FRIDAY'S SCORES
@East Tennessee State 87,
Eastern Kentucky 81
@UT Martin 74, Arkansas State 70
Southern Illinois 88,
@Murray State 73
@Tennessee Tech 77, Miami (Ohio) 64
@Loyola Marymount 77,
Jacksonville State 60
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 87, EASTERN KENTUCKY 81
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Senior Jarelle Reischel and junior JaVontae Hawkins combined to score 52 points in the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team’s 87-81 loss at East Tennessee State on Friday night at Freedom Hall.
EKU (8-5) trailed by as many as 12 points in the second half, but the Colonels rallied to tie it up, 79-79, on a three-pointer by Reischel with 1:48 remaining in the game.
ETSU (5-5), however, responded with a three-pointer from Ge’Lawn Guyn on its next possession to retake the lead, and the Buccaneers never looked back. T.J. Cromer knocked down a jumper with just over 30 seconds on the clock to make it a two-possession game and then sank two free throws in the waning seconds to seal the win.
Reischel and Hawkins – one of the highest scoring teammate tandems in the country – lived up to their billing on Friday. Reischel scored 29 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and two steals. Hawkins just missed his first-career double-double, pouring in a career-high 23 points and pulling down nine rebounds.
Freshman Nick Mayo added 11 points and six rebounds for the Colonels.
Eastern shot 53 percent (26-of-49) from the field and 46 percent (11-of-24) from three-point range, but turned the ball over 21 times. ETSU converted EKU’s 21 turnovers into 33 points.
Guyn paced the Buccaneers with 27 points, while Cromer contributed 22 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Eastern jumped out to an early 14-point lead in the game, as a three-pointer by senior K.J. Bluford made it 21-7 in favor of the Colonels with 12:11 remaining in the first half.
However, ETSU responded with a 15-3 run and tied it up, 27-27, on a pair of free throws by Deuce Bello with 6:17 on the clock.
The Colonels went back ahead and took a four-point lead, 36-32, on a three-point play by Reischel, but Guyn hit a three-pointer just before halftime to cut EKU’s lead to one, 36-35.
The game was tied, 48-48, at the 15-minute mark of the second half, before ETSU went on a 17-4 run and grabbed a 65-53 lead on a triple by Guyn with 10:42 showing on the clock.
Eastern was not finished, though, as the Colonels battled back and tied it, 71-71, on a three-pointer by Hawkins with 4:24 remaining. Another three-pointer by Reischel tied the game again at 79-79, before the Buccaneers pulled away down the stretch.
UT MARTIN 74, ARKANSAS STATE 70
MARTIN, Tenn. - University of Tennessee at Martin senior forwards Twymond Howard and Myles Taylor each recorded a double-double to aid the Skyhawks to a 74-70 home victory against Arkansas State at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
After missing the team’s last game with an illness, Howard came off the bench to secure game-highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds for his seventh double-double in under two seasons as a Skyhawk. Taylor accumulated 15 points and 10 rebounds for his 17th career double-double in a UT Martin uniform. The duo helped the Skyhawks grab 22 offensive rebounds as a team, marking the first time that UT Martin had hauled in 20 or more offensive boards in a game since it accomplished the feat against Austin Peay on Jan. 5, 2013.
Jacolby Mobley also added 12 points while Alex Anderson tossed in 10 points – including four clutch free throws in the final 13 seconds of the contest. Richard Lee (nine points) and Kedar Edwards (six points, eight rebounds, three steals in 16 minutes) also helped guide UT Martin, who won its third consecutive game to improve to 5-7 on the season.
Arkansas State (3-7) was led by Nouhoum Bocoum’s 16 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Donte Thomas (15 points), Anthony Livingston (13) and Sean Gardner (12) also scored in double-figures for the Red Wolves, who were forced into 18 turnovers while shooting 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from three-point range.
Mobley made his presence felt immediately, as he sank a pair of layups in a 22-second span after checking in to give the Skyhawks an early lead. Arkansas State followed with a 14-7 run that resulted in a 19-13 UT Martin deficit at the 10:31 mark of the first half.
A little over a minute later, it was Mobley who then scored five straight Skyhawk points before back-to-back treys by Lee and Anderson capped off a 9-0 UT Martin run. Howard then closed out the half with five consecutive points for the Skyhawks, who took a 35-25 lead into the break.
Mobley and Howard shared the team lead with nine points at halftime for UT Martin, who held the Red Wolves scoreless over the final 4:18 of the second half. Arkansas State was directed by Livingston’s 11 points but the Red Wolves were hampered by 15 first-half turnovers.
The Skyhawks continued their momentum into the second half, unreeling a 9-3 run in the first 2:57 of the stanza. Taylor was a key component to the run, scoring on three straight possessions to give UT Martin a 44-28 advantage with 17 minutes left to play.
