FRIDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 61, Cal State Fullerton 38 (Las Vegas, Nev.)
@#1 Kentucky 111,
UT Martin 76
@Pittsburgh 76,
Morehead State 63
@#23 Rhode Island 82,
Belmont 73
@Ohio 68,
Tennessee Tech 57
JACKSONVILLE STATE 61, CAL STATE FULLERTON 38
LAS VEGAS - Nearly two thousand miles away from home, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team found friendly confines within the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. on Friday. The Gamecocks won their third-straight game over the last two seasons in the Global Sports Classic with a 61-38 victory over Cal State Fullerton.
It marked just the second win over a Big West Conference basketball opponent for JSU, and the first since a 73-66 win over California-Santa Barbara in 2002. A stifling defense was key all day as Jax State forced 15 turnovers and held the Titans to more than 40 points below their season-scoring average.
Erik Durham scored a season-high 20 points, and Christian Cunningham pitched in a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
Durham was 6-for-9 from 3-point range, going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the second half, while Cunningham and junior Norbertas Giga each set career highs collecting 12 rebounds apiece. Twenty of the 24 total came on defense as CSF shot 25.6 percent from the field for the day.
Both teams took a little while to find a rhythm. JSU opened the game 2-for-10 from the floor, while CSF shot just 31-percent in what was the lowest first-half scoring by both teams combined in a JSU contest thus far this season. Once everyone settled in, JSU found a balanced attack as nine Gamecocks made their way into the scoring column during the opening 20 minutes of action.
Eight minutes into the opening half, the struggling Gamecock offense found a boost in freshman Tyrik Edwards. Trailing 9-6, Derrick Green got things started with a free throw to pull JSU within a pair. His second attempt was missed but hauled in off the board by the Gamecocks and put back by Edwards to even the score. The Hopkinsville, Ky. native stole the Titans' half-court inbound attempt on the following possession and took it to the basket to spark a 9-0 run.
A Titan free throw at the 8:33 mark ended the streak, but the Gamecocks continued to increase their lead, reaching a seven-point advantage with just over four minutes remaining in the half following a trey from Andre Statam to make it 24-17. CSF fought back closing it to a two-point contest with just under a minute to go, but a pair of free throws from Greg Tucker in the final seconds sent the Gamecocks into halftime up 28-24.
The Gamecocks began the second-half scoring when Drumwright found a cutting Cunningham who slammed it home. Springfield, Mo., product Erik Durham then found his groove from downtown as the senior opened the second half 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Durham's second 3-pointer came at the 11:16 mark to give Jax State the first double-digit lead of the game at 40-29.
Ray Harper's squad maintained the pressure down the stretch, en route to turning a 10-point lead into 20 as Durham continued his hot afternoon from the outside going a perfect 5-of-5 from three-point range in the second half to reach a season-high.
#1 KENTUCKY 111, UT MARTIN 76
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team hung with No. 1 Kentucky through the first half of play tonight but a lengthy offensive drought doomed the Skyhawks in a 111-76 loss at Rupp Arena.
UT Martin (5-2) placed four players in double-figures scoring tonight, led by Matthew Butler’s 15 points. Jacolby Mobley (14), Kedar Edwards (13) and Javier Martinez (11) also contributed to the Skyhawk offensive attack, as UT Martin compiled the most points that Kentucky has allowed so far this season.
Malik Monk paced all scorers with 26 points for the top-ranked Wildcats (6-0). De’Aaron Fox scored 16 points while Edrice Adebayo and Wenyen Gabriel added 15 points apiece. Sacha Killeya-Jones and Mychal Mulder compiled 12 points each for the Wildcats, who shot 55.4 percent (41-of-74) for the contest.
UT Martin did not show any signs of nerves early, as Butler sank a step-back three-pointer to give the Skyhawks a 3-0 lead. After the Wildcats scored the next nine points of the game, Martinez tallied four straight points for UT Martin before Mobley scored back-to-back buckets to give the Skyhawks a 16-15 lead at the 11:11 mark.
Kentucky answered with seven straight points before a fast break dunk by Edwards trimmed UT Martin’s deficit to 22-18 midway through the half. An old-fashioned three-point play by Martinez at the 9:09 mark kept the Skyhawks within striking distance but the Wildcats soon reeled off an 8-0 run over a span of 1:29 to go ahead by a 39-25 margin.
Kentucky led by 18 points with a little over three minutes remaining in the first half but the Skyhawks kept fighting, as Edwards knocked down three-pointers on two straight trips down the floor. An old-fashioned three-point play by Butler made the score 51-38 with 1:07 to go in the first half before the Wildcats took a 53-38 advantage into the break.
Edwards dialed up a game-high 13 points in the first half while Butler also reached double-figures in the scoring column with 10 points for UT Martin, who shot 48.5 percent (16-of-33). Kentucky was led by 12 points out of Fox, as the Wildcats made their first 13 free throw attempts of the half.
Buckets by Martinez and Butler began the second-half scoring for the Skyhawks but Kentucky soon took advantage of a cold spell for UT Martin. The Skyhawks went without a field goal for 6:42 while Monk carried the Wildcats during a 42-9 run that gave Kentucky a 99-51 lead. Monk was responsible for 14 points – including nine straight in the span of 59 seconds at one point.
