SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Murray State 92, Tennessee State 83
Belmont 82, @Austin Peay 77
@Southeast Missouri 81, Eastern Kentucky 48
Tennessee Tech 72, @SIUE 66
Jacksonville State 57, @Eastern Illinois 56
@UT Martin 81, Morehead State 77 (OT)
MURRAY STATE 92, TENNESSEE STATE 83
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to score 57 points in the second half in route to a 92-83 win Saturday over the Tennessee State Tigers.
The Racers won their ninth-straight Ohio Valley Conference Opener in the game played at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
MSU (7-8) is 1-0 in OVC play and hits the road this week for games at Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech. The Tigers fell to 9-4 and 0-1.
Jonathan Stark, Damarcus Croaker and Bryce Jones proved to be the triple-threat that TSU couldn’t stop on this day. Stark poured in 26 points, while Croaker scored a season-high 25 points and Jones added 21 points on a career-high four 3-point baskets.
Trailing 43-35 at the half, the Racers used a 7-0 run at the 9:12 mark to get the game tied 63-63 after Jalen Dupree and Croaker scored. MSU grabbed their first lead of the second half when Stark hit a jumper with 7:37 remaining.
It was Croaker’s play on defense that perhaps saved the day for the Racers. With 1:32 left and leading 81-79, MSU turned the ball over just inside the mid-court line. TSU raced to the other end with what seemed to be an easy score. Croaker hustled behind the play and made the block of a shot by TSU’s Delano Spencer.
TSU did tie the game moments later and MSU took the lead for good with 45-seconds left on a pair of Jones free throws. Croaker had a run-out dunk as the buzzer sounded to make it a banner day for the Racers in a 92-83 victory.
BELMONT 82, AUSTIN PEAY 77
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Belmont University men's basketball defeated Austin Peay, 82-77, Saturday afternoon to open OVC play.
The Bruins, who have now won seven straight conference openers and 14 of their last 15, got a career-high 28 points from senior Taylor Barnette in the victory.
Four different Bruins scored in the opening five minutes, including freshman Seth Adelsperger who gave Belmont an early 10-7 lead.
At the 12:19 mark, sophomore Dylan Windler picked up his second personal foul, limiting his availability.
A 3-pointer from senior Nick Smith and a basket from senior Evan Bradds extended the lead to 20-14 nine minutes in. Then after a steal and acrobatic save at the scorer's table by junior Austin Luke, Barnette went behind the back and scored in traffic to keep the lead at four.
But Josh Robinson capped a 7-0 Austin Peay response to give the hosts a 27-24 lead at the 6:14 mark.
Smith then sparked an 11-1 Bruin run to close the first half, as his buzzer-beating, putback basket along the baseline gave Belmont a 40-32 halftime lead.
Both teams opend the second half in fine form, as conventional 3-point plays from junior Amanze Egekeze and Barnette increased the margin to 52-39 with 16:23 left.
After an Egekeze 3-pointer, baskets from John Murry and Robinson trimmed the margin to five, 66-61, with 6:50 to go.
A 3-pointer from Chris Porter-Bunton and one Kenny Jones free throw got the Governors within 76-72 with 56 seconds left. But Luke responded with a driving layin with 35 seconds remaining to extend the Belmont lead to six.
Belmont had to withstand an empty trip at the charity stripe and a Robinson 3-point attempt that whirlpooled out with 10 seconds left, but Barnette secured the victory from the free throw line.
All told, Belmont shot 49 percent (31-for-63) from the field, outscoring Austin Peay in the paint, 42-26.
Aside from Barnette's 28, Bradds added 14 points and seven rebounds, while Egekeze had 12 points and seven rebounds.
Josh Robinson led Austin Peay (4-11, 0-1 OVC) with 27 points.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 81, EASTERN KENTUCKY 48
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (6-10, 1-0) held Eastern Kentucky (7-9, 0-1) to just 39.2 percent from the field in a commanding 81-48 win Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
SEMO improved to 10-16 all-time in Ohio Valley Conference openers and began league play with a win for the first time since 2012-13.
Defensively, SEMO held an opponent to its lowest field goal percentage this season. The Redhawks forced 13 turnovers and scored 18 points off those miscues. SEMO also held EKU's top two scorers in Nick Mayo (12) and Asante Gist (4) to a combined 16 points. Mayo and Gist entered the game averaging 18 and 14.5 points per game, respectively.
Denzel Mahoney scored seven of SEMO's first nine points and the Redhawks used a 10-0 run to build an eight-point lead in the first 7:12 of the game.
Mahoney and Jamaal Calvin each buried a 3-pointer before Antonius Cleveland's jumper gave the Redhawks a 14-6 advantage with 12:48 remaining in the first half.
EKU countered with six unanswered points and pulled to within two when Nick Mayo's 3-pointer made it a 14-12 game at the 11:07 mark.
SEMO responded with an 11-3 jaunt after that to open a double-digit lead. Trey Kellum, who missed five games due to a knee injury, checked in and scored three points, while Calvin and Milos Vranes knocked down a 3-pointer.
Tahj Eaddy's jumper pushed the Redhawks lead to 25-15 with 6:27 to go before SEMO headed into the locker room ahead, 30-23.
EKU's 23 points were the fewest scored by an opponent against SEMO in the first half this season.
SEMO continued to pour it on in the second half, sinking five of its first seven 3-pointers and shooting 64.7 percent from the field in the first 12 minutes.
