SATURDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 63, Murray State 59
Austin Peay 86, @Southeast Missouri 80
Tennessee State 78, @Jacksonville State 53
Eastern Illinois 60, @SIUE 46
Morehead State 70, @Eastern Kentucky 67
@Tennessee Tech 89, Belmont 79
UT MARTIN 63, MURRAY STATE 59
MARTIN, Tenn. - Alex Anderson scored a team-high 20 points – including seven of his team’s final eight points of the game – to help lift the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team to a 63-59 victory over Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State.
Anderson did most of his late damage from the charity stripe, as the senior guard swished all seven of his free throw attempts in the final 2:53. He added four assists in addition to his seventh 20-plus point outing in less than two seasons as a Skyhawk.
Twymond Howard compiled 19 points while Kedar Edwards wrapped up his third double-double of the season with 12 points, 11 rebounds and four assists for UT Martin (11-12, 3-5 OVC), who defeated the Racers in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center for the first time since Jan. 5, 2009.
Murray State (11-11, 5-4 OVC) was led by Jeffery Moss’ game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Moss was the only Racer to crack double-figures in the scoring column, as he piled up six of the team’s 10 three-pointers.
Moss scored the first eight points for Murray State but a 6-0 Skyhawk run – courtesy of three layups – allowed UT Martin to take a six-point lead less than seven minutes into the contest.
The Racers responded with 11 unanswered points to take a 16-11 advantage but baskets by Myles Taylor (backdown layup) and Anderson (pull-up trifecta) on consecutive trips down the floor evened the score at 16-all.
Murray State then pushed its lead out to six points thanks to a Moss three-pointer from the left wing at the 59-second mark but Anderson drilled a three-pointer to beat the buzzer and slice UT Martin’s deficit to 30-27 at the break.
Edwards tossed in a game-high nine points for the Skyhawks in the first half, as UT Martin knocked down 50 percent (11-for-22) of its field goal attempts. Moss was responsible for almost half (14 points) of Murray State’s scoring output in the first half, as he hit four of the Racers’ five 3-pointers in the opening 20 minutes.
After Murray State scored the first bucket of the second half, the Skyhawks surged ahead thanks to a 10-2 run. Howard accounted for the first four points of the run before Taylor scored four consecutive points for UT Martin. An offensive rebound and putback by Edwards at the 15:30 mark provided the Skyhawks with a 37-34 lead.
UT Martin was able to extend its lead out to six points after Howard piled up four quick points in the span of 2:23. Anderson sank a three-pointer from the left side with 10:46 remaining to make the score 46-39 in favor of the Skyhawks.
The Racers bounced back with an 8-2 run to close within a single point after Moss hit a trifecta with 7:20 to go. Javier Martinez followed with a layup before Howard scored UT Martin’s next five points, as his baseline jumper from the left side made the score 55-50 with 5:23 left to play.
Murray State closed the gap to three points but Anderson was fouled while hoisting a three-point jumper with 2:53 remaining. The Memphis native toed the line and calmly converted all three free throws to result in a 58-52 Skyhawk advantage with less than three minutes on the clock.
With 14 seconds remaining, Anderson knocked down two attempts from the charity stripe to pad UT Martin’s lead to 61-56. However, Moss pulled up for a long trifecta with seven seconds left to will the Racers back within a single possession.
Anderson then effectively sealed the game with two clutch free throws with 5.7 ticks left on the clock to make the score 63-59 – the game’s final scoring margin.
AUSTIN PEAY 86, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 80
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Josh Robinson scored 30 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 2:56 left, as Austin Peay State University claimed its first Ohio Valley Conference road win with an 86-80 victory, Saturday afternoon, in men’s action played at the Show Me Center.
The Governors, who led by as much as 13 second-half points, found themselves trailing 74-72 after the Redhawks’ Joel Angus scored on a lane jumper with 3:48 left. But Govs’ freshman forward Jared Savage tied the game with a pair of free throws with 3:29 left before a strip and steal by Khalil Davis helped set up Robinson for his go-ahead jumper.
After both team failed to take advantage of offensive opportunities, Davis then was fouled going after an APSU offensive rebound. The senior then drilled home both free throws to give APSU a 78-74 advantage with 2:11 left. SEMO only could answer with an Antonius Cleveland free throw to make it a three-point contest before Robinson literally put the game away with a long three pointer with 1:44 left to put the Govs up by six, 81-75.
