SUNDAY'S SCORES
Alabama State 63,
@Jacksonville State 60
@Illinois State 63,
Murray State 61
@Pittsburgh 72,
Morehead State 62
ALABAMA STATE 63, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Jacksonville State lead over half of the game, but Alabama State made a late charge and held on for a 63-60 win in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
After leading for four seconds shy of 31 minutes, JaQuail Townser's 3-point shot attempt to tie the game was right of the rim resulting in the Gamecocks falling to Alabama State for the second consecutive year as the Hornets won by a final 63-60.
Alabama State didn't take the lead for the first time until Jamel Waters sank a jumper with 10:14 left in the second half. Cam Biedscheid answered right back with a jumper of his own to give JSU a 1-point lead less than 30 seconds later.
However, Waters made another shot a minute and a half later to give the Hornets the lead for good. JSU got as close as one point with 2:12 left and then against with 14 seconds left, but could never get over the hump to take the lead.
Head coach James Green and his team held a 30-25 after leading the entire first half of play as a result of Jeremy Watson and Biedscheid's nine first half points. They both ended the game with 13 points as Townser had a team-high 14 points and six rebounds.
Watson brought down a game-high 12 rebounds to round out his fifth career double-double, first this season and first in 364 days. It's the second time in his career he's produced a double-double against the Hornets as he finished with a career-high 28 points, 18 rebounds in 2014.
Freshman Jared Hamilton added six points and six rebounds while Greg Tucker chipped in with six, all in the first half. Malcolm Drumwright had eight points and four rebounds before fouling out late in the game.
For Alabama State, Waters had a game-high 18 points, six rebounds and four assists while Steve Rogers scored 16. Corvon Butler added nine points while Mikel Tyson and Terrance LeFlore both scored seven. Bobby Brown and Chidozie Omile finished with four and two points respectively.
ILLINOIS STATE 63, MURRAY STATE 61
NORMAL, Ill. - The Murray State Racers lost a tight contest Sunday in a 63-61 defeat against Illinois State at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois.
The Racers fell to 5-5, while ISU is now 4-6.
With the game tied 49-49 with 7:39 remaining, MSU was set for another day in which a play here or there would decide the victor. The Racers had just gotten a 3-point basket from Damarcus Croaker to take their final lead of the game.
Twice, the Racers had possession to take the lead, but a pair of turnovers led to ISU baskets and a 59-54 lead for the home team with 2:51 left.
Bryce Jones banked in a 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two points. MSU fouled and ISU missed both free throws to set the Racers up with a chance to win the game. They maneuvered into the front court where Jeffery Moss got off a contested 3-pointer for the win, but it rimmed off and the Racers were on the short end of the score.
Wayne Langston led the way for the Racers with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Jones and Croaker each added 12 points to the MSU attack.
MSU led 31-26 at halftime and missed on some chances to stretch the lead to double-digits at the outset of the second half.
The Racers won the rebound battle 38-33.
PITTSBURGH 72, MOREHEAD STATE 62
PITTSBURGH - The Morehead State Eagles played the Pitt Panthers even throughout, but a 16-0 run by the home team was the difference as MSU fell at the Petersen Events Center on Sunday afternoon, 72-62.
The loss is Morehead State's second straight and moves their record to 5-3 on the season. Pitt moves to 8-1.
With two minutes to go in the first half, junior forward DeJuan Marrero's layup cut the Pitt lead to 30-28, but the Eagles then went six minutes without scoring. Pitt closed the half on a 5-0 run and went into the locker room with a 35-28 lead and then scored the first 11 points of the second half, opening up the lead to 46-28.
The Panthers' biggest lead came at 51-32 with 15:01 to play.
But, the Eagles didn't give in, outscoring the Panthers, 30-21, the rest of the way to trim the final deficit to ten points.
For the Panthers, the story of the game was the play of junior forwards Michael Young and Jamel Artis. They combined for 42 of Pitt's 72 points and finished the night 22-of-24 from the free throw line. Overall, the Panthers shot 29-of-36 from the line, while MSU shot 11-of-15 from the charity stripe.
Morehead State limited Pitt to just 1-of-13 shooting from three-point range, but the Panthers shot 61 percent from inside the arc and 46 percent overall. The Eagles shot 42 percent from the floor and 3-of-12 from beyond the arc. The Eagles were outrebounded by a much bigger team, 37-28, but were outscored just 32-30 in the paint and 11-10 on second chance points. MSU committed just 10 turnovers, while the Panthers turned it over 14 times.
Senior guard Brent Arrington led the way for MSU with 13 points, his highest scoring game since he put up 14 points in the opener. He scored five early points, but a quick second foul forced him to miss the final 12 minutes of the first half. He finished 6-of-13 from the floor and had a team-high four assists.
Junior guard Corban Collins and senior forward Lyonell Gaines added 11 points each and Marrero had a team-high eight rebounds.