The Redhawks strung together a 17-0 run late in the half to blow the game open.
William Tcheingang threw down a dunk on the baseline, Vranes drained a 3-pointer from the left corner and Cleveland added a layup before walk-on Eli Sample made the second 3-pointer of his career. Jaylen Benton finished the surge with five-straight points to give SEMO its largest lead at 81-46.
Mahoney and Calvin led five SEMO scorers in double figures with 15 points apiece. Mahoney shot 6-of-10 from the field and had a game-high six assists, and Calvin was 5-of-9 from the floor. Both finished at 3-of-6 from 3-point range, as well.
Cleveland followed with 14 points, three assists and three blocks, while Benton and Eaddy chipped in 10 points each. Tchiengang pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
As a team, SEMO shot 55.8 percent (29-of-52) from the field for the game. The Redhawks did not turn the ball over in the second half. Additionally, SEMO buried 13 three-pointers.
DeAndre Dishman and Mayo both scored 12 points to lead EKU.
SEMO won an OVC game by more than 30 points for the first time since 2001. That year, the Redhawks defeated Tennessee State, 88-57, on Jan. 4.
TENNESSEE TECH 72, SIUE 66
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team overcame a slow start offensively Saturday afternoon, putting forth a strong, second-half effort to open Ohio Valley Conference play with a 72-66 victory at SIUE.
The Golden Eagles kept themselves in the action early, despite shooting under 20 percent from the field over the opening eight minutes, by forcing turnovers. Tech caused the Cougars to make five in just a four-minute span between the first and second media timeouts, keeping the Golden Eagles alive while looking for their shot.
They found it. Tech scored 25 minutes over the final 12 minutes of play, taking a 32-30 edge into the locker room.
After SIUE tied things up at 34 just two minutes into the second half, the Golden Eagle offense took off and never looked back, edging out its advantage, little-by-little for the remainder of the game. Tech closed the game shooting 59.1 percent in the second half, and increase of 24 percent over the first 20 minutes.
The Cougars made some small runs and threatened to take back over a couple of times, but Tech managed to answer each time. SIUE's Jalen Henry made a pivotal three-point play with 5:35 to play in the contest to cut the lead to a single point.
Tech senior Kajon Mack had an answer, draining his third triple of the half just five seconds later. He had one more rebuttle for a Cougar rally attempt with a minute and 45 seconds left in the game as well.
After Carlos Anderson sunk a couple of free throws to cut the TTU advantage to four, Mack once again ripped one from downtown, sinking his fourth trey of the game for a seven-point lead. It would mark the closest SIUE would get until sinking a last-second jump shot for the six-point loss.
Mack was a beast for the Golden Eagles, leading all scorers on the day with a career-high 22 points and tying for the team-lead with seven rebounds. The guard finished 6-for-11 from the field, including a 4-for-6 showing from deep and 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe.
Juniors Aleksa Jugovic and Mason Ramsey also offered double-digit scoring efforts. Ramsey posted 12 points and seven boards, as well as a team-high three assists, all while playing a career-high 34 minutes. Jugovic notched 15 points while shooting 50 percent from the field.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 57, EASTERN ILLINOIS 56
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team improved to 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday afternoon with a thrilling 57-56 win over Eastern Illinois at Lantz Arena.
Junior Norbertas Giga earned his fourth double-double of the year with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and sophomore Christian Cunningham snagged a career-high 19 rebounds. Cunningham became the first Gamecocks to reel in 15+ rebounds in a game since Jeremy Watson got 18 at Alabama State in 2014.
Trailing since the first half, Jacksonville State (9-7, 2-0) used a mid-second half run to regain a narrow lead. The Gamecocks led by two points following a Malcolm Drumwright free throw with less than eight seconds remaining. A shooting foul took EIU's Cornell Johnston to the line with less than a second to go, but the Panthers' guard missed the backend shot and Cunningham nabbed the rebound.
An uneventful first half came to a close with the Panthers (8-6, 0-1) on top 32-25. The period was delayed by 22 fouls; 11 for each team. The Gamecocks struck first with a good free throw at the 18:27 mark from Erik Durham and led for the majority of the half. JSU stretched its lead to as many as five points, and its longest run was four in a row.
Momentum turned with less than five minutes remaining in the first with a couple of big three-pointers from the Panthers. Joe Kuligoski drained one to tie it up for the first time, 20-20, and Cornell Johnston put Eastern Illinois ahead with a second trey. The Panters ended the half on a three pointer from Demetrius McReynolds that sent the home team to the break with a seven-point lead.
UT MARTIN 81, MOREHEAD STATE 77 (OT)
MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) - Matthew Butler had 31 points and scored a pair of baskets in the final minute of overtime to push UT Martin past Morehead State 81-77 on Saturday night.
Butler's jumper with 59 seconds left tied it at 77 and his basket with 8 seconds left gave the Skyhawks a 79-77 lead. Javier Martinez added two free throws in the final second to cap the scoring.
Jacolby Mobley added 23 points and Martinez finished with 17. UT Martin (11-6, 1-1 Ohio Valley) trailed for most of the second half before Mobley scored the final five points of the period to force overtime.
Jordan Walker led the Eagles (4-10, 0-1) with a career-high 26. The freshman had a trio of consecutive 3-pointers to give Morehead State its largest lead at 56-46 with 9:07 left in the second half.
Xavier Moon added 18 points and DeJuan Marrero scored 13 for Morehead State.