SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 82, Tennessee Tech 70
@Southeast Missouri 83, Eastern Illinois 71
@UT Martin 75, SIUE 67
@Austin Peay 84, Murray State 81 (OT)
@Morehead State 80, Eastern Kentucky 54
Jacksonville State 86, @Tennessee State 79
BELMONT 82, TENNESSEE TECH 70
NASHVILLE - Behind a game-high 23 points from senior All-America candidate Evan Bradds, Belmont men's basketball defeated Tennessee Tech, 82-70, Saturday.
An 11 a.m. CT tip provided the earliest start time in the history of the Curb Event Center, and two personal fouls on Bradds in the opening 4:21 limited the Bruins in the first half.
The opening 20 minutes featured nine ties and seven lead changes, with junior Amanze Egekeze scoring 14 points. The game was tied at 35 at halftime.
Bradds and fellow senior Taylor Barnette carried the Belmont offense in the second half, combining on 35 points after intermission.
A four-point play from sophomore Dylan Windler gave Belmont a 54-47 lead with 10:02 left. Barnette scored eight straight points to push the Belmont lead to 69-57 with 6:16 remaining. Tennessee Tech got no closer than nine.
Bradds led four Bruins in double figures with 23 points and eight rebounds. Barnette added 20 and Egekeze 16. Windler had 15 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
Hakeem Rogers led Tennessee Tech (8-14, 4-3 OVC) with 18 points.
Belmont (13-4, 7-0) has won nine consecutive games and 12 of its last 13.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 83, EASTERN ILLINOIS 71
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Antonius Cleveland scored 18 points and Trey Kellum added a double-double 15 points and 13 rebounds to lead Southeast Missouri (9-13, 4-3) to an 83-71 win over Eastern Illinois (9-11, 1-6) Saturday at the Show Me Center.
SEMO won its fifth-straight home game and improved to 8-2 in Cape Girardeau this season. The Redhawks are also 4-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play on their home floor.
SEMO trailed by two points before putting together a 14-2 run to take a 23-10 lead with 10:17 remaining the first half. Cleveland, Milos Vranes and Daniel Simmons each buried a 3-pointer during the surge which ended on a jumper by Cleveland.
Jonathan Dalton's 3-pointer raised the Redhawks lead to 28-15 at the 8:35 mark before EIU answered with a 13-2 run to narrow the margin to two when Ray Crossland made a pair of free throws with just under two minutes left.
SEMO then scored the last five points of the first half to take a 35-28 advantage at the intermission.
Vranes' 3-pointer gave SEMO its largest lead at 56-42 with 12:55 left in the contest.
EIU responded with a 13-5 jaunt and made it a two-possession game when Montell Goodwin's free throws cut the Redhawks lead to 61-55 at the 7:54 mark.
Shortly after the Panthers brought SEMO's double-digit lead to six again, this time on two free throws by Patrick Muldoon, freshman Tahj Eaddy buried a big 3-pointer during the Redhawks next possession.
Denzel Mahoney followed with a jumper and SEMO finished off EIU for good.
Cleveland shot 6-of-12 from the field, drained two 3-pointers and made 4-of-6 free throws en route to his 21st double figure scoring game this season. He also grabbed five rebounds, dished out two assists, had two blocks and a steal.
Kellum scored 14 points in the second half alone, picking up the second double-double of his career.
Eaddy contributed 15 points on 6-of-9 field goals and knocked down two 3-pointers.
SEMO shot 45 percent (9-of-20) from 3-point range for the night. The Redhawks heated up to shoot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field in the second stanza.
EIU entered the game averaging a league low 12.5 turnovers per game. SEMO forced the Panthers into 19 turnovers and scored 24 points off those mishaps. EIU, which is also second in the OVC in assists (15.3) in conference play, finished with nine.
Demetrius McReynolds led the Panthers with 19 points.
UT MARTIN 75, SIUE 67
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team turned up its defensive intensity in a 75-67 victory over SIUE in Ohio Valley Conference action at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The Skyhawks (14-8, 4-3 OVC) held the visiting Cougars to just five 3-pointers this evening, limiting SIUE to 21.7 percent shooting from three-point range. Overall, UT Martin’s defense held the Cougars to a 36.8 percent (21-of-57) effort from the floor on its way to overcoming a 37-35 halftime deficit.
Jacolby Mobley led the Skyhawks in scoring for the third straight game and sixth time this season, dialing up 18 points tonight. Matthew Butler (14 points) and Kedar Edwards (11 points) also scored in double-figures while Malik London supplied 12 points, a team-high five rebounds and tied a career-high with four blocks in 20 minutes off the bench.
SIUE (5-16, 0-7 OVC) was led by Tre Harris’ 18 points and seven rebounds. Jalen Henry and Keenan Simmons added 17 and 10 points, respectively, for the Cougars.
The Skyhawks found themselves in a 4-2 hole to start the game but responded with seven straight points. A Mobley three-pointer at the 15:47 mark of the first half gave UT Martin a five-point lead.
Five lead changes and two ties followed over the next six minutes before a 7-0 SIUE run resulted in a 22-17 Cougar lead with 8:24 to go before the halftime break.
Dante Bailey connected on a three-pointer a little over two minutes later to even the score at 22-all but SIUE reclaimed the lead at the 5:35 mark and carried a two-point lead at the break.
Mobley’s 12 points led all scorers at the half while Henry (11) and Harris (10) both tallied double-digits in the scoring column in the first half.
