WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 70, UVa-Wise 51
@Morehead State 120, Asbury 77
@SIUE 85, Missouri S&T 67
@Western Kentucky 97,
Austin Peay 92
EASTERN KENTUCKY 70, UVA-WISE 51
RICHMOND, Ky. - Freshmen Asante Gist and DeAndre Dishman, and sophomore Nick Mayo combined for 47 points, 17 rebounds and 11 assists in Eastern Kentucky's 70-51 victory over the University of Virginia's College at Wise on Wednesday at McBrayer Arena.
Gist hit 4-of-9 from behind the three-point line on his way to 16 points, four assists, two rebounds and two steals. In his first career start, Dishman was 4-of-5 from the field and 7-of-9 at the free throw line for a career-best 15 points. He also had seven rebounds and one assist. Mayo finished with 16 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six assists.
The Cavaliers scored the first two points of the game, but the Colonels scored 12 of the next 14 and never trailed again. Back-to-back baskets by junior Zach Charles made it 12-4. UVa-Wise closed the gap to five, 17-12, before Eastern went on a 13-4 run to go up by 14 and led by double digits the rest of the game.
Dishman got the spurt started with three free throws. Junior Dillon Avare hit a three-pointer from the right wing. Gist polished off the run with a three-pointer of his own for a 30-16 lead with 1:56 left in the first half. EKU went into the locker room at the break in front by 13, 34-21.
Eastern Kentucky held UVa-Wise to 33 percent shooting in the first half, including 1-for-12 from three-point range. Gist had 11 points at the break after knocking down three first half three-pointers.
The Colonels began the second half by hitting 4-of-5 from the field to fuel an 11-3 run that put the game away. Gist had a catch-and-shoot three-pointer from the right corner and Dishman threw down a dunk along with capping the run with two free throws. His pair from the charity stripe stretched the margin to 21, 45-24, with 16:11 left in the game.
EKU finished the night hitting on 42 percent of its field goal attempts while limiting the Cavaliers to 34 percent shooting. UVa-Wise was 3-for-21 (14 percent) from three-point range. Eastern out-scored the visitors 15-5 off turnovers and 18-8 on second-chance points.
MOREHEAD STATE 120, ASBURY 77
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State men's basketball capitalized on a season-high triple-digit scoring output in a 120-77 win over Asbury (Ky.) on Wednesday night at Johnson Arena.
Senior forward Treshaad Williams connected on a perfect 12-of-12 from the field, good for a career-high 24 points. The 6-foot-5 Nashville, Ga. native added eight rebounds, two assists, and a block over just 19 minutes as a starter.
The Eagles outrebounded Asbury 76-43, while shooting over 50 percent from the floor for the sixth time this season. Asbury's 14-for-53 (.264) three-point shooting bested Morehead State's 3-for-16 (.188) performance, but was not enough to keep the Eagles from the season's second largest margin of victory.
Six Morehead State players scored in double-digits, including DeJuan Marrero (16), Lamontray Harris (15), Ty'Quan Bitting (15), Jordan Walker (15), and Ronnye Beamon (10). Harris' career-high 14 rebounds and Marrero's 10 were good for the only double-doubles of the contest. Walker added six assists while senior guard Xavier Moon logged five.
SIUE 85, MISSOURI S&T 67
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Burak Eslik scored 30 points while Jalen Henry and Christian Ellis each turned in double-doubles, helping SIUE snap a six-game losing streak with an 85-67 win over Missouri S&T Wednesday at Vadalabene Center.
Playing its final nonconference game of the year, SIUE improved to 5-9 overall.
Eslik finished 9 for 16 from the field and drained five three-pointers on his way to the second 30-plus point outing of his career.
Henry scored 20 points and grabbed a career-best 12 rebounds for the second double-double of his season and career. Ellis scored 10 points and hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. Carlos Anderson added 16 points for SIUE.
Eslik scored 20 of his points in the first half, helping SIUE to a 45-26 advantage at the break. The Cougars connected on 55.2 percent (16-29) of their shots in the first half after beginning the contest with a 10-0 run and finished at 47.5 percent (28-59) for the game.
SIUE held Missouri S&T to just 28.6 percent shooting for the first half and 32.8 percent (22-67) for the game. The Miners came into the game averaging 91 points per game. The Cougars outrebounded Missouri S&T 49-34. The 49 rebounds are a season-high, and it is the seventh time this season that SIUE has pulled in at least 40 rebounds.
The Miners were led by Telloy Simon's 16 points. Randy Holmes and Quinn Poythress each scored 12 points.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 97, AUSTIN PEAY 92
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball team staged a furious second-half rally that came up just short in the waning moments against Western Kentucky, falling 97-92, Wednesday, at E.A. Diddle Arena.
The Governors started strong and battled with former OVC foe Western Kentucky for much of the first half and holding a lead with six minutes to go. The Hilltoppers closed out the first half on a 13-5 run and opened the second on a 20-5 run to put the Govs behind the proverbial eight-ball.
Down by 22 with less than 15 minutes to go in the second half, Austin Peay took a rout and turned it into a ballgame thanks to a 34-point outburst in less than nine minutes, featuring 11 points from Bowling Green native Jared Savage and all nine of fellow Warren Central HS grad Chris Porter-Bunton's points on the night.
After a Josh Robinson three-pointer cut the Hilltopper lead to three with 4:57 to go, a 7-0 Western Kentucky run pushed the deficit back to 10 before a three from Robinson, three free-throws from sophomore Zach Glotta followed by another three from the O'Fallon, Mo., native cut it back to three with 52 seconds to go. Western Kentucky's Que Johnson hit 3-of-4 free throws down the stretch to help the Hilltoppers preserve the win; he led Western Kentucky with 25 points.