SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Michigan State 71,
Tennessee Tech 63
@Ball State 91,
Eastern Kentucky 86 (OT)
@Fort Wayne 98,
Austin Peay 58
Northern Kentucky 80,
@Southeast Missouri 66
@Illinois State 74,
UT Martin 57
Missouri Western 49,
@SIUE 44
Eastern Illinois 63, @Western Illinois 49
@NC State 67,
Tennessee State 55 (OT)
@Evansville 78,
Murray State 46
@Lipscomb 98,
Morehead State 84
@Louisiana-Monroe 88,
Jacksonville State 83 (OT)
MICHIGAN STATE 71, TENNESSEE TECH 63
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A late rally against one of the nation's top programs came up just short for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, as Michigan State (7-4) defeated the Golden Eagles (4-7) in the Breslin Center, 71-63.
Trailing by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Golden Eagle offense exploded over the final five minutes of the period, nearly doubling its prior output for a 13-5 run. At the break, the Spartans lead was trimmed to 10 points, 37-27.
Both sides blasted out of the break on a mission, trading blows over the first seven minutes before the hometown Spartans began to edge the lead back out again. With just seven and a half minutes to play, Michigan State had it back out to an 18-point game, leading 64-46.
It would be four minutes before the Golden Eagles would allow another score, chipping away at the Spartan advantage little-by-little. Junior Mason Ramsey, who was limited to just 19 minutes of action due to foul trouble, made a nice little jumper just outside the paint to kick off a small run.
Two minutes passed before fellow junior Aleksa Jugovic torched the nets for a triple from the corner on a Golden Eagle fast break opportunity. On the other end, the guard snagged a loose ball rebound and started another fast break for the visitors, drawing a foul to send the game to the last media timeout.
Jugovic knocked down both freebies after the break, cutting the lead to 11 points with just under four minutes to play. Sparty finally added to the scoreboard, sinking 1-of-2 free throws before Tech took the ball back and immediately received a clutch 3-pointer off the hands of senior Kajon Mack. In just over four minutes, Tech had the lead back into single digits.
The Golden Eagles kept attacking and, after a fastbreak layup from senior Hakeem Rogers made it a seven-point game, had a huge opportunity to really make the more than 14,000 Michigan State fans in attendance sweat. Rogers drew a foul on the play and walked to the line with a chance to make it a two-score game.
The ball came out just flat, but Mack out-leapt multiple Spartan players to snag the offensive rebound and immediately found an open Jugovic beyond the arc. The Golden Eagle sharpshooter watched as his attempt just missed falling and cutting the lead to four.
The Spartans, who struggled from the charity stripe the majority of the night, made its last four attempts and a dunk to go back up by 11 before a final triple from Jugovic provided the final score of 71-63.
All-in-all, Tech managed to force 13 Michigan State turnovers and kept pace on the offensive glass on the day. The Spartans out-shot the Golden Eagles from downtown, providing the real difference in the score. Tech finished 5-for-14 from beyond the arc while MSU connected on 10-of-25 attempts.
The Tech defense really locked down over the final 20 minutes allowing Michigan State to shoot just 34.8 percent from the field and 27.3 percent from downtown after posting marks of 58.3 and 50.0 percent in the first half.
The Golden Eagle free throw shooting kept the team in it early, as Tech finished 10-of-11 in the first half. Overall, the visitors tallied a 72.7 percent showing at the line for the game.
All 12 Golden Eagle players saw action with nine scoring in the contest. Junior Curtis Phillips Jr. made his Tech debut against the Spartans, finishing with nine points and three rebounds in 26 minutes of action. The wing sat out the team's first 10 games of the year due to NCAA transfer rules.
Jugovic led Tech with 14 points and a career-high two blocks while Mack added 12 more on 50 percent shooting. Sophomore Courtney Alexander II corralled a game-high 10 rebounds while being limited to 22 minutes due to foul trouble. Rogers tallied nine points as well.
BALL STATE 91, EASTERN KENTUCKY 86 (OT)
MUNCIE, Ind. - Five Colonels scored in double figures, but the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team fell at Ball State, 91-86, in overtime on Saturday afternoon at Worthen Arena.