UT Martin began the second half on a 12-2 run, as a Butler trifecta at the 16:07 mark made the score 47-39 in favor of the Skyhawks. The Cougars reeled off the next six points of the contest but London sank a jumper in the paint on UT Martin’s ensuing possession to stretch the lead back out to 49-45.
A pair of Mobley free throws at the 8:51 mark pushed the Skyhawk advantage out to 54-47. SIUE clawed back within four points with a little over six minutes remaining but a Chandler Rowe jumper in the paint gave UT Martin a 68-58 lead.
Butler knocked down two free throws with 53 ticks left that resulted in the Skyhawks’ biggest lead of the night at 73-60.
AUSTIN PEAY 84, MURRAY STATE 81 (OT)
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Austin Peay State University men's basketball team defeated archrival Murray State 84-81 in overtime on Saturday marking its first win over the Racers in eight attempts in the Dunn Center and its first overtime win against the Racers since 2008.
It would have been difficult to peg this as the night Austin Peay stopped a cavalcade of streaks against Murray State at the game's outset, which featured a ghastly first half of shooting for Austin Peay. The Governors hit just 26.5 percent in the first half, starting the game on a 6-for-27 stretch before hitting three of seven to close the half.
Despite being down by 10 at one point, Austin Peay was able to keep the contest close thanks to ballhawk defending—saw Murray State commit 11 first-half turnovers—and the will to drive the lane and absorb contact; the Govs were a perfect 9-for-9 at the line in the first half, capping the frame with a Josh Robinson three-point play to make it 32-28 Racers at the break.
In the second half, Austin Peay could not be stopped, hitting 17 of 27 (63.0 percent) from the floor to pull ahead by eight with just over a minute to go. But Murray State's Jonathan Stark put on a John Murry-esque scoring display, scoring 10 points in 1:03, the last two a bucket with two seconds left to force overtime.
Reeling from the late Racer surge, the Governors rallied back in overtime, opening the extra frame with a three-point play from senior Kenny Jones and making it a two-possession game with 1:32 to go thanks to a Robinson three-pointer. A Stark layup with 56 seconds left would be as close as the Racers got the rest of the way, thanks to clutch free-throw shooting from Murry and Jared Savage, who recorded his first career double-double (14 points, 10 rebounds).
MOREHEAD STATE 80, EASTERN KENTUCKY 54
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State men's basketball added to its hot streak of now five wins in the past six outings, defeating Eastern Kentucky by a final score of 80-54 in front of a raucous crowd on Saturday night at Johnson Arena.
Senior Treshaad Williams led the way for the Eagles, despite snapping his string of 26 consecutive made field goals at home. The 6-foot-5 forward tallied 22 points on 9-of-12 (.750) shooting, while notching seven rebounds and two steals. Fellow senior Ty'Quan Bitting sparked Morehead State's post presence off the bench, logging 10 points and four boards in just 13 minutes.
The Eagles led on the scoreboard for all but six minutes, dominating the matchup in almost every statistical category. Morehead State won the rebounding battle (41-29), points in the paint (46-28), points off turnovers (20-7), and second chance points (20-6). The Colonels shot just 20-of-56 (.357) from the floor, while the Eagles cashed in 33-of-64 (.516).
Miguel Dicent, the only player from either team to compete in all 40 minutes, recorded 13 points and seven assists. Freshman reserve Jordan Walker contributed 12 points and five boards, while Xavier Moon rounded out the double-digit scoring with 11 points, six assists, four rebounds, and three steals.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 86, TENNESSEE STATE 79
NASHVILLE - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team earned the program's first ever Ohio Valley Conference win at the Gentry Center on Saturday with an 86-79 victory over Tennessee State.
The Gamecocks (13-9, 5-2 OVC) remained tied for second place in the OVC East with the weekend finale win and improved to 4-1 on the road in league play. The Tigers (12-8, 4-3 OVC) remained fifth in the East ahead of last-place Eastern Kentucky despite the loss.
Junior Malcolm Drumwright reeled off his second 20-point game of the season, hitting a season-best four three-point baskets. The starting point guard finished 5-for-8 from the field and was 6-for-7 from the free throw line.
The Gamecocks owned the first half, hitting a 7-2 run to begin the contest. The defense held the Tigers scoreless through the first two minutes and didn't allow a second basket to the home team until JSU had stretched its lead to 9-2.
Drumwright was responsible for 12 first-half points, going an outstanding 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. The junior missed tying his career-high for treys by just one in the first period alone.
As a team, Jacksonville State shot 81.8% (9-for-11) from three-point range in the first; this after being held to 3-for-16 from beyond the arc at Belmont. Greg Tucker was 2-for-3, while Ashton Spears, Andre Statam and Erik Durham each pitched in one.
Tennessee State made it a close game in the second half, cutting the JSU half-advantage from 44-32 to 48-44 in just five minutes. Back-to-back three-pointers from Delano Spencer pulled the Tigers within four points, but a big second half from sophomore Christian Cunningham help the Gamecocks pull away.
Cunningham totaled 13 points with eight coming in the second period. After grabbing just one rebound in the opening half, the 6-foot-7 forward snagged eight in the last stanza alone and blocked three shots. He helped Jacksonville State retain the lead and push the advantage back to double-digits for the first time since Tennessee State's 12-4 run.
Five Gamecocks scored in double-figures by the night's end. Along with Drumwright's 20, Tucker, Cunningham and Norbertas Giga each registered 13, and Durham just reached the mark with 10.