THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 79, SIUE 76
Morehead State 89, @Austin Peay 82
@UT Martin 82, Eastern Illinois 71 (2OT)
@Murray State 86, Eastern Kentucky 79
Tennessee Tech 80, @Tennessee State 74 (OT)
@Belmont 77, Jacksonville State 60
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 79, SIUE 76
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (8-13, 3-3) overcame a slow start by shooting 61.5 percent in the second half to get by SIU Edwardsville (5-15, 0-6), 79-76, Thursday night at the Show Me Center.
SIUE, which is last in the Ohio Valley Conference, suffered its sixth-straight loss and 12th defeat in 13 contests.
SEMO, after not holding a lead in the first half, used a 16-2 run to get ahead of the Cougars and never turned back.
Freshman Tahj Eaddy knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Redhawks their first lead at 38-36 with 17:31 remaining. Antonius Cleveland's layup widened SEMO's lead to double-digits (49-39) a little over four minutes later. Denzel Mahoney's jumper then capped the surge as the Redhawks grabbed a 47-38 advantage.
SIUE shot a mere 1-of-9 from the floor during SEMO's big run.
The Cougars tightened things up in the final 27 seconds. Down, 78-64, SIUE went on a 12-1 run before coming up short.
Both teams struggled to find a rhythm in a foul-plagued first half.
SEMO missed five of its first six field goals and fell behind, 10-4, in the first 5:10.
The Redhawks battled back to tie the game on two occasions in the last six minutes when Trey Kellum made two free throws (21-21) and Eaddy dropped in a 3-pointer (24-24). Eaddy's three ended a five-minute stretch where SEMO went without a field goal.
SIUE led, 34-31, at the intermission.
Mahoney led SEMO with 20 points as one of four Redhawks in double figures. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and went 5-of-6 at the free throw line, while getting six rebounds.
Kellum, who made his first start since Dec. 10, added 13 points and a team-high seven boards.
In his first career start, Eaddy netted 13 points, dished out three assists and had two steals. He made a perfect 6-of-6 free throws and is now 21-of-21 at the charity strip this season.
Daniel Simmons pitched in 14 points, pulled down five rebounds and had four assists off the bench.
Cleveland played just 16 minutes due to foul trouble. He fouled out with six points and two rebounds. Cleveland reached 500 rebounds in his career and saw his double-digit scoring streak end at 30 consecutive games.
As a team, SEMO shot 51.1 percent (24-of-47) for the night and made 16-of-26 field goals in the second half alone. The Redhawks made 27-of-36 free throws as a total of 50 fouls were called between the two teams.
Tre Harris led SIUE with a game-high 25 points and eight rebounds off the bench.
The Cougars outrebounded the Redhawks, 44-28, and held a hefty 20-5 advantage on the offensive glass.
SEMO was without starting point guard Jamaal Calvin and forward William Tchiengang. Calvin did not play due to a sprained right foot and Tchiengang was out for eligibility reasons.
MOREHEAD STATE 89, AUSTIN PEAY 82
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Senior guard Xavier Moon scored a career-high 26 points as Morehead State men's basketball downed Austin Peay, 89-82, on Thursday night in Clarksville, Tenn.
The wins marks the Eagles' first road win of the season and they improve to 8-11 overall and 4-2 in the OVC. APSU falls to 6-14 and 2-4 in league play.
The Eagles went into the locker room at halftime trailing, 42-38, as the Governors ended the half on a 6-0 run.
Morehead State trailed by as many as seven points in the second stanza, but rallied to regain the lead midway through the half and led the majority of the rest of the way.
Senior forward Treshaad Williams' slam then gave the Eagles an 87-82 lead with 24 seconds to go to secure the win.
After scoring just five points in the first half, Moon led the way with 21 second half points en route to setting a career high. He shot 10-of-16 from the floor and 6-of-10 from three-point range and hit several shots late to help the Eagles maintain their lead. He also added five rebounds and four assists.
Senior forward DeJuan Marrero recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 19 points, 15 rebounds, and a career-high five blocks. Seven of his rebounds were of the offensive variety and he shot 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from the stripe.
Morehead State shot 50 percent from the floor and 9-of-20 from three-point range in the win. After Austin Peay shot 48 percent in the first half, the Eagles limited them to just 36 percent shooting in the second half and just 4-of-14 shooting from deep.
The Eagles dominated the rebounding battle, 47-27, and finished with 16 offensive rebounds, while limiting APSU to just three.
UT MARTIN 82, EASTERN ILLINOIS 71 (2OT)
MARTIN, Tenn. - It took 50 minutes to decide a victor in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center this evening, as the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team pulled away in double overtime to notch an 82-71 Ohio Valley Conference win against Eastern Illinois.
In a game that featured 10 ties and 15 lead changes, the Skyhawks made big plays down the stretch to improve to 13-8 overall with a 3-3 conference mark.
