WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Chattanooga 73,
Jacksonville State 57
@Indiana State 88,
Eastern Illinois 85 (2OT)
@Marquette 89,
SIUE 56
CHATTANOOGA 73, JACKSONVILLE STATE 57
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team dropped a 73-57 decision to Chattanooga on Wednesday at McKenzie Arena. The Gamecocks saw the Mocs pull away with a big second period to close out the schedule's non-conference half.
Despite the loss, junior Malcolm Drumwright scored a team-high 14 points to record his third double-digit scoring contest in a row. He missed his first double-double of the year by just two rebounds, grabbing a season-best eight boards.
The Mocs began the game with a 9-0 run that helped them to a 37-26 advantage by the end of the half. The Chattanooga defense kept pressure on the Gamecocks and held them to 40 percent from the floor in the first half. Drumwright was limited to just six points in the opening period.
Jacksonville State kept the contest within reach with the help of seven UTC turnovers. Harper's squad scored eight points on the Mocs' miscues while scoring three buckets on fast breaks. The Gamecocks out-scored Chattanooga 18-12 in the paint and 3-0 on second-chance points at the break.
Chattanooga widened the gap almost immediately in the second half, hitting a 10-0 run to begin the period. JSU's first points of the half didn't come until the 5:10 mark on a Drumwright jumper.
Freshman Ashton Spears capitalized on playing time in the second half, scoring five points and swiping three UTC passes in 13 minutes. Spears' three steals were a team-high, followed up by two from Drumwright.
INDIANA STATE 88, EASTERN ILLINOIS 85 (2OT)
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Muusa Dama’s tip with 0.05 seconds remaining in regulation gave Eastern Illinois a chance but after two overtime sessions Indiana State won 88-85 on Wednesday night in the Hulman Center.
EIU falls to 8-5 on the season while Indiana State improved to 6-6 on the year.
The Panthers built a double digit lead in the second half on Casey Teson’s 3-pointer with 15:55 that put EIU up 46-36. EIU then went on a prolonged scoring drought hitting one field goal over a nine minute period as the Sycamores stormed back to take the lead with 6:08 to play in regulation on a Niels Bunschoten 3-pointer that gave ISU a 54-53 lead. Bunschoten had 13 points off the bench for the Sycamores.
A lay-up by Everett Clemons put the Sycamores up eight points with 3:23 to play as ISU lead 64-56. EIU would not give up as they chipped away at the lead with 3-pointers by Montell Goodwin and Cornell Johnston. Trailing by three points with seconds remaining Goodwin was fouled and made the first free throw. He intentionally missed the second and Dama tipped in the ball to tie the game at 67-67. Dama posted a double-double with 13 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks.
In the first overtime session, EIU jumped out to a four point lead on jumpers by Dama and Demetrius McReynolds. McReynolds would score four points in the overtime to finish with a game-high 25 points. Matt Van Scyoc tied the game at 76-76 with 46 seconds left in the first overtime. Johnston had a half-court shot as the buzzer expired that hit off the back rim.
Indiana State jumped out to a five point lead in the second overtime session with Brandon Murphy getting a put-back dunk and one free throw that gave the Sycamores a 84-79 lead with 1:18 to play. The Panthers did not go away as McReynolds trimmed the lead to 87-85 with nine seconds remaining. ISU turned the ball over on the inbounds pass but EIU turned the ball back over with one second remaining. ISU closed the game with a free throw.
Brenton Scott was big for ISU scoring 23 points including a big 3-pointer in the second overtime. Murphy had 14 points and 12 rebounds off the bench as the Sycamores had 38 bench points compared to 11 for EIU. Clemons (13 points) and Jordan Barnes (11) rounded out the double figure ISU players.
Goodwin dropped in 21 points while Johnston had 12 points.
MARQUETTE 89, SIUE 56
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Haanif Cheatham scored 19 points on 8 of 10 shooting and led five players in double figures as Marquette defeated SIU Edwardsville 89-56 on Wednesday night in the first meeting between the schools.
Luke Fischer added 15 points, Jajuan Johnson 14, while Sam Hauser and Duane Wilson scored 11 each for the Golden Eagles, who shot 53 percent from the floor, making 32 of 60 field goals. Marquette forced 22 turnovers and had 17 assists, Johnson leading with five.
Marquette (9-3) tied the game at 15 on Sam Hauser's jumper with 10:38 before halftime. Marquette took control from there outscoring the Cougars 30-12 to close the half.
The Golden Eagles made 19 of 22 free throws (86 percent).
Jalen Henry led SIUE (4-9) with 14 points. SIUE coach Jon Harris was a four-year letter winner at Marquette from 1998-2002.