It literally came down to free throws for the Govs for the game’s remainder as Robinson, who is shooting better than 85 percent for the season, made four-of-six down the stretch to eliminate any comeback by SEMO, which came in amidst a three-game winning streak. The Govs, meanwhile, improved to 10-14 overall and 3-6 in the OVC.
The Governors, in fact, had four players in double figures. Robinson was joined by Davis, who had a seemingly quiet 18 points.
Chris Horton tallied 15 points while Kenny Jones added 12. Robinson, Davis and Jones all reached double figures before their leading scorer, Horton, did. Jones, in fact, reached double figures for the first time in six games—his 12 points were one more than he totaled in those previous five contests.
The Governors trailed by as much as six first-half points, taking advantage of some Governors turnovers before Loos turned to sophomore point guard Tre’ Ivory, who gave APSU starter Zach Glotta a breather. Ivory’s defense and passing helped turned the deficit into four-point halftime lead as the Govs went on a 12-0 run before Eric McGill closed out the half with a layup to make it a 34-30 halftime advantage.
The Governors seeming took control of the game in the second half’s first five minutes. After the Redhawks scored first, the Governors used an 18-7 burst to lead 52-39 with 14:59 left. But SEMO used a 1-3-1 half-court trap to change the momentum and by the time the game reached the 7:39, it was tied.
The Govs pushed the lead back to four but back-to-back Jones’ three pointers gave SEMO the short-lived lead until Robinson took over. Robinson ended the night 9-of-16 from the floor, including 7-of-12 from three-point territory.
The Governors finished the night shooting 52.7 percent (29 of 55), the first time in seven games they shot 50 percent or better. They also shot 80 percent (20 of 25) at the free-throw—it was an OVC-season best performance.
Jones led SEMO, now 5-17 overall and 2-7 in the OVC, with 18 points while Cleveland and Trey Kellum added 15 apiece.
TENNESSEE STATE 78, JACKSONVILLE STATE 53
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - Balanced scoring and a dominant rebounding performance lifted the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to a 78-53 road victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday at the Pete Mathews Coliseum. The win improves TSU to 15-6 on the season, tripling last year’s win total of five.
Tahjere McCall led five TSU players scoring in double figures with 18 points to go with eight rebounds, while Wayne Martin recorded his ninth double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Marcus Roper and Xavier Richards scored 12 points apiece with Keron DeShields adding 10. Aiding the offense was Armani Chaney, who led the Tigers with a career-high five assists.
The Tigers (15-6, 6-2 OVC) held a 42-27 rebounding edge over Jacksonville State (8-17, 4-6) and finished with a 44-10 advantage in points in the paint.
After falling behind early, McCall drove the lane and delivered a two-handed dunk to level the scoring at 6-6. Later on, the Tigers went on an 8-0 run capped by back-to-back three-pointers from Roper for a 19-10 lead at the midway point of the first half.
When the Gamecocks cut the TSU lead down to four at 31-27, the Tigers reeled off seven-consecutive points for their largest lead of the half of 11 points with the score at 38-27 in the final minute. Jacksonville State’s Erik Durham finished a layup on the last possession of the half to put the score at 38-29 through 20 minutes.
TSU kept Jacksonville State without a field goal in the first 5:37 of the second half as the visitor’s edge ballooned to 53-31. McCall came up with another dunk on a putback for a 58-39 lead with just under 10 minutes left.
The Tigers led by double figures for the entire second half and outscored Jacksonville State by a 40-24 in the closing 20 minutes.
Jacksonville State, which shot 32.7 percent from the field, was led by 13 points from DelFincko Bogan.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 60, SIUE 46
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois used a 16-2 run to open the second half as the Panthers continued to play well with their fifth win in the last six games. On Saturday night EIU beat SIU Edwardsville 60-46 at the Vadalabene Center.
The Panthers led 22-20 at the half after holding SIUE to just 27 percent shooting. The Panthers defense did not let up in the second half as they held the Cougars to 27 percent for the game (17-of-62).
The 16-2 run was triggered by six points by Trae Anderson as the senior from Saint Louis finished with 19 points. Casey Teson and Joe Kuligoski dropped in 3-pointers during the run that ended at the 15:31 mark of the second half with free throws by Demetrius McReynolds.
The two teams traded 3-pointers over the next couple of possessions but after EIU extended the lead to 38-22, the Cougars never cut the lead to single digits. Carlos Anderson’s 3-pointer with 11:56 to play brought SIUE to within 12 points at 44-32.