The loss snaps EKU’s four-game winning streak.
Freshman guard Asante Gist led the way for Eastern for the second consecutive game, scoring 19 points and dishing out four assists. Sophomore forward Nick Mayo, meanwhile, scored 17 points and pulled down six boards.
Three Colonels recorded career highs in points. Junior guard Dillon Avare knocked down five three pointers to finish with 15 points. Freshman forward DeAndre Dishman tallied 12 points and six rebounds. Freshman forward Marlon Adams – making his second consecutive start – had 11 points and five rebounds.
Senior guard Isaac McGlone notched a career-high nine assists in the loss.
EKU (6-5) took the lead, 85-84, on a Mayo jumper with 2:25 to play in overtime; however Ball State (6-4) closed out the game on a 7-1 run to seal the victory.
The back-and-forth affair featured nine ties and 10 lead changes.
Neither team led by more than four points during the second half. EKU’s four-point lead came when a layup by Mayo made it 54-50 with 13:54 to play.
BSU clawed back and grabbed a four-point advantage, 76-72, when Ryan Weber converted a layup with 2:31 remaining in regulation. A three-pointer by Gist on EKU’s ensuing possession slashed the lead to one and a triple from the corner by Avare with 1:16 on the clock tied it up, 78-78.
With the game still tied at 78-78, Gist went for a steal and fouled BSU’s leading scorer, Tayler Persons, with three seconds remaining. Persons, however, missed both free throw attempts to send the game into overtime.
Ball State ran out to an early five point lead in the game, as a three-pointer from Francis Kiapway made it 25-20 with 8:18 remaining in the first half. The Colonels, however, responded with a 15-4 run and took their largest lead of the day, 35-29, following a pair of free throws by Mayo with 4:52 on the clock.
A layup by Franko House just before the buzzer cut EKU’s lead to three, 43-40, at halftime.
EKU was out-rebounded, 47-36. It was the first time the Colonels have been out-rebounded since their game at Texas Tech on November 19.
Mayo, Dishman and Adams powered EKU to a 38-28 points advantage in the paint.
FORT WAYNE 98, AUSTIN PEAY 58
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball team got another strong performance from senior Kenny Jones, who scored 20 points and added nine rebounds against Fort Wayne, Saturday.
Unfortunately, Jones' performance came on the wrong end of a 98-58 decision against the Mastodons at Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.
The Mastodons (8-3) roared out of the gate on a 26-6 run and never looked back, hitting 10 of their first 13 shots while the Governors (4-5) had horrible luck from the floor in the first half—aside from Jones, who scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the opening 20 minutes, no Governor hit more than one shot from the floor in the first half.
Although Austin Peay's shooting would come around in the second half—the Govs hit 40 percent (12-for-30) from the floor over the final 20 minutes—Fort Wayne did not slow down. All five Mastodon starters finished in double figures, while the 13 made three-pointers equaled Dayton for most by an Austin Peay opponent this season.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 80, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 66
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Cole Murray scored 26 points and made eight 3-pointers, and Lavone Holland II added 19 to lead Northern Kentucky (7-3) to an 80-66 win over Southeast Missouri (4-6) Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
NKU used a scorching start to build a double-digit lead over the first six minutes of the game. The Norse drained seven of their first eight 3-pointers and pulled ahead, 26-11, with 13:28 left to play in the first half.
Murray connected on each of his first five 3-point attempts and accounted for six of NKU's nine treys in the first half. After Denzel Mahoney's jumper cut NKU's lead to 34-30 at the 6:07 mark, the Norse countered with an 11-3 run to take a 45-33 advantage at the intermission.
The Norse finished the first half shooting 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) from downtown. Murray's 18 first-half points matched what SEMO's starters combined to score in the opening stanza.
SEMO managed to narrow NKU's lead to single digits just once in the second half when Trey Kellum's jumper made it a 45-37 game with 19:16 remaining. Holland nailed a 3-pointer on the Norse's ensuing possession and NKU later took its biggest lead (76-56) on a pair of free throws by Murray with just under four minutes left.
