THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 66, Austin Peay 52
@Eastern Illinois 97, Eastern Kentucky 85
@Belmont 81, Murray State 73
Morehead State 70, @SIUE 67 (OT)
TENNESSEE STATE 66, AUSTIN PEAY 52
NASHVILLE - Wayne Martin picked up his seventh double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds to help the Tennessee State men’s basketball team earn a 66-52 victory over Austin Peay on Thursday night in an Ohio Valley Conference showdown at the Gentry Center. TSU remains perfect in OVC play, moving to 4-0 in the league and 13-4 overall.
The Tigers have now matched the start of the 1994-95 season when TSU won the OVC regular season crown.
TSU trailed for just 1:01 in the game and outrebounded the Governors (8-11, 1-3 OVC) by a 39-31 margin. The Tigers also turned in one of their best shooting nights of the season, finishing 27-for-52 (51.9 percent) from the field.
In addition to Martin’s double-double, Keron DeShields led the Tigers with 14 points, while freshman Armani Chaney tallied a career-high seven points. Xavier Richards also chipped in with six points and eight boards.
The Tigers sprinted out of the gate, jumping out to an 8-2 lead just over six minutes into the game. Later in the half, a layup from DeShields capped a 6-0 run that extended the home side’s advantage to 10 points at 19-9.
A dunk from Neville Fincher at the 5:16 mark gave the Tigers a 25-12 edge. The Governors used a 7-1 run to close the gap to 29-22 heading into halftime.
TSU shot 12-for-24 (50.0 percent) from the field in the first half and had 20 points in the paint through 20 minutes.
The Tigers continued to have the upper hand in the second half, stretching their lead with a 13-3 run to open the half. The advantage grew to 20 for the first time at 56-36 on a layup from Demontez Loman with 8:30 showing on the clock.
Down the stretch, TSU continued to keep its distance from Austin Peay, leading by at least 16 points until the final minute.
For the Governors, Chris Horton finished with 17 points and eight rebounds.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 97, EASTERN KENTUCKY 85
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Nine total players scored in double figures. Two players posted double-doubles. At the end of the night Eastern Illinois walked away with a 97-85 shootout win over Eastern Kentucky in a game televised nationally on CBS Sports Network Thursday night in Lantz Arena.
The win pushed EIU’s record to 5-12 overall, 2-3 in the Ohio Valley Conference. EKU dropped to 11-8 overall, 2-2 in the OVC.
Demetrius McReynolds posted his second double-double of the season as the junior had the hot hand in the first half leading EIU to a 55-44 lead at the break. McReynolds scored 19 of his career high 27 points in the first half as he finished the night 5-of-8 from 3-point range. He added 10 rebounds as the Panthers held the advantage on the glass by a 31-27 margin.
Freshman Nick Mayo held EKU in the game with 16 of his 23 points in the first half as the Colonels played a majority of the first half without the services of the OVC scoring leader, Jarelle Reischel. Reischel had three first half fouls and picked up his fourth early in the second half as he finished with 10 points, half of his season average.
The Colonels actually shot better from the field than EIU in the first half as EKU connected for 63 percent from the field. EIU hit 57 percent from the field in the opening half but was 9-of-15 from 3-point range.
After Greg King tied the game at 32-32 with 8:13 to play in the first, EIU went on a 9-0 run to give themselves a little breathing room. Casey Teson and McReynolds connected on 3-pointers with Trae Anderson capping the run with an old fashioned three point play. Teson was one of five EIU players in double figures with 12 points. Anderson just missed joining the group with nine points.
EKU cut the lead back to five points with a Mayo lay-up with 42 seconds remaining in the half. EIU closed the half with 3’s by A.J. Riley and McReynolds. Riley had 13 points for the Panthers.
The Colonels battled back in the first five minutes of the second half cutting the lead to five points. Jaylen Babb-Harrison hit a pair of 3-pointers and Javontae Hawkins’ dunk cut the EIU lead to 61-56 with 15:02 remaining.
Panthers head coach Jay Spoonhour inserted senior forward Luke Piotrowski who had played only two minutes since the Dec. 19 game at Houston. Piotrowski went 5-for-5 from the field added 11 points with three rebounds and two blocks in ten minutes. After Babb-Harrison sank his third 3-pointer of the second half at the 12:13 mark trimming the lead to eight, Piotrowski scored four straight points and the Panthers never looked back.
Guard Cornell Johnston posted his first career double-double late in the game finishing with 13 points and ten assists. EIU finished the game shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from the floor.
EKU cooled down in the second shooting 48 percent to finish at 55 percent for the game. Babb-Harrison had 13 points off the bench for the Colonels. Paul Jackson rounded out the double figure EKU scorers with 14.
BELMONT 81, MURRAY STATE 73
NASHVILLE - Behind 23 points and 10 rebounds from junior Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio), Belmont University men's basketball defeated Murray State, 81-73, Thursday night.
Belmont has won an NCAA-best 32 consecutive conference home games.
The latest edition of one of college basketball's budding rivalries did not disappoint, as epic momentum shifts and electrifying highlights characterized play.
After the Bruins built a 34-24 lead, Murray State closed the half on a 14-5 run to get within 39-38 at the break.
The Racers pushed their advantage to 53-45 early in the second half, before Belmont rode Bradds and senior Craig Bradshaw (Ridgetop, Tenn.) to turn the tide.
A Bradshaw steal and score and a stepback three-pointer capped a 25-4 Bruin run to make the score 70-57.
MOREHEAD STATE 70, SIUE 67 (OT)
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) - - Anthony Elechi's scored six of his 18 points in overtime, including the go-ahead free throws, and Morehead State withstood Burak Eslik's career-high 40 points to take a 70-67 victory over Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Thursday night.
Eslik scored for SIUE (3-14, 0-5 Ohio Valley) with seven seconds left to send the game into overtime where he scored the first two points. Elechi tied the game before Carlos Anderson made a 3-pointer for the Cougars' final lead, 67-64, with 4:13 left.
Elechi then had a basket and two free throws. The Cougars' C.J. Carr was called for an offensive foul and the Eagles' Malik Maitland added two free throws with nine seconds left before the Cougars missed their final shot.
Eslik shot 12 of 22, including 7 of 11 on 3-pointers. He was five points shy of the school record.
Morehead (9-7, 3-1) won its third straight while SIUE has lost seven in a row.