SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 88, Southeast Missouri 69
@Belmont 85, Eastern Illinois 59
@Morehead State 64, UT Martin 58
@Murray State 69, Jacksonville State 54
Tennessee Tech 72, @Austin Peay 66
@Tennessee State 63, SIUE 60
EASTERN KENTUCKY 88, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team took the lead with a 16-0 run in the first half and never looked back on its way to an 88-69 win over visiting Southeast Missouri on Saturday afternoon at McBrayer arena.
The Colonels never surrendered the lead after holding the Redhawks scoreless for 4:32 early in the first half. The 16-0 run started with the Colonels trailing 10-6. Sophomore Paul Jackson nailed a jumper to cut the deficit to two. Junior Isaac McGlone followed with a three-pointer that gave EKU the lead for good. Senior Jarelle Reischel scored the next seven points for EKU, including a driving baseline dunk and a three from the left wing.
Junior JaVontae Hawkins chimed in with a lay-up, and freshman Nick Mayo finished off the run off with a lay-up that made it 22-10 at the 12:48 mark of the first half.
A jumper at the buzzer by Hawkins sent the Colonels into the locker room at halftime up by 10, 43-33.
Defense played a role throughout the game for the Colonels. In addition to the scoreless streak in the first half, EKU held SEMO scoreless on two different three-minute stretches in the second half.
After the Redhawks cut the lead to six twice in the second half, the Colonels put the game out of reach with a 13-3 run, culminating with a Jaylen Babb-Harrison layup that made it 68-52 with 8:28 remaining in the game. Eastern’s second half run included a 3:05 stretch without scoring by Southeast.
Babb-Harrison exploded for 16 points in the second half and, at one point, scored 11 points in a span of two minutes to spark the Colonels’ decisive second-half spurt. The junior from Ontario finished with a season-high 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting from deep.
Reischel scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds. The senior transfer from Rhode Island extended his double-digit points streak to 13 straight games. He has only failed to reach double-digits one time this season, when he finished with nine points against Ball State.
In total, four Colonels hit the double-digit mark in the game. Mayo tallied 15 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds and three blocks, while Hawkins scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.
Jackson returned to the lineup and orchestrated the offense effectively, handing out a game-high nine assists.
Isiah Jones scored a team-best 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Redhawks. Joel Angus III had 12 points and eight boards.
EKU shot 50 percent from the field for the game, going 33-of-66. SEMO shot 38.6 percent, going 22-of-57.
BELMONT 85, EASTERN ILLINOIS 59
NASHVILLE - Behind 22 points and 13 rebounds from junior Evan Bradds, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Eastern Illinois, 85-59, Saturday afternoon.
Senior Craig Bradshaw continued his fine play, sinking two deep three-pointers to lift Belmont to an early 10-5 lead. But the Bruins endured a five-plus minute drought as the visiting Panthers claimed a five point lead.
Following an A.J. Riley basket, Bradshaw drilled two more electrifying three-pointers in transition to put Belmont ahead, 23-19, at the 9:51 mark. Two more three-pointers from junior Taylor Barnette extended the margin to seven, 34-27, with 5:15 left in the half. But behind the play of Trae Anderson, Eastern Illinois tied the score at 36 at halftime.
Belmont (11-6, 3-0 OVC) shot 42 percent (13-for-31) from the field in the opening 20 minutes - including 8-for-22 from three-point distance.
Bradshaw scored along the baseline to open second half scoring, before five unanswered points from Eastern Illinois prompted a timeout from Belmont head coach Rick Byrd. Three-pointers from freshman Kevin McClain and sophomore Amanze Egekeze helped Belmont retake a 48-43 advantage with 14:59 left.
After an A.J. Riley basket cut Belmont's lead to 55-51 with 11:25 remaining, Belmont went on a decisive 13-0 run. Freshman Dylan Windler and McClain punctuated the spurt, making the score 68-51 with 7:02 left.
Belmont scored 30 of the game's final 38 points.
