MONDAY'S SCORES
UNC Wilmington 78,
@Eastern Kentucky 69 (OT)
@Austin Peay 107, Oakland City 67
@Troy 70,
Eastern Illinois 67
Central Michigan 86,
@Tennessee Tech 74
Texas State 86,
SIUE 58 (Honolulu, Hawaii)
UNC WILMINGTON 78, EASTERN KENTUCKY 69 (OT)
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team overcame a 17-point deficit to force overtime, but fell to visiting UNC Wilmington, 78-69, on Monday night at McBrayer Arena.
A free throw by freshman guard Asante Gist pulled EKU (1-1) to within two, 63-61, with just over a minute to play. Gist then forced a turnover on the other end and, on Eastern’s ensuring possession, found junior forward Zach Charles in the paint, who was fouled. Charles knocked down two clutch free throws with 25 seconds on the clock to force the extra period.
The Colonels scored first in overtime, but UNCW (2-0) responded with an 11-4 run to put the game away.
Eastern was led in scoring by sophomore forward Nick Mayo, who poured in 20 points, pulled down seven boards, and converted all six of his free throws. Gist chipped in 15 points, two assists, and one steal, while senior guard Isaac McGlone scored 13 points on perfect 3-of-3 shooting from deep.
Charles scored six points and pulled down a game-high 14 boards. Charles’ 14 rebounds are the most by a Colonel in a single game since Jaron Jones notched 14 versus SIUE on February 23, 2012.
The Colonels found themselves in their largest hole, down 28-11, when Ja’Quel Richmond knocked down a jumper with 7:23 to play in the first half; however, EKU closed out the period on a 11-4 run and, following a pair of free throws by freshman Parker Chitty, went into the locker room down by only 10, 34-24.
Both teams played even to start the second half, but a McGlone steal at the 12:49 mark keyed a 10-2 EKU run over a span of 2:15 that cut the UNCW lead to two.
The Seahawks, however, answered, and went back up by as many as seven, but McGlone scored five of the next seven Colonel points to bring it back to a three-point deficit, 61-58, with 3:21 to play. With just under two minutes on the clock, senior Jaylen Babb-Harrison sank two free throws to make it a one point deficit, 61-60.
EKU limited UNCW to 15 percent (3-of-20) shooting from deep to help mount the comeback.
UNCW is the defending Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) champion and came into the game ranked No. 7 in CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major poll. The Seahawks were led in scoring by C.J. Bryce, who dropped a game-high 21 points.
AUSTIN PEAY 107, OAKLAND CITY 67
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Seven Governors scored in double figures as Austin Peay State University men's basketball team ran roughshod over Oakland City, 107-67, Monday, in the Dunn Center.
With the win, Austin Peay moves to 1-1 on the young season, with a road trip to Ohio looming. It's the Govs fourth win in the last five home openers.
Austin Peay roared out of the gate and owned a 20-point advantage before the eight-minute media timeout in the first half, highlighted by a 17-4 run from 13:02 to 8:20. Sophomore Zach Glotta hit a pair of threes during the sequence, with sophomore Steve Harris punctuating the run with an emphatic dunk.
The Governors led 65-38 at the half, the first 60-point half posted by Austin Peay since Dec. 30, 2015 against Westminster. The Govs shot a scintillating 63.9 percent (23-for-36) in the first half.
There wasn't much drop-off to the numbers in the second half. In fact, from the opening whistle to the 7:01 mark in the half, Austin Peay outscored the Mighty Oaks 36-10; senior guard John Murry scored all of his career-high 15 points during this sequence.
Of the seven Govs in double figures, four were career-highs: Murry, Glotta (15 points), senior Assane Diop (12) and junior Dre'Kalo Clayton. Harris also posted a career-high with nine points. Junior Josh Robinson led all scorers with 17 points, while sophomore Jared Savage and senior Kenny Jones (10 apiece) also found their way into double figures. Harris and Chris Porter-Bunton were each a point away from scoring in double digits. It was the first time seven Governors were in double figures in the same game since the aforementioned Westminster game last season.
TROY 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 67
TROY, Ala. - Eastern Illinois tied the game on a Montell Goodwin runner with 24 seconds remaining only to have Jordon Varnado cap off his big night with a basket with 3.4 seconds remaining to lift Troy to a 70-67 win at Trojan Arena.
EIU trailed by 11 points at halftime as Varnado had 15 of his 22 points in the opening half to give Troy a 38-27 halftime lead.
Troy improved to 2-0. EIU fell to 1-1.
The Panthers held Troy to 28 percent shooting from the field in the second half as they slowly chipped away at the Trojans lead. Casey Teson cut the Troy lead to 62-61 with a jumper with 4:19 to play.