Jacolby Mobley set a new career-high with 28 points while logging all 50 minutes tonight for UT Martin, who shot 88.9 percent (8-of-9, including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range) in the two extra periods.
Kedar Edwards collected 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals for the Skyhawks while Javier Martinez (12 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) accumulated his fourth double-double of the season. Matthew Butler added 15 points to go along with five assists to round out the double-digit scorers for UT Martin, who was playing in its first multiple overtime contest since a triple overtime bout against Arkansas State on Nov. 16, 2012.
Eastern Illinois (9-10, 1-5 OVC) was held to 39.2 percent shooting and a 17.9 percent effort (5-of-28) from three-point range. Montell Goodwin had 20 points while Patrick Muldoon and Ray Crossland scored 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the Panthers.
“We had a ‘never say die’ attitude and we were resilient,” Skyhawk head coach Anthony Stewart said. “We came together when we needed to in crunch time. This crowd was big time tonight – they gave us that sixth man edge with their enthusiasm. Our guys got a little winded but they got their adrenaline going and we pulled it out.”
Mobley accounted for 12 of UT Martin’s first 15 points of the game but Eastern Illinois was able to open up a 13-point lead midway through the first half.
The Panther advantage was trimmed to eight points with just under six minutes to go in the opening stanza but the Skyhawks soon used a 12-3 run to take a 31-30 lead after an old-fashioned three-point play by Edwards.
Eastern Illinois briefly went back ahead but a Butler trifecta with 35 seconds to go provided UT Martin with a 34-33 edge at the halftime break. Mobley (15 points) and Goodwin (10 points) led their respective teams in scoring over the first 20 minutes.
The Panthers scored the first 10 points of the second half before a Chandler Rowe 18-foot jumper ended the Skyhawk drought at the 15:39 mark. Eastern Illinois soon went back ahead by a 46-36 margin but four different UT Martin players chipped in with points during a 10-0 run that evened the score at 46-all with eight minutes to go in regulation.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Edwards and Butler helped the Skyhawks keep pace down the stretch. After a pair of clutch free throws by Rowe tied the game at 56-56 with 1:14 remaining, Edwards came away with a steal and thunderous dunk 20 seconds later to push UT Martin on top, 58-56.
Eastern Illinois answered with a bucket but two contested three-point attempts by the Skyhawks in the final 13 seconds sent the game into overtime.
The Panthers struck first in overtime but Mobley poured in five of UT Martin’s six points in the period. His three-pointer at the 1:47 mark resulted in the Skyhawks’ first and only lead in the first overtime but Eastern Illinois made two free throws with 1:15 to go that deadlocked the score at 64-all. Both teams could not convert offensively in the final minute, as Rowe swatted away a potential game-winning shot with two seconds left.
Martinez provided the Skyhawks the early momentum in the second overtime, as he tallied UT Martin’s first six points of the stanza. Butler and Mobley followed by splashing triples on consecutive trips down the floor to expand the Skyhawk lead to double-digits. Another Martinez layup with 1:03 to go gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the night at 79-66.
MURRAY STATE 86, EASTERN KENTUCKY 79
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers rolled to their third-straight win with an 86-79 home victory over the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
The Racers (11-9) improved to 5-1 and kept their first place spot in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division. EKU (8-13) fell to 1-5 in OVC play.
Damarcus Croaker had a career-high 10 field goals for 23 points, while Terrell Miller, Jr. scored a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds and Jonathan Stark added 21 points.
Stark's 3-point basket with two seconds left in the half gave the Racers a 42-37 lead at the intermission.
EKU rallied in the second half and briefly took a 59-58 with 9:43 remaining, but seconds later, Stark hit another 3-pointer to put the Racers in front for good.
The Racers had the run that put the game away when Stark made a steal and fed Croaker for a big slam and then a pair of Miller free throws made it a 79-67 lead with 1:28 left. A pair of Asante Gist 3-pointers cut the MSU lead to three with 15 seconds on the clock, but MSU never gave EKU a chance to have possession with a chance to tie it.
MSU shot 50 percent from field (31-of-61) and hit 6-of-14 from the 3-point line for 40 percent. MSU had another excellent night from the free throw line in shooting 87 percent on 18-of-23. MSU made as many free throws as EKU attempted.
TENNESSEE TECH 80, TENNESSEE STATE 74 (OT)
NASHVILLE - An absolute slobberknocker from start to finish, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (8-13, 4-2) outlasted in-state and Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee State (12-7, 3-3) Thursday evening with an 80-74 victory in overtime at the Gentry Center in Nashville.
While the Golden Eagles received incredible efforts across the board and the team out-defensed the league's top defense, nothing stood out Thursday evening as much as the clutch performance of junior guard Aleksa Jugovic.
The Leskovac, Serbia native tied a career-high mark and led all scorers on the night, dropping 30 points in a whopping 43 minutes of action. He hit all 11 of his free throw attempts on the night, and hit big shot after big shot late in the game to keep the Golden Eagles alive.
