoreless drought when Stefan Moody simply took matters into his own hands.
Immediately after Cleveland's jumper made it a 48-45 game, Moody buried a pair of free throws at the 7:47 mark. He then added two more free throws and a layup before knocking down back-to-back 3-pointers. Two possessions later, Moody buried another 3-pointer to push the Rebels lead to 63-52 with 3:51 left to play.
Southeast managed to get within six points three times in the final 1:56, but Ole Miss answered with a basket on each of those occasions. The Rebels scored six points in the last 58 seconds to polish off their 75-64 win.
Moody, who leads the SEC in scoring, shot 8-of-21 from the field with 12 of his points coming from 3-point range. He had 19 points on 5-of-11 field goals and a perfect 6-of-6 free throws in the second half alone. Tomasz Gielo followed with 10 points, while Marcanvis Hymon (14) and Sebastian Saiz (11) each finished with double-digit rebounds to pace Ole Miss.
The Rebels shot just 34.7 percent (26-of-75) from the field and outrebounded Southeast, 53-36. Ole Miss held a 19-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
Cleveland, who also led Southeast with eight rebounds and shot 8-of-11 at the free throw line, was one of three Redhawk starters in double figures. Jones and Trey Kellum contributed 15 and 10 points, respectively. Jones tied a season-high three 3-pointers and dished out a career-high eight assists, as well.
Southeast shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 64, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
MACOMB, Ill. - Eastern Illinois connected for 52 percent in the opening half but the Panthers cooled off in the second half dropping a 64-57 game at Western Illinois on Saturday afternoon in Western Hall.
WIU was cold in the first half but the Leathernecks took advantage of good rebounding to remain in the game as EIU led 32-29 at the half.
EIU fell to 2-6 on the year while WIU improved to 6-2.
Both teams played a majority of the first half without their leading scorers as Garret Covington for WIU and Trae Anderson both picked up two fouls early in the half.
EIU was able to manufacture its 32-29 halftime with hot shooting and balanced scoring as the Panthers had points from several different players. Aleksa Novakovic converted a four-point play at 8:07 that gave EIU a 19-17 lead. EIU was 13-of-25 from the field in the opening half.
A.J. Riley scored 10 first half points as seven EIU players scored in the opening half. EIU led by five points at 32-27 with 1:02 left in the half as Luke Piotrowski backed into the lane and converted one of his two first half jumpers.
J.C. Fuller led WIU with ten first half points as WIU shot 29 percent from the field including 0-of-11 from 3-point range. WIU entered the game second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage. The Leathernecks crashed the glass to stay in the game as they pulled down 13 offensive rebounds in the first half leading to nine second chance points. EIU had a total of 13 rebounds in the first half.
WIU finally broke through for its first 3-pointer of the afternoon at the 15:15 mark of the second half which gave the Leathernecks a 39-36 lead. Fuller drained the 3-pointer as he made all three 3’s for WIU on the day. Fuller finished with 24 points. WIU was 3-of-17 from 3-point range.
Fuller’s 3-pointer just prior to the second media timeout pushed WIU’s lead to 47-38.
EIU slowly chipped away at the lead with an 8-2 run that cut WIU’s lead to 49-46. Fuller pushed the lead back to six points with his third 3-pointer.
EIU used another quick spurt to get within two points as Cornell Johnston sank a 3-pointer with 3:38 to play that trimmed the Leathernecks lead to 53-51.
Both teams had scoring droughts down the stretch. WIU went 8:02 without scoring in the final 8:30 of the game, the only basket a dunk following a press break with 27 seconds remaining. WIU was able to maintain a lead with nine free throws. The Leathernecks were 12-of-20 at the line in the second half.
Anderson led EIU with 14 points followed by Johnston with 12. Riley added 12. EIU ended the day shooting 38 percent from the floor.
Covington reached double figures for WIU ending the day with 11. WIU had a 47-36 rebound edge with 22 offensive rebounds.
SIUE 74, PORTLAND STATE 64
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball clawed back from a seven-point second-half deficit to earn a 74-64 win over Portland State Saturday at Vadalabene Center.
SIUE, which has won two straight, improved to 3-7 with the win. Portland State has dropped three consecutive games and is 3-5.
Following a steal from Jalen Henry, C.J. Carr dropped in a scoop shot to move the Cougars within one of Portland State at 60-59. Carr was fouled on the play, hit his free throw and the game was tied 60-60 with 7:22 to play. SIUE never trailed again. The Cougars scored 19 of the game's final 23 points. SIUE went 9 of 11 at the free throw line during the final stretch.
For the first time this season, SIUE won a game when trailing at halftime. Both teams used runs in the first period to build a lead. The Cougars held as much as a seven-point lead following a Henry free throw at the 9:24 mark. Portland State's Isaiah Pineiro scored with 55 seconds left in the half to put the Vikings up 36-28. SIUE trimmed the lead with four straight points, and PSU led 36-32 at halftime.
The Vikings held the advantage at the break thanks in large part to shooting 51.6 percent (16-31) from the floor over the game's first 20 minutes.