Each time EIU was able to get within striking distance Troy answered getting to the foul line. The Trojans were 17-of-25 from the free throw line in the second half and 25-of-36 for the game.
Trailing 67-65, Goodwin missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Panthers the lead. He followed his shot picking up the offensive board and putting it back in to tie the game at 67-67. Goodwin had a team-high 18 points for EIU scoring 14 of them in the second half.
Troy had the final possession and went to Varnado who knocked down a 19 foot shot with 3.4 seconds left in the game. EIU had a long inbound pass that went out-of-bounds forcing the Panthers to foul. EIU still had a chance after Troy made one of two free throws. Ray Crossland’s shot to tie the game at the buzzer from half court glanced off the right side of the rim.
EIU shot 28 percent in the first half but warmed up in the second half shooting 47 percent in the second half. Teson had 17 points for EIU leading the Panthers with nine first half points. Cornell Johnston finished with 11 points. Muusa Dama pulled down 10 rebounds.
Wesley Person finished with 14 points but was held without a 3-pointer snapping the nation’s longest streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer at 61 games. Alex Hicks had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Varnado also pulled down ten points.
Troy had a 22-6 points in the paint first half advantage. EIU cut into that margin as Troy ended the game with a 32-20 margin.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 86, TENNESSEE TECH 74
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - For just the second time in the 40-year history of the Eblen Center, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team was defeated in its home-opening contest as Central Michigan downed the Golden Eagles Monday evening, 86-74.
With similar numbers across the board, the contest simply came down to edges won in the shooting percentage department by the Chippewas. Tech struggled to hit from deep for the second straight contest, firing at a 24.1 percent clip (7-for-29) from 3-point range while the visitors knocked down 33.3 percent of its treys (11-for-33).
Overall, the Golden Eagles shot 37.7 percent from the field, yielding to the 44.3 percent mark owned by CMU. Rebounding (Tech won 44-42) and turnovers (CMU won 10-12) proved equal enough for just one more key statistic to tell the story of the night. Aside from the shooting percentages, the ability to produce off turnovers played largely in favor for the Chippewas, a 19-3 advantage that nearly matched the margin of defeat for Tech.
Despite particular shooting struggles in the first half, the Golden Eagles trailed just 40-34 at the break, offering plenty of room for a second-half turnaround.
The Golden Eagles came on strong in the second stanza, hitting 35.7 percent from deep and finishing 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. Tech also hit 43.3 percent from the field and saw two players produce at large levels, leading to a 54-50 lead at the 13:41 mark. The shots just didn't fall at a consistent enough rate to maintain control as CMU guards Marcus Keene and Braylon Rayson took over with big drives to the lane and timely 3-point makes.
Junior guard Aleksa Jugovic poured in 19 second-half points as part of a 25-point effort, sinking 3-of-6 attempts from downtown in the final 20 minutes. He also snagged five rebounds while finishing 6-for-6 from the line. Senior Kajon Mack flirted with a triple-double on the night, posting a career-high 18 points on 7-of-17 shooting. He also crashed the glass to the tune of a personal best eight rebounds and dished out a career-high six assists.
It was a Mack triple with just over seven minutes to go that seemed to ignite the crowd loudest, as the Tulane transfer walked the ball up the court, sized up his defender, and promptly pulled up for a 23-footer that cut the CMU lead to just four.
Central Michigan never allowed the score to get closer, getting plenty of production from Keene and Rayson. Keene led all scorers on the night with 30 points on 10-for-19 shooting while Rayson chipped in 18. David DiLeo posted 17 points with 11 rebounds for a double-double.
TEXAS STATE 86, SIUE 58
HONOLULU, Hawaii - The finish to the Rainbow Classic wasn't what SIUE men's basketball envisioned. The Cougars fell 86-58 to Texas State in the tournament finale for both teams.
Both SIUE and Texas State are 2-1 for the season.
The Bobcats shot 64.5 percent (20-31) from the field in the first half and led wire-to-wire. Texas State was 35 for 61 (57.4 percent) from the floor for the game and outrebounded the Cougars 38-24.
Kavin Gilder-Tilbury's double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds led the Bobcats' attack. Nijal Pearson scored 22 points. Bobby Conley added 10 points.
Tre Harris scored a career-high 19 points to pace the Cougars. He was 6 for 14 from the field, including 3 for 5 from three-point range and 4 for 4 at the free throw line. Carlos Anderson and Christian Ellis each scored 10 point for SIUE.
The Cougars connected on just seven field goals in the first half (7 for 24). The shot just 35.4 percent (17-48) in the game.