WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Georgia 93,
Belmont 84 (NIT)
UT Martin 76, @Central Michigan 73 (CIT)
GEORGIA 93, BELMONT 84
ATHENS, Ga. - Belmont University men's basketball dropped a 93-84 decision at Georgia Wednesday night in the first round of the 2016 Postseason NIT.
The Bruins played one of their finest games of the season, making 14 three-pointers and shooting nearly 50 percent from the field against a Bulldog squad ranked fifth nationally in field goal percentage defense.
But like much of the season, the stars were seemingly not aligned for Belmont. Georgia standout forward Yante Maten - who entered the game with five made three-point field goals on the season - buried three from behind the arc in the opening 14 minutes of the game to spark the hosts to an early 34-22 lead.
Behind strong bench contributions from sophomore Austin Luke (Rowlett, Texas) and junior Nick Smith (Bentonville, Ark.) Belmont closed within 45-38 at halftime.
Early in the second half, junior forward Evan Bradds (Jamestown, Ohio) picked up his third personal foul with 18:55 remaining in regulation, hindering Bruin momentum.
After another late shot clock three-pointer from Turtle Jackson and a basket from Kenny Gaines pushed the Bulldog advantage to 13, 62-49, with 12:22 left, resilient Belmont stormed back once more.
A three-pointer from junior Taylor Barnette (Lexington, Ky.) and two free throws from senior Craig Bradshaw (Ridgetop, Tenn.) got Belmont within 71-69 with 5:39 to go.
Belmont had a chance to tie or take the lead twice down the stretch, but bounces just did not go the Bruins' way.
After Smith rimmed out a potential game-tying three-pointer, Maten scored inside and then J.J. Frazier delivered a back-breaking, contested 28-footer to bump the margin back to seven, 83-76, with 1:47 left.
Bradshaw led five Bruins in double figures with 19 points.
Belmont limited Georgia to 24 points in the paint, but the Bulldogs - averaging six made three-point field goals per game on the season - went 11-for-21 from long distance.
Maten led Georgia (20-13) with 33 points.
Belmont finishes the 20-12.
UT MARTIN 76, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 73
MT. PLEASANT, Mich. - Alex Anderson scored 21 points – including the final five points of the game – to help the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team claim a 76-73 victory at Central Michigan in the first round of the 2016 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Anderson made six of his 11 field goal attempts, including five 3-pointers. In addition to his sixth 20-plus point outing of the year, the senior out of Memphis, Tenn. handed out four assists against zero turnovers in 38 minutes.
UT Martin reached the 20-win plateau for the second straight season thanks to a balanced scoring attack, as 10 different Skyhawks scored tonight. Javier Martinez tallied 13 points (on 6-of-6 shooting) with seven rebounds while Jacolby Mobley tossed in 11 points in 10 minutes for UT Martin, who also received a game-high 10 rebounds out of Twymond Howard. The Skyhawks shot 45.8 percent (11-for-24) from three-point range for the game and connected on 15 of their 28 field goal attempts (53.6 percent) in the second half.
Braylon Rayson scored a game-high 24 points for Central Michigan (17-16), who won the MAC West championship this season. Josh Kozinski contributed 15 points while Chris Fowler (10 points) also reached double-figures in the scoring column for the Chippewas, who shot 43 three-pointers out of 61 overall field goal attempts.
Central Michigan scored the first four points of the game but a baseline jumper from Kedar Edwards and a left corner trey by Terrence Durham provided the Skyhawks with their first lead of the contest at 5-4.
The lead would change hands eight times in the first nine minutes. After the Chippewas took a 15-13 lead at the 11:17 mark, back-to-back three-pointers by Anderson and Mobley resulted in a 19-15 advantage for UT Martin.
The Skyhawks then received a lift from their bench, as four different non-starters scored 10 consecutive UT Martin points in a stretch of 3:42. A fast break layup by Martinez at the 6:43 mark made the score 26-19 in favor of the Skyhawks.
Central Michigan then scored eight straight points to begin a 14-2 run, taking a 33-28 lead. However, UT Martin closed out the first half with six unanswered points in the final 1:04, as a Martinez reverse layup gave the Skyhawks a 34-33 edge at the break.
Anderson’s eight points guided a balanced UT Martin scoring attack in the first 20 minutes, as eight different Skyhawks pitched in with points. Rayson’s 11 points led the way for the Chippewas, who shot 33 percent (7-for-21) from three-point range in the first half.
Central Michigan scored on the opening possession of the second half to take a 36-34 advantage. UT Martin responded with a quick 7-0 run to take a 41-36 advantage after Howard converted a fast break layup with 17:12 left to play.
Four lead changes and two ties followed over the next 3:30. The Chippewas knocked down three-pointers on two straight possessions to go on top by a 52-48 margin.
Martinez then accounted for five straight points for the Skyhawks. UT Martin pulled within one point on three different occasions before an Anderson trifecta at the 6:36 mark tilted the score back in favor of the Skyhawks at 63-61.
UT Martin was able to push its lead out to three points thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play by Richard Lee, a layup by Martinez and a swooping fast break layup by Anderson. However, Central Michigan evened the score at 70-all with 3:26 remaining.
A Rowe free throw provided the Skyhawks with a 71-70 lead with a little over three minutes to play. The Chippewas took the lead with a three-pointer on their next trip down the floor.
Anderson then led UT Martin to the victory with his clutch play down the stretch. He sank a contested three-pointer from the right wing to give the Skyhawks a 74-73 advantage with 45 ticks left. After pressure defense from Jalen Variste forced a turnover on Central Michigan’s ensuing possession, Anderson stepped up and made two huge free throws with 16 seconds to go for the final 76-73 margin.