Murray, who entered the game with an average of 8.1 points per contest, shot 8-of-11 from 3-point range and matched a career-high. Holland was 5-of-12 from the field and 6-of-10 at the free throw line.
NKU shot 49 percent (25-of-51), outrebounded SEMO, 40-27, and knocked down 13 three-pointers (nine in the first half).
Antonius Cleveland led all SEMO scorers with 16 points and six rebounds. Kellum had 15, Daniel Simmons added 13 off the bench and Mahoney chipped in 12. The Redhawks, who made their first nine free throws of the game, finished at 19-of-35 from the charity stripe. SEMO's 35 free throw attempts marked a season-high.
Defensively, SEMO forced 20 turnovers and collected 11 steals. It was the second time an opponent turned the ball over 20 or more times against the Redhawks this year.
ILLINOIS STATE 74, UT MARTIN 57
NORMAL, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team struggled offensively today, falling by a 74-57 margin against Illinois State at Redbird Arena.
The Skyhawks (8-3) received a game-high 15 points out of Kedar Edwards while Matthew Butler chalked up 12 points courtesy of four trifectas. Fatodd Lewis corralled a career-best 10 rebounds in only 19 minutes off the bench but UT Martin tallied season-lows in points, field goals made (17) and field goal percentage (.321) this afternoon.
All five Illinois State (5-3) starters scored between 10 and 12 points today, as the Redbirds scored the first six points of the game and never looked back. Phil Fayne, MiKyle McIntosh, Deontae Hawkins and Paris Lee each scored 12 points while Tony Wills compiled 10 points for the Redbirds, who made nine of their 18 attempts from three-point land in the first half.
The Redbirds claimed an 8-1 lead through the game’s first two minutes but UT Martin got back within striking distance at 11-7. However, Illinois State scored the next 12 points of the contest to go ahead 23-7 before Edwards knocked down a three-pointer midway through the first half. That began a stretch where Edwards was responsible for 10 of the Skyhawks’ 12 points in a span of 4:30.
Three free throws by Jacolby Mobley and a three-pointer by Butler helped UT Martin pull within 11 points before Illinois State took a 43-28 lead into the halftime break. Edwards’ 13 first-half points led all scorers while Wills tossed in 10 points to guide the Redbirds.
The Skyhawks began the second half on a 7-2 spurt, as a Butler three-pointer at the 17:45 mark made the score 45-35. Illinois State pushed back with a run of its own, scoring 10 of the next 12 points to go on top by a 55-37 margin with 16 minutes to go.
Moments later, Butler dialed up another trey but unfortunately, that would be UT Martin’s only field goal over the next 7:15. The Redbirds were able to open up a 23-point lead during the Skyhawk drought and UT Martin would not get any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
MISSOURI WESTERN 49, SIUE 44
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball dropped its third consecutive game Saturday, falling to Missouri Western State 49-44 at Vadalabene Center.
SIUE is now 4-6. Missouri Western improved 2-8.
The Cougars shot just 29.5 percent (13-44) from the field and just 1-of-15 (6.7 percent) from three-point range.
SIUE got out to a quick start and built an eight-point (12-4) lead after a pair of free throws from Jalen Henry with 14:07 to play in the half. Missouri Western then went on a 21-4 run to take its largest lead of the game (25-16) with a three-pointer by Cole Clearman with 3:27 left before halftime.
The Cougars scored the last seven points of the half and Missouri Western led 25-23 at the break.
The second half featured four lead changes and four ties and neither team led by more than four until T.J. Evnas' layup with 13 seconds left put MWSU up 49-44 for the final score.
Jalen Henry led SIUE with 13 points. Keenan Simmons chipped in nine points and added nine rebounds.
Clearman scored a game-high 17 points to lead Missouri Western. Aaron Emmanuel chipped in a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 63, WESTERN ILLINOIS 49
MACOMB, Ill. - Four players scored in double figures on Saturday afternoon as Eastern Illinois picked up a 63-49 road win at Western Illinois.
EIU improved to 6-4 on the year while WIU fell to 2-7 on the season.