All told, Belmont shot 48 percent (28-for-58) from the field, including 15-for-36 from three-point distance. The Bruins handed out 20 assists on 28 made field goals, and held the Panthers to 28 percent shooting in the second half. Bradds paced three Bruins in double figures with 22 points. Bradshaw added 14 points and five assists, while Barnette scored 11.
Riley led Eastern Illinois (4-12, 1-3 OVC) with 20 points.
MOREHEAD STATE 64, UT MARTIN 58
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Three players scored in double figures, and the Morehead State men's basketball team took a big first-half lead before falling behind and rallying early in the second half to defeat UT Martin 64-58 Saturday at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles, who swept the Ohio Valley Conference weekend at home, improved to 8-7 overall and 2-1 in the league. The Skyhawks saw their seven-game winning streak snapped and fell to 9-8 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
Junior guard Corban Collins registered a team-best 13 points, added five assists and nabbed five rebounds. Senior guard Brent Arrington totaled 12 points, a career-high seven assists and a season-best seven rebounds. Freshman forward Lamontray Harris provided a crucial boost off the bench, scoring 10 of his career-high 11 points in the second half while also grabbing a career-best six boards.
MSU shot 40 percent overall (24-of-60) but made only 9-of-20 free throws.
Junior forward Ronnye Beamon also gave his team a spark off the bench, notching nine points and corralling a career-best six rebounds. Morehead State, which leads the OVC in rebounding margin and ranks 14th in the nation in offensive boards, won the rebounding battle, 54-38, while securing 18 on the offensive end. Junior forward DeJuan Marrero and senior front-court man Anthony Elechi each brought down 10 rebounds. The Eagles outscored the Skyhawks 14-4 on second-chance opportunities.
Morehead State went into the locker room at the half with a 28-22 lead as both teams struggled offensively. The Eagles shot 34 percent but limited the Skyhawks to just 22 percent shooting.
Early in the opening half, MSU went on a 9-0 run to build a 15-6 lead. UT Martin had a stretch where it went 6:15 without scoring, and the Skyhawks started out the half shooting just 2-of-20.
At 31-30 with 17:33 to go in the game, UTM took its first lead since 2-0. The visitors built as much as a 40-34 cushion with 14:26 left, but Harris ignited a 12-2 run with a jumper, and capped it with a free throw at 9:01 to push the hosts ahead 46-42. MSU never trailed again, going on to lead by six three times.
UTM forward Twymond Howard paced all players with 22 points and 14 rebounds. The visitors made just 6-of-25 three-point attempts, while the Eagles connected on seven triples. MSU limited UTM to 31 percent accuracy overall (20-of-64).
MURRAY STATE 69, JACKSONVILLE STATE 54
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers notched a 69-54 win Saturday over the Jacksonville State Gamecocks
CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Wayne Langston had his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Jeffery Moss scored 17 points and Damarcus Croaker had 14 points.
The Racers (8-8, 2-1 OVC) used a 20-11 run to start the second half to run away with the win.
The knockout punch by MSU came from their defensive creating transition chances. Moss and Justin Seymour provided a trio of 3-point baskets and Croaker scored twice on fast breaks to help the Racers lead JSU 52-36 with 11;11 remaining.
The lead went to 16 with 2:52 left on a basket by Langston.
In the first half, the Racers used defense to create a pair of easy baskets by A.J. Patty and Damarcus Croaker for an 18-16 lead with 7:49 left. Moss hit a shot in the paint and then a straightaway 3-pointer to give the Racers a 28-23 lead at the 3:43 mark. The run finally went to 9-0 when Croaker made a slam on a fast break for a 32-23 lead at 3:02.
The Racers dominated the Gamecocks on the boards 46-32.
TENNESSEE TECH 72, AUSTIN PEAY 66
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Torrance Rowe had 27 points and seven assists and Aleksa Jugovic buried a critical 3-pointer in the final seconds to pace Tennessee Tech (12-5/4-0 OVC) to an exhausting 72-66 Ohio Valley Conference victory at Austin Peay (8-10/1-2 OVC) Saturday night in the DunnCenter.
Tech shot 54.2 percent for the game, including exactly half (12-for-24) from outside the arc, with Rowe sparking the long-distance display by dropping in a career-high six bombs. He was joined in double figures by Anthony Morse, who notched a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds before being whistled for a fifth foul late in the contest.
