MONDAY'S SCORES
Green Bay 78,
@Morehead State 72
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 74,
@Austin Peay 70
@Eastern Illinois 78, Hannibal-LaGrange 53
Grand Canyon 86,
@SIUE 75
@Belmont 85, Valparaiso 81
GREEN BAY 78, MOREHEAD STATE 72
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Sophomore guard Miguel Dicent scored a career-high 20 points, but it wasn't enough as the Morehead State men's basketball team fell to Green Bay, 78-72.
The loss marked the first of the season at Johnson Arena for the Eagles and their record is now 6-5. Green Bay improved their record to 7-5.
It was a back-and-forth game for most of the first half as the two teams went into the locker room knotted at 36-36.
Morehead State jumped on the Phoenix early in the second half and opened a 49-46 lead on a layup by junior guard Corban Collins with 14:00 minutes remaining in the game.
But, Green Bay answered with a 7-0 run to regain the lead at 53-49 with 11:08 to go and they would lead the rest of the way. The Eagles trimmed the lead to as little as two, but they couldn't get over the hump and Green Bay pulled away late.
Foul trouble played a pivotal role in the defeat as senior guard Brent Arrington and Dicent each picked up four fouls early in the second half. Senior forward Anthony Elechi and junior forward DeJuan Marrero would join Arrington and Dicent with four fouls, as well.
With foul trouble an issue, the Eagles simply could not find any rhythm in the second stanza. They shot just 33 percent from the floor in the second half, while Green Bay shot 59 percent. The Phoenix also spent a lot of time in the second half at the free throw line, shooting 15-of-26 from the charity stripe. They shot 22-of-36 from the stripe for the game, while Morehead State shot just 13-of-20 from the line.
Dicent finished with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting, and was 3-of-7 from three-point range. It marked the second straight game that he has set a career-high as he scored a then career-high 16 in the loss at Davidson.
Junior guard Corban Collins had 15 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Elechi had 14 points and seven rebounds.
TEXAS A&M-CORPUS CHRISTI 74, AUSTIN PEAY 70
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Point guard Hameed Ali scored a career-best 23 points and collected four steals while forward Rashawn Thomas added 23 as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi held off Austin Peay State University, 74-70, Monday night in non-conference men’s basketball action.
The loss prevented the Governors from reaching the .500 mark, dropping them to 6-8 overall. The Islanders, meanwhile, improved to 8-3, with all three losses on the road to high major programs.
Ali was a pest in the team’s first matchup earlier this month, collecting three second-half steals as the Islanders pulled away. Ranked ninth nationally in steals (2.7 spg) coming into Monday’s game, his constant pressure helped unnerve the Govs as he collected four more steals. But few were expecting his offensive marksmanship. He came into the game shooting just 26 percent from the floor and a woeful 18 percent from three-point territory. In fact, he made just 4-of-26 three pointers in his seven games.
Monday night, Ali made four three pointers (seven attempts) and finished the night 6-of-12 from the floor to go with 10-of-11 at the free-throw line. He scored 15 of his points in the second half after Thomas, who had 18 first-half points, picked up his third and fourth fouls.
For the Govs, it was a night of extreme frustration. Although the Govs forced the Islanders into 20 turnovers, they were able to convert them only into 14 points. TAMCC, meanwhile, took advantage of APSU’s 19 turnovers for 24 points.
In addition, center Chris Horton picked up two first-half fouls and sat for the final 10:41 of the half. When Horton departed, the Govs led 18-13. The Islanders outscored APSU 25-15 the half’s remainder as the visitors took a 38-33 lead into intermission. Horton finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds, ending his streak of double-double at 11.
Fellow senior Khalil Davis attempted to pick up the slack, finishing with 21 points and 10 rebounds—his third career double-double. Josh Robinson added 16, but did it on just 4-of-17 shooting.
Despite all their offensive problems, the Govs cut a nine-point second-half deficit to two, 64-62, with 3:40 remaining. But the Govs fouled Thomas on a shot attempt; he made the first but missed the second. But the Islanders grabbed the rebound and the ever-present Hameed found Jelani Curry in the right corner for a three, giving the Islanders a 68-62 advantage. The Govs could never get closer than four the game’s remainder.
After two games of shooting almost 60 percent before Christmas, the Govs were held to only 43 percent from the floor against the Islanders, including 3-of-15 from three-point range.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 78, HANNIBAL-LaGRANGE 53
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Four Eastern Illinois players scored in double figures as the Panthers snapped a five game losing streak on Monday night in Lantz Arena with a 78-53 win over Hannibal-LaGrange. Demetrius McReynolds led the Panthers with 14 points as EIU knocked down 11-of-25 3-pointers with McReynolds sinking 4-of-5.
EIU improved to 3-9 overall while Hannibal-LaGrange is now 3-6.