Arkansas State got back within single-digits thanks to eight unanswered points midway through the second half. After the Skyhawk lead was trimmed to one point at the 9:02 mark, Howard poured in UT Martin’s next nine points to keep the Skyhawks on top.
Two ties followed before the Red Wolves took a brief 67-65 lead with 2:13 remaining. The Skyhawks then concluded the game on a 9-3 run, taking a 69-67 advantage on an Edwards baseline jumper with 1:04 to go. UT Martin followed with a key defensive stand before icing the win with five free throws in the final 32 seconds.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 88, MURRAY STATE 73
CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Murray State Racers dropped an 88-73 defeat at home Friday to the Southern Illinois Salukis at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
MSU fell to 5-6 on the season, while SIU improved to 10-2.
Bryce Jones led the Racers with 20 points, including 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Wayne Langston added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Damarcus Croaker scored 10 points.
The final score wasn't indicative of how close the game was until the Salukis ran away with the win at the end.
With 8:00 left in the game, the Racers grabbed what was their final lead when Chad Culbreath made a brilliant finish on a fast break for a 57-56 MSU lead.
The Salukis answered with back-to-back 3-point baskets that keyed a 12-3 run that put the Racers behind 68-60 with 3:24 left. The Racers couldn't recover as they fell behind by double-digits. MSU did cut the SIU lead to seven with 1:30 left.
In the first half, the Racers fell behind by 12 with 8:00 remaining before the intermission. They responded with a 15-2 run, but trailed 36-32 at the half.
TENNESSEE TECH 77, MIAMI (OHIO) 64
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For the fourth time this season, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fought back from a double-digit deficit, outlasting Miami (Ohio) 77-64 Friday night in Eblen Center.
Tech (8-4) wrapped up a perfect non-conference home record this season (7-0) and posted its 16th consecutive non-conference win in Eblen Center. It was the first meeting for the Golden Eagles with Miami (6-5), a team from the Mid-America Conference.
Down 36-25 at halftime, Tech opened the second half with an 11-0 run to tie the contest. The Golden Eagles outscored the RedHawks 52-28 in the second half, shooting 60 percent in the second stanza including 50 percent (5-for-10) from outside the arc.
Torrance Rowe sparked the attack with a game-high 23 points along with four assists, while Hakeem Rogers came off the bench to add 19 points and two steals. Ryan Martin finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, plus two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. Martin was 6-for-7 shooting and 4-for-5 at the free throw line.
Miami had four players in double figures, topped by LJ Livingston with 16 points and eight rebounds. Eric Washington added 14 points and five assists, while Rod Mills scored 12 and Geovonie McKnight produced 10 points and four assists.
Miami led for most of the first half, and opened the margin to double figures late in the period before heading to the break on top by 11, 36-26. The largest lead of the half was at 12 points. The RedHawks shot 52 percent in the first half, including 4-for-9 from long range.
A three-point play by Shirmane Thomas opened Tech's second half, and Rowe hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cap the 11-0 run that tied the game at 36-all.
The RedHawks regained their lead, going up 47-40 on a layup by McCormick with 11:52 to play.
Rogers' 3-pointer ignited a 14-3 Tech run that pushed the Golden Eagles ahead to stay. A highlight of the run was a 3-pointer by Rowe with 8:35 left that tied the contest at 50-50.
Up by two, Martin snapped down an offensive rebound and followed with a layup with 3:08 left for a 62-58 lead. Aleksa Jugovic hit a jumper and Martin a jumper, before two free throws from Rogers made it an 11-point Tech lead with 1:03 to play.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 77, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
LOS ANGELES - Malcolm Drumwright and Greg Tucker scored in double figures but the Jacksonville State men's basketball team dropped a 77-60 road matchup at Loyola Marymount Friday.
The Gamecocks (3-10) and Lions (7-4) exchanged blows early before a small LMU run created enough separation to pull away with the win.
Tucker, a junior from Charleston, Mo., scored a career-high 11 points, despite a 2-for-7 night from the floor. He was 2-for-5 from behind the arc, while Drumwright went 5-for-13 en route to a 16-point outing.
The Lions got 21 points and 11 boards from Adom Jacko, who went 8-for-14 from the floor and pulled down eight boards off the offensive glass. Steven Haney also scored 21 points and added eight rebounds, all defensive.
The Lions shot 45 percent from the floor and held JSU to a 36 percent shooting night. That, plus a 43-31 advantage on the glass proved to be the difference in the game.
JSU got nine points and a team-high six rebounds from senior Jeremy Watson, while freshman Christian Cunningham added five boards before fouling out in 14 minutes on the court.