Hakeem Rogers added nine, Jugovic and Mason Ramsey scored eight apiece, andRyan Martin added six points and nine rebounds despite playing a large chunk of the night in foul trouble.
One of the nation’s best free throw shooting teams, Tech struggled at the charity stripe by hitting just over half of its tries. The Golden Eagles, who only shot two free throws in the first half when the Govs were called for just three fouls, finished the night 8-for-15 at the line for 53 percent.
Chris Horton recorded a double-double to lead the Govs with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but he also couldn’t find the mark at the free throw line, going 4-for-10. In fact, Austin Peay was 8-for-18 at the line for 44 percent. Josh Robinson added 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting from long range, and eight rebounds. Kenny Jones managed 11 points and six rebounds as Austin Peay owned a 33-28 margin on the glass.
Coming out of a 59-all tie, Ramsey hit a layup with four minutes to play on a drive and feed by Jugovic to nudge the Golden Eagles out front by two. Shirmane Thomas’ jumper – his ony points of the night – made it a four-point Tech lead with 2:25 to play, before Robinson’s fourth 3-pointer of the game cut it back to one point, 63-62, with 2:11 left.
Seconds later, Rowe split the defense and drove through the lane, dishing it off to Morse for a layup with 1:55 left for a 65-62 lead.
The Govs got one free throw before Rowe’s driving layup high off the glass put it back to a four-point edge. Once again, APSU made one free throw for a thee-point difference, before Martin calmly knocked down two free throws to put the Golden Eagles up, 69-64.
Horton powered in for a layup with 41 seconds left to make it 69-66, setting the stage for Jugovic’s clutch 3-pointer, coming off a feed by Rowe.
TENNESSEE STATE 63, SIUE 60
NASHVILLE - Tahjere McCall scored 18 points and Keron DeShields added 11 as the Tennessee State men's basketball team topped SIU Edwardsville, 63-60, on Saturday night at the Gentry Center.
The Tigers (12-4, 3-0 OVC) held a 14-point lead with just over 10 minutes left and survived a 12-0 run by SIUE (3-13, 0-4 OVC) late in the game. DeShields, who finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists on the night, knocked down two free throws with 5.8 seconds left to secure TSU’s three-point victory.
Despite the Cougars making seven of their first 10 field goal attempts, the Tigers clung to a 20-17 lead at the midway point of the first half. Darreon Reddick drilled a pair of three-pointers in the opening 10 minutes to lead the offense in the early going.
The Cougars built up a five-point lead with 5:19 to play before halftime before the Tigers’ defense limited SIUE to just one point the remainder of the half. TSU closed the half on an 8-1 run to take a 33-31 halftime edge. TSU led for 5:01 of the first half, which featured 11 lead changes.
Early in the second half, TSU’s lead grew to six points at 43-37 with 15:04 left on back-to-back layups from McCall.
In a wild sequence, Marcus Roper knocked down three-pointers on consecutive possessions, then delivered a one-handed dunk that brought the TSU crowd to its feet as the Tigers claimed a 53-39 advantage with 10:28 to go.
SIUE went on a 12-0 run to cut the TSU lead down to 55-54, until McCall ended the stretch with a free throw for a 56-54 lead with 2:10 left. Just over a minute later, SIUE’s Carlos Anderson hit two free throws with 55.3 seconds left to level the scoring at 56-56.
With 48.1 seconds left on the clock, McCall finished an acrobatic layup and was fouled. After making the free throw, TSU had a 59-56 advantage. After Keenan Simmons made one free throw for the Cougars to cut the TSU lead down to 59-57, Xavier Richards finished a tip-in with 13.0 seconds for a 61-57 lead.
Burak Eslik answered with a three for SIUE with 6.4 seconds remaining before DeShields finished off the Cougars at the free throw line.
Eslik led all scorers with 23 points on the night. Anderson added 15 points, while Yemi Makanjuola pulled down 10 boards for the Cougars. TSU won the battle on the glass by a 37-33 margin and held SIUE to 36.2 percent (17-for-47) from the field.