UT Martin was able to close its deficit behind strong three-point shooting, as Dante Bailey, Mobley, Butler and Chandler Rowe each knocked down shots from long range over a 2:45. Malik London (two), Kahari Beaufort (three) and Jalen Jackson (three) combined for the Skyhawks’ final eight points down the stretch.
PITTSBURGH 76, MOREHEAD STATE 63
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Senior DeJuan Marrero led the way with 18 points and 13 rebounds as Morehead State men's basketball fell 76-63 at Pittsburgh on Friday night.
With the loss, the Eagles move to 2-3 on the season while Pitt improves to 5-1.
Morehead State went into the locker room at half trailing, 42-26, after Pittsburgh knocked down 9-of-12 from three-point range. The Eagles shot just 1-of-11 from deep in the first stanza.
Pitt's largest lead was 18 points towards the end of the first half and they led by 17 at 48-31 with 17:33 left to go in the game.
The Eagles then responded by going on a 21-11 run, holding the Panthers scoreless over a four minute stretch, and trimmed the lead to 59-52 on a three-pointer by sophomore Malik Maitland with 6:57 to go.
But, Pittsburgh recorded two consecutive offensive rebounds on the next possession, which they converted into two made free throws. Then, a turnover by Maitland led to a three-pointer by Cameron Jones on the other end, extending the Panthers' lead back to 64-52 with 5:46 to go and they went on to win by 13.
Marrero's double-double was the ninth of his career. He shot 8-of-13 from the floor and his 13 rebounds marked a game-high. He played all 40 minutes.
Maitland finished with 16 points, 14 of which came in the second half. He shot 5-of-11 from the floor and 4-of-9 from three-point range. The 5-foot-11 guard also added four rebounds.
Senior guard Xavier Moon was the third Eagle to finish in double figures with 15 points on 5-of-17 shooting. He was just 1-of-9 from three-point range.
After shooting 9-of-12 from three-point range in the first half, Morehead State limited Pittsburgh to just 2-of-7 shooting from deep in the second half.
Overall, the Panthers shot 49 percent for the contest, while the Eagles shot 38 percent.
#23 RHODE ISLAND 82, BELMONT 73
KINGSTON, R.I. - Playing without senior All-America candidate Evan Bradds, Belmont University men's basketball took [23/25] Rhode Island to the limit before dropping an 82-73 decision Friday night.
Minus Bradds - and junior forward Mack Mercer - Belmont put together one of its most inspired performances in recent memory. 14 first half points from senior Nick Smith sparked the Bruin offensive effort.
But a 9-0 Rhode Island run to close the first half gave the Rams a 46-31 halftime lead.
Sophomore Dylan Windler highlighted a 19-5 Belmont run, as his 3-pointer got the Bruins within 58-52 with 12:03 left. But with the Rams in the bonus with 15:11 left in regulation - and Hassan Martin providing steady post production - Belmont was kept at arm's length.
Behind extended pressure defense, one final Belmont push closed to seven - with a chance to get as close as five in the final minute - but uncharacteristically icy 3-point shooting inhibited the Bruins from getting over the hump.
Smith led five Bruins in double figures with 17 points, while Windler added 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Belmont went 5-for-27 from behind the arc.
Martin led Rhode Island (5-1) with 31 points.
OHIO 68, TENNESSEE TECH 57
ATHENS, Ohio - A second-half run by the home team proved to be the difference maker Friday evening, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (1-5) fell to the Ohio Bobcats, 68-57.
A back-and-forth affair early, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a nine-point lead behind a hot shooting stretch while the Bobcats struggled to score. Just over 10 minutes into the game, Tech held the 20-11 advantage after a Micaiah Henry free throw.
Tech fell into a shooting slump after the freebie, however, scoring just five points the remainder of the half. The Bobcats took advantage of the slump, using its own run late in the half to take a 31-25 lead into the break.
The Golden Eagles traded blows with Ohio in the second half, eventually cutting the deficit to just four points with a little over 11 minutes to play. Ohio answered one more time, however, nabbing a 10-0 run thanks to back-to-back triples from Jason Carter and Jordan Dartis.
All in all, the contest came down to the charity stripe and the turnover battle. Ohio forced four more turnovers than the Golden Eagles (15-11) while also making eight more trips to the charity stripe. The Bobcats knocked down 14 of its freebies while the Golden Eagles sunk six of its 10 attempts.
Both the assists and steals categories finished equal, while Ohio edged the Tech squad on the glass by three (40-37). The Golden Eagles actually outshot the Bobcats, 40.7 percent to 37.3 percent from the field and 43.8 percent to 38.5 percent from downtown.
Leading the Golden Eagle effort offensively, Aleksa Jugovic came alive in the second half, dropping 17 of his team-high 20 points. The junior finished 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-6 from downtown while also hauling in three rebounds and making three steals.
For the second time this season, senior Kajon Mack flirted with a triple-double, stuffing the stat sheets from top-to-bottom. The Tulane transfer concluded play with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals while playing a season and career-high 39 minutes.