EIU shot 50 percent in the second with big baskets by different players. Cornell Johnston added 14 points going 6-of-7 from the free throw line. EIU closed out the game with six free throws over the final 3:41. Kuligoski had EIU’s last field goal with 4:28 to play that gave EIU a 54-38. Kuligoski had nine points.
SIUE won the battle on the glass with a 48-33 margin including 21 offensive rebounds. The Cougars converted those into 16 points. Anderson had a double-double for SIUE with ten points and 11 rebounds. Josh White had ten points while Michael Chandler pulled down ten rebounds.
EIU improved to 9-13 overall, 6-4 in the OVC while SIUE fell to 4-18, 1-9 in the OVC.
MOREHEAD STATE 70, EASTERN KENTUCKY 67
RICHMOND, Ky. - In front of a ruckus crowd of 3,900 at McBrayer Arena, juniors Xavier Moon and DeJuan Marrero helped lead Morehead State to a 70-67 win over Eastern Kentucky on Saturday night.
MSU (12-9, 6-3) has won back-to-back contests and three of its last four games, while EKU (12-12, 3-6) suffered its first three-game losing streak of the season.
With 1:57 left to play in the second half and the game tied at 62, senior Brent Arrington drained a three from the right wing to give the Eagles a 65-62 lead.
EKU pulled within one after Nick Mayo's jumper, but Arrington hit one of two at the free throw line, adding to the MSU lead with 1:10 left in regulation. The Colonels pulled the game back within one for the final time at 68-67, but free throws by sophomore Miguel Dicent extended the lead and then the Eagles' defense got a stop as the clock wound down.
Moon scored a team-high 14 points, while Marrero collected his fourth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points and collecting 12 rebounds. Senior center Anthony Elechi scored double figures for the fourth straight game with 12 points and nabbed eight or more rebounds for the third time over his last four games. Senior forward Lyonell Gaines came off the bench and played a pivotal role with 10 points. MSU outscored the EKU bench 17-10.
Mayo recorded a game-high 19 points and added 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Jarelle Reischel added 18 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Colonels.
TENNESSEE TECH 89, BELMONT 79
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech weathered a barrage of 3-pointers by Belmont, and countered with a power game that lifted the Golden Eagle men's basketball team to an 89-79 victory over the previously perfect Bruins in a packed Eblen Center.
The win kept Tech (16-7/8-2 OVC) unbeaten at home this season at 12-0, and pulled the Golden Eagles within one-half game of the league-leading Bruins. Belmont (16-7/8-1 OVC) suffered its first conference loss of the season.
The 3-pointers that had carried Belmont for most of the game just weren't there at the finish. Shooting a crisp 50 percent for the game, including 17-for-38 from long range for 45 percent, the Bruins couldn't find the range in the final two minutes, missing eight treys in a row.
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles had several standouts on the way to the win. Senior Torrance Rowe led all scorers with 26 points and Hakeem Rogers came off the bench to score 20. Senior Ryan Martin added his seventh double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Sophomore Mason Ramsey added another spark off the bench with 10 points, five rebounds and three big steals. Anthony Morse contributed seven points, six rebounds, three blocked shots and two steals.
Belmont had five players in double figures. Taylor Barnette led the parade with 14 points, going 4-for-9 from long range. Nick Smith had the exact same numbers from the arc and finished with 12 points while Kevin McClain and Amanze Egekeze each netted 11. Craig Bradshaw had 10 points and eight assists. Evan Bradds led Belmont on the boards with nine, to go with eight points and five assists.
Tech improved to 11-2 all-time in Eblen Center against Belmont.
Neither team could get a foothold in the first half, as the margin grew to more than four points just once, when Belmont went up 28-22. The game was tied six times, including 36-all with 1:29 to lay as Martin made two free throws. The Golden Eagles used a 3-pointer by Rowe with 57 seconds left to forge a three-point edge at halftime, 39-36.
The Bruins seemed to be pulling away midway through the second half, building a nine-point lead at 64-55 with 11:17 to play on a layup by McClain.
But the Golden Eagles answered with a 10-0 run including back-to-back baskets by Morse and finished with four points by Rogers.
Once again, the teams took turns jabbing at the lead before Tech got layups from Rogers and Martin and began to establish control.
A dunk on a putback by Bradds with 1:25 left accounted for the final points of the night for Belmont, making it a three-point Tech lead at 82-79. The Golden Eagles continued to push the ball inside, and used 7-for-10 free throw shooting to pry open the lead to the final 10 points.