The visiting Trojans were hot from the field in the first ten minutes twice building a five point lead. The first came on a D’Vonte Garland 3-pointer with 14:56 to play in the half. Stephen Campbell’s 3-pointer with 14:13 to play gave HLGU a 16-11 lead. Campbell scored all nine of his points in the first ten minutes.
EIU worked its way back into the game with a 3-pointer by Anthony Johnson and lay-ups by A.J. Riley and Patrick Muldoon. EIU tied the game for the fourth time in the first half at the 9:53 mark as Casey Teson hit a 3-pointer. Teson had 11 points going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Teson’s 3-pointer sparked an 18-5 run that pushed the Panthers lead to double digits at 36-26 as McReynolds sank a 3-pointer with 4:21 to play in the half. EIU led 45-31 at the half shooting 53 percent in the first half.
The Panthers defense helped extend the lead in the second half as EIU held HLGU to 27 percent shooting in the second half. The Trojans were 7-of-26 from the field. Tim Pace came off the bench to score his team high 11 points in the half.
Marshawn Blackmon’s lay-up with 11:09 left to play gave EIU a twenty point margin at 56-36. Free throws by Teson at the 5:54 mark gave EIU its biggest margin of the night at 29 points, 70-41.
EIU finished the game with 20 points off of 16 HLGU turnovers.
Trae Anderson and Cornell Johnston rounded out the double figure scorers for EIU with ten points each. Anderson had a team high six assists. Muldoon and Blackmon led EIU with six rebounds each.
GRAND CANYON 86, SIUE 75
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Freshman Carlos Anderson scored 13 of his career-high 15 points in the second half Monday as SIUE men's basketball nearly erased a 10-point halftime deficit before falling to Grand Canyon 86-75 at Vadalabene Center.
The loss drops SIUE to 3-9 overall. Grand Canyon, which has won five in a row, improved to 12-2.
The Lopes scored the final nine points of the game after SIUE had trimmed the Grand Canyon lead to 77-75 when C.J. Carr hit a pair of free throws with 1:48 to play. Joshua Braun buried his fifth three-pointer of the game to push the GCU lead to 80-75 with 1:22 left. SIUE missed three shots and turned the ball over twice in the game's final 1:05.
SIUE trailed 40-30 at halftime after shooting just 25 percent (8-32) during the first half. The Cougars got off to a fast start, racing to a 20-11 lead after a three-pointer from Burak Eslik with 11:22 to play before halftime. The Lopes proceeded on a 29-10 run to end the half with the 10-point advantage.
The Cougars responded by connecting on 14 of 28 shots in the second half. SIUE was 15 of 16 at the free throw line in the second half and 26-31 (83.9 percent) for the game.
Following halftime, SIUE quickly trimmed the advantage and trailed just 43-40 with 14:53 to play in the game. GCU led 51-42 when Anderson reeled off SIUE's next 11 points. He was 4 for 4 from the field, including a three-pointer and 2 for 2 at the free throw line during the 3:01 stretch. He finished 6 for 13 overall and added four rebounds and three assists.
A three-pointer by Braun with 5:20 to play moved Grand Canyon in front 71-62 before the Cougars made their final push. SIUE went on a 13-6 run in a little more than three minutes to get the game to 77-75.
Eslik led SIUE with 17 points. He was just 3 of 8 from the field, but was 9 for 10 at the free throw line. Carr added 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.
GCU's Braun led all scorers with 21 points. He was 5 for 8 from three-point range. Grandy Glaze scored 17 points and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds. DeWayne Russell scored 11 points and dished out 10 assists.
BELMONT 85, VALPARAISO 81
NASHVILLE - Evan Bradds scored 24 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as Belmont University men's basketball defeated Valparaiso, 85-81, Monday evening.
In a game befitting of March between two of the top mid-majors programs in college basketball, Belmont shot 57 percent in the second half against the Crusaders defense, ranked second nationally in defensive efficiency.
Behind eight quick points from senior Craig Bradshaw Belmont raced out to a 10-0 lead 3:14 in. But Valparaiso rode strong bench contributions from Shane Hammink and David Skara to build a 29-24 advantage. However, the Bruins closed the first half on a 10-4 run, as two Bradshaw free throws gave Belmont a 34-33 lead at halftime.
Bradshaw led Belmont with 14 first half points.
From there, Bradds took control, scoring at will inside to enable the Bruins to build a 59-47 lead with 7:45 remaining. But behind more strong play from Hammink, Skara and Keith Carter, Valparaiso closed to within 80-79 with 19 seconds left. After two Bradshaw free throws, a potential game-tying three-pointer from Alec Peters was short, and the Bruins were able to close the game.
Belmont has won 71 of its last 75 home games dating back to February 2010.
Hammink led Valparaiso (10-3) with 19 points. Valparaiso entered play No. 20 in the RPI.