After connecting on 13 of 30 shots (43.3 percent) of their shots in the first half, the Cougars flipped the script after halftime. SIUE was 12 of 24 from the field, while limiting PSU to just 11 of 27 in the second half. For the game SIUE shot 25-54 (46.3 percent).
The Cougars outscored Portland State 42-28 in the second period. SIUE also took care of the basketball. Following seven turnovers in the first half, the Cougars had just one giveaway in the second half.
Portland State turned the ball over 18 times, and SIUE turned the miscues into 24 points.
Yemi Makanjuola scored a career-high 20 points to lead all scorers. The Cougars center finished a rebound shy of his first career double-double. Carr scored 14 points while pulling in five rebounds and adding five assists. Henry and Burak Eslik each scored nine points.
Collin Spickerman scored 15 points to lead the Vikings. Khari Holloway and De'Sean Parsons each scored 10 points. Cameron Forte, who came in averaging 20 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game, settled for nine points and seven rebounds while also committing six turnovers.
MARSHALL 96, EASTERN KENTUCKY 72
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Senior Jarelle Reischel and freshman Nick Mayo both scored 20 points, but the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team fell at Marshall, 96-72, on Saturday night at the Cam Henderson Center.
The game was tied, 36-36, with just under four minutes to play in the first half, but Marshall (2-6) closed the first half on a 10-0 run and opened the second half on a 15-4 run to blow the game open.
Reischel notched his fourth double-double of the year in the loss, scoring 20 points, grabbing a team-high 10 rebounds and dishing out a team-high six assists. He shot 8-of-10 from the field.
Mayo finished one point shy of his career-high with 20 points. He also grabbed a career-best six rebounds.
The Colonels (7-4) were outscored 21-0 in second-chance points.
James Kelly led Marshall with 27 points, while Austin Loop added 26 points on 8-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc.
It was Loop that sparked the Thundering Herd’s late first-half run. He connected on three straight three-pointers in the final two minutes of the half to send Marshall into the locker room at the break up by 10, 48-38.
Stevie Browning picked up in the second half where Loop left off in the first half, canning a three-pointer on Marshall’s first possession to spark a 15-4 run that ended when C.J. Burks hit another three-pointer to make it 63-42 with 17:05 to play in the game.
The Thundering Herd hit 15 three-pointers on the night.
EKU jumped out to a quick lead in the game and led by as many as nine points when Resichel knocked down a three-pointer to make it 19-10 six minutes in.
However, Marshall responded with a 9-1 run to pull to within a point and then took the lead, 28-27, on a jumper by Burks with 8:48 remaining in the half.
The game went back-and-forth and was tied, 36-36, at the final media timeout of the half, until Loop caught fire from beyond the arc.
ARKANSAS 83, TENNESSEE TECH 57
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - A close contest for the early portion of the first half, the Arkansas Razorbacks (5-4) delivered a decisive blow to the scorching hot Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (7-3) over the remainder of the first stanza, providing enough cushion to claim the first-ever meeting between the two programs, 83-57.
Trailing by 12 with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half, the Golden Eagles used a nice little 10-2 run over the next five minutes to trim the home team's advantage to just four points, capped by a transition layup by sophomore Aleksa Jugovic.
It would be the closest the visitors would get the rest of the contest, as the Razorbacks answered Tech's threat with a 17-0 run of their own to create a lead they would never relinquish.
Having already fought back from 15- and 16-point deficits in their previous two contests, the Golden Eagles refused to back down, despite a 40-21 halftime lead in favor of Arkansas. Tech came out firing in the second half, connecting on 50 percent of its attempts from the field over the first seven minutes of the second half.
The problem? Arkansas nearly matched the Golden Eagle output over that span, yielding just two points to the visiting squad before calling a timeout after a massive dunk by senior Ryan Martin. The Razorbacks continued to match and even out-shoot Tech over the remaining time on the clock, finishing at 50 percent from the field for the game.
Arkansas attacked the spirit and engine of the Tech squad, forcing Martin into early foul trouble that limited the big man to just seven first-half minutes. The other deciding factor in the Golden Eagle loss was arguably the team's greatest strength all season; free throw shooting.
The Golden Eagles finished just 10-of-20 from the charity stripe in the contest, shooting well below their 78.7 percent touch that had the team ranked fifth in the nation in free throw efficiency. The Razorbacks also forced Tech to play more offense from outside the paint after Martin was forced to bench, rejecting 13 shots in the game.
Tech knocked down seven attempts from downtown, including four from the hands of senior Torrance Rowe, who finished with a team-high 17 points and four assists. Jugovic ranked second on the team with 12 points on the night while senior Anthony Morse finished with 10 points, six rebounds and three more blocks. He now sits in a tie for ninth place all-time in Tech history. Martin added a team-best seven rebounds while scoring six points.
The Razorbacks used great shooting performances from Anthlon Bell (7-for-13, 4-for-7 from 3-point range) and Dusty Hannahs (7-for-12, 3-for-6) to collect the series' first victory. Both Bell and Hannahs finished with 21 points. Moses Kingsley notched 10 points, 13 rebounds and eight blocks.
With the loss, the Golden Eagles saw their six-game win streak come to end.