The first half witnessed seven ties and four lead changes as the two in-state rivals battled back and forth for the first 12 minutes of the game. A lay-up by Ray Crossland tied the game at 18-18 with 8:21 left to play in the first.
Crossland’s lay-up started a 14-3 run for the Panthers that included eight points by Cornell Johnston with a floater in the lane and a pair of 3-pointers. Johnston’s 3-pointer with 4:34 put the Panthers up 30-21. The junior guard had all 11 of his points in the first half.
EIU would extend its first half lead to ten points on a Crossland jumper with 1:41 to play in the half. C.J. Duff would hit one-of-two at the foul line in the final minute to cut EIU’s halftime lead to 36-27. Duff finished with ten points, one of three WIU players in double figures.
Montell Goodwin propelled the Panthers offense in the second half scoring 13 of his 17 points in the second half. Goodwin scored five straight points as the Panthers pushed the lead to 49-35 with 12:24 to play in the game converting a three-point play and sinking a jumper in the lane.
The Panthers defense helped do the rest as Western Illinois shot 37 percent in the opening half and cooled off in the second half to finish the game shooting 30 percent. EIU won the battle on the glass with a 43-36 rebound advantage.
Muusa Dama posted his second double-double of the season finishing with 11 points, 13 rebounds and five blocks. Crossland was the fourth EIU player in double figures with 12 points and nine rebounds.
EIU played the final five minutes without Johnston as he left the game with an injury at the 4:55 mark with EIU leading 58-40.
Garret Covington and Mike Miklusak led WIU in scoring. Covington had 12 points. Miklusak scored 18.
NC STATE 67, TENNESSEE STATE 55 (OT)
RALEIGH, N.C. - Battling Atlantic Coast Conference opponent NC State, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team fought to the end in a 67-55 overtime loss at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday. Wayne Martin recorded 16 points and nine rebounds to pace TSU.
Tahjere McCall added 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Jordan Reed pulled down 10 rebounds for Tennessee State (7-2).
The Tigers led NC State (7-2) by a 50-48 margin with 1:13 left in regulation before Dennis Smith, Jr. hit a jumper with 45 seconds remaining.
After a stop for NC State, Martin came up with a block with one second left then turned away a lob attempt to preserve the tie and force overtime with the score leveled at 50-50.
The Tigers jumped out to a 55-53 lead with 3:46 remaining in overtime on a corner three from Darreon Reddick, but NC State responded by finishing the game on a 14-0 run to end overtime and pull away.
TSU led for more than 13 minutes of the first half and took a 30-28 edge into the locker room on a dunk by Christian Mekowulu (Lagos, Nigeria) off a no-look McCall pass as the half expired.
Reddick sparked the Tigers early with a block then a jumper on the other end for a 13-9 lead with 10:44 left before halftime. Later in the half with NC State up by one, TSU used an 8-2 run with threes from Delano Spencer and Ken'Darrius Hamilton for a 26-21 advantage with 3:34 showing on the first half clock.
The Tigers stretched the lead to eight points five minutes into the second half at 38-30.
The Wolfpack used an 11-0 run to retake the lead at 41-38. Martin’s layup ended a scoring drought for TSU that lasted nearly eight minutes.
In the final five minutes of regulation, the lead exchanged hands five times and there were two ties. Martin’s spinning layup gave the Tigers a 42-41 lead with 4:30 left.
After a three on the other end, Reddick drilled a three late in the shot clock for a 45-44 advantage with 3:47 remaining. The largest lead for either team down the stretch was a 49-46 TSU edge on a Martin layup with 2:06 on the clock. NC State went onto level the score at 50-50 before outscoring TSU 17-5 in overtime.
Terry Henderson led NC State with 21 points with Smith, Jr. adding 19. Beejay Anya finished with a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
TSU outrebounded NC State, 48-45, and had 30 points in the paint to NC State’s 24.
EVANSVILLE 78, MURRAY STATE 46
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Murray State Racers dropped a 78-46 defeat on the road to the Evansville Purple Aces Saturday afternoon at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
The Racers fell to 4-5 on the season as they come home Monday for a 7 p.m. top against the Bethel Wildcats.