Jugovic was so clutch, he practically took the game over in the final 10 minutes between regulation and overtime, scoring 17 of Tech's final 25 points, including the visitor's first 11 in the extra period.
Nicknamed "Serbian Sugar," Jugovic kicked off the game with a sweet stroke from beyond the arc, draining his first two 3-point attempts. Fellow guard Kajon Mack also knocked down a triple early, joining his teammate to account for Tech's first nine points of the contest.
The two sides traded blows the remainder of the first half, with the Golden Eagles taking a 32-29 advantage into the break, despite Jugovic going ice cold from the field for the remainder of the half, finishing 2-for-5.
The shooting slump continued for the usual sharpshooter, as he missed his next five attempts from the field as well. With the Golden Eagles looking for a scoring option and Jugovic struggling to find his touch from everywhere but the charity stripe, senior Hakeem Rogers stepped forward in the second half.
Following the first 20 minutes of action, in which he scored just two points, Rogers controlled the second period, turning four rebounds and multiple fast breaks into 13 crucial points for the Cookeville squad.
With the score knotted at 38 all with 13:39 to play, Rogers took over, snagging a pass from junior Curtis Phillips Jr. after a steal and converting a 3-point play the old-fashioned way to kick off a 10-0 scoring run by the Golden Eagles. He hit a triple and a fastbreak layup in that stretch as well.
TSU answered, taking a one-point advantage with just over five minutes to play, but Rogers replied back, gathering another fastbreak lay-in to kick the lead back to Tech. Unfortunately for Tech, the guard would leave the contest with just over four minutes in regulation due to an undisclosed leg injury, ending his night prematurely.
In almost the same instant, Jugovic suddenly found life once again, hitting three jumpers in the paint over the next two minutes to add to a couple of huge shots and free throws from junior big man Mason Ramsey to keep Tech in front down the stretch.
Tennessee State's tenacious attitude in the paint and on the glass helped the squad claw back and tie the game with just 11 seconds to play, and eventually force overtime. The Tigers drew a foul and hit 1-of-2 free throws to force the extra period.
While the extra period was less than ideal, having to battle on for another five minutes in the hostile environment could have seemed even more daunting to the Golden Eagles, with Mack, redshirt freshman big man Micaiah Henry and Ramsey all having fouled out and Rogers on the bench due to injury.
Jugovic refused to let Tech give in.
Tennessee State opened the period with a triple from the corner. After Jugovic answered with a jumper in the paint, the Tigers went back up by three from a couple of free throws.
And then the Golden Eagle guard's heroics truly came to the forefront. Coming around off a screen, Jugovic grabbed a handoff from sophomore Savonte Frazier and pulled up for a highly contested triple, drawing a foul. Somehow, the ball hit iron and fell through the net, setting up a four-point play.
Jugovic easily converted, giving Tech the lead for the first time in overtime. After a TSU free throw and miss, the Golden Eagles gave the ball right back to its start and he didn't disappoint. With his man right on him, Jugovic drove the lane and buried a layup while also drawing another foul. His ninth free throw of the contest gave Tech the lead for good.
Tech held on down the stretch, snagging just enough rebounds and hitting just enough free throws to move to 4-2 in OVC play and collect its fifth consecutive overtime victory.
On top of his 30-point showing, Jugovic also dished out five assists and snagged four rebounds. His 11 made and attempted free throws – as well as his 43 minutes of play – all marked career-highs for the junior.
Frazier also turned in a couple of career marks with a team-high eight rebounds and 38 minutes of action in just his second career start. He also dished out five helpers. Rogers finished with 15 points in 20 minutes while converting 6-of-11 shots.
Ramsey also tallied double figures, posting 12 points, including 10 in the second half, while also hauling in seven boards. Freshman Colton Blevins saw his first action in league play, coming up with four huge rebounds and hitting 3-of-4 free throws in four minutes of the overtime period.
The Golden Eagles shot 76.5 percent from the charity stripe in the game, hitting 26-of-34 attempts. The team also dished out 18 assists and made seven steals.
BELMONT 77, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
NASHVILLE - Behind a career-high 26 points from junior Amanze Egekeze and 24 from senior All-America candidate Evan Bradds, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Jacksonville State, 77-60, Thursday night.
Belmont led 35-27 at halftime, when Egekeze made four 3-pointers in the first nine minutes of the second half to push the Bruin lead to 57-38.
And as Bradds continued his efficient play inside with 11-for-16 shooting and 13 rebounds, Belmont held the visiting Gamecocks without a 3-point field goal until 5:06 remaining in the game.
Egekeze made six of Belmont's 12 3-point field goals.
Norbertas Giga and Ashton Spears led Jacksonville State (12-9, 4-2 OVC) with 10 points each.
Belmont (12-4, 6-0 OVC) has won eight consecutive games and 11 of its last 12.