The day proved to be a poor offensive day for the Racers as they shot 28 percent for the game on 15-of-54 from the field and 5-of-26 from the 3-point line for 20 percent.
Trailing 19-15 with 11:09 left in the first half, the Racers suffered a cold stretch and The Aces went on a 25-6 run to lead 46-21 at halftime.
Bryce Jones and Jonathan Stark led the Racers each with nine points. Jones grabbed eight rebounds and dished out four assists.
LIPSCOMB 98, MOREHEAD STATE 84
NASHVILLE - Junior Miguel Dicent and senior Xavier Moon scored 18 points each as Morehead State men's basketball fell at Lipscomb, 98-84, on Saturday afternoon at Allen Arena.
With the loss, the Eagles have now lost six straight and their record falls to 2-6 on the year.
Lipscomb shot 9-of-16 from three-point range in the first half as Morehead State went into the locker room at halftime trailing, 43-40. The Bisons were led by sophomore Garrison Mathews, who finished the first half with 20 points on 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. The Bisons then opened the second half on an 11-3 run to extend their lead to 54-43.
Just three minutes later, Moon answered by knocking down back-to-back threes to trim the lead to six at 58-52.
With 8:36 to go, Moon's layup then cut the Lipscomb lead to four points at 66-62 and he had a chance to cut it to one on the next possession, but his three-pointer rimmed in and out. Lipscomb then hit two free throws on the other end and the Eagles didn't get closer than six points the rest of the way.
Moon finished with 12 points in the second half and 18 for the game. He shot 6-of-19 from the floor and 4-of-13 from three-point range, while pulling down a season-high six rebounds.
Dicent had 13 points in the second half and 18 for the game, while shooting 6-of-14 and 3-of-7 from deep. He also added six assists, three rebounds, and two blocks. Senior DeJuan Marrero recorded his third double-double of the year with 14 points and ten rebounds, while sophomore Lamontray Harris added 13 points, five rebounds, and three blocks.
Overall, the Eagles shot 46 percent for the game and 9-of-26 from three-point land. Lipscomb shot 54 percent overall and 15-of-26 from three-point range.
The Bisons also shot 19-of-24 from the free throw line, while the Eagles were 11-of-17 from the stripe.
LOUISIANA-MONROE 88, JACKSONVILLE STATE 83 (OT)
MONROE, La. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team dropped a thriller in overtime at ULM Saturday night, succumbing 88-83 on a late charge from the Warhawks.
Freshman Tyrik Edwards led a tremendous second-half effort that helped push the Gamecocks into their first extra-minutes contest of the season. The guard scored 16 of his 18 points after the first period (four in OT).
Junior Norberts Giga picked up his third double-double of the year, snagging 10 boards and 18 points, while Greg Tucker (17) and Malcolm Drumwright (15) rounded out the night's double-digit scorers.
The Warhawks held a four-point advantage, 43-39, following a back-and-forth first half. The period saw four ties and the lead change hands nine times.
Jacksonville State lead by as many as six points with junior Malcolm Drumwright scoring a half-best 10 points. Despite his 10 and two more Gamecocks coming up just one point shy of double figures, ULM's lead was aided by seven points off turnovers and six fast break points.
Three Warhawks registered double-digits in the first 20 minutes as ULM out-scored JSU 12-10 in the paint. Travis Munnings (12), Marcus Washington (12) and Sam McDaniel (10) combined to score 34 of ULM's first 43 points.
ULM appeared to pull away midway through the second half, hitting a 12-5 run that began at the 8:16 mark. The Warhawks pushed their lead to 10 points with 4:36 left to play when Edwards went on a tear. The freshman scored the Gamecocks' next seven points in consecutive trips down the court to pull JSU within three.
Drumwright tied the game 72-72 with 54 seconds remaining, and nearly won the game on a last-second jumper. But the ball left the junior's hands a split second late and the game was sent to overtime.
The Gamecocks struggled in OT as ULM went on a 6-0 run to open the period. The Warhawks were able to keep the JSU offense out of striking distance for the remainder of the contest with no less than three points dividing the two teams.