THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 86, Marshall 83
@Tennessee Tech 105, Boyce College 48
@Eastern Kentucky 97, Kentucky State 66
Belmont 69, @Middle Tennessee 63
@Evansville 66,
Southeast Missouri 50
MOREHEAD STATE 86, MARSHALL 83
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Over the course of eight ties and nine lead changes, Morehead State men's basketball picked up its first win of the 2017-18 season with an 86-83 thriller over Marshall in the Eagles' home-opener on Thursday night at Ellis T. Johnson Arena.
With the win, Morehead State reclaims possession of the Ellis Johnson Trophy, awarded to the winner of the annual series between rival schools separated by only 68 miles of real estate. The Eagles have emerged victorious in each of the last three matchups at Johnson Arena.
Marshall opened the contest with a three-pointer by freshman guard Jarrod West. Morehead State answered with a layup by Malek Green, but the Eagles did not taste the lead until a long-range jumper by Jordan Walker gave Morehead State a 29-28 advantage with 7:34 to go in the first half.
Sophomore forward Londell King led the Eagles with 10 points and eight rebounds at the break, but Morehead State trailed the Thundering Herd 44-39 at halftime.
After shooting 15-for-36 (.417) in the opening period, Morehead State came out firing on all cylinders with 15-of-29 (.517) shooting in the second half. All-Conference USA guard Jon Elmore gave the Herd a 67-66 lead via a three-pointer with 5:49 remaining, only to be answered 20 seconds later with two free throws from MSU junior Lamontray Harris. Morehead State would not trail for the rest of the ballgame.
Junior guard A.J. Hicks anchored the Eagles with 17 points and seven assists, logging his best game in a Morehead State uniform. Harris, who did not score in the first half, exploded for 14 points and nine rebounds on the night.
Sophomore guard Jordan Walker matched Harris' scoring output with 14 points and six boards, while King notched his first career double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Djimon Henson poured in 12 points on 7-for-9 (.778) shooting from the charity stripe.
Morehead State outrebounded Marshall 50-27, including 19-5 on the offensive glass. Spradlin, who guided the team as interim head coach in 2016-17, recorded his first official win as the full-time leader of the program.
TENNESSEE TECH 105, BOYCE COLLEGE 48
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech men's basketball cruised to a 106-48 victory over Boyce College Thursday evening, racking up huge numbers in the assists and steals departments.
The Golden Eagles shared the ball on a whopping 82.9 percent of its field goals in the contest, tallying a Payne era-high 34 assists, the most by a Tech squad since 2008-09 and third highest total in school history. Tech also posted 17 steals on the night, the most in a single game since the 2006-07 season.
The Tech squad held the Bulldogs to just 29.9 percent shooting from the floor and 21.1 percent from three-point range. Boyce also finished 0-for-3 from the free throw line, the first time in over 15 years the Golden Eagles held their opponent without a made free throw.
The Golden Eagles were flying for a large chunk of the game, posting 33 fast break points and 32 points off turnovers. Tech also did work down low, scoring 60 points in the paint.
The home team's 58-point scoring margin tied for the seventh largest in program history and highest since setting the school record of 75 points against Crowley's Ridge during the 2012-13 campaign.
Six Golden Eagles scored in double figures in the contest, the most since a triple-overtime victory over UT Martin back in January, 2001. Graduate transfer guard Shaq Calhoun led all scorers in the contest, dropping a season-high 20 points on a near-perfect 8-for-9 showing from the field. He added four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and three steals as well.
Junior forward Courtney Alexander II flirted hard with a triple-double, settling for his second career double-double thanks to 14 points (tied a career high) and career-highs of 12 rebounds and seven assists. He also made three steals while sinking all six of his attempts from the floor.
Senior Aleksa Jugovic scored 14 points and made three steals while hitting three triples to move into sixth place in program history for made 3-pointers. Senior forward Curtis Phillips Jr. scored 12 points – his third straight game in double figures – while narrowly missing out on a double-double. He tallied a career-high eight assists and snagged three steals as well.
Also in double figures for Tech were sophomores Micaiah Henry and Cade Crosland. Henry put up 10 points while hauling in a career-high seven rebounds. Crosland connected on 3-of-6 attempts from deep on his way to 11 points and chipped in five rebounds.
Graduate guard Kajon Mack tallied seven assists, along with six points, four rebounds and three steals, while playing just 21 minutes. Mason Ramsey notched six points and five boards in just 16 minutes of action.
All 10 Golden Eagles that saw the floor scored at least five points, hauled in at least one rebound and dished out at least one assist.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 97, KENTUCKY STATE 66
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team got off to a slow start, falling behind by 14 in the first half, but found its stroke and rolled to a 97-66 victory over visiting Kentucky State University on Thursday in the Colonels’ home opener at McBrayer Arena.
The Thorobreds (0-3) raced out to the early lead as EKU hit just 6-of-24 (25 percent) from the field to start the game. A jumper by Reggie Breeden with 6:32 left in the opening half gave Kentucky State its largest lead at 14, 27-13.
After starting cold, the Colonels (2-1) heated up behind the play of freshman guard Dedric Boyd. Eastern ended the half by making 9-of-13 from the field (69 percent). Boyd fueled a 23-7 run that turned that 14-point deficit into a one-point lead. He got the rally started with a three-pointer and a dunk, and scored 10 of the 23 points during the run.
Freshman A.J. Youngman’s three-pointer from the right wing with 14 seconds to go in the first half capped the turnaround and put Eastern in front 35-34. KSU scored the final basket of the half to take a one-point lead into the locker room at the break.
EKU scored 17 of the first 20 points to start the second half and never looked back. Sophomore DeAndre Dishman scored six of the 17 on his way to a career-best 18 points.
Nick Mayo’s two free throws with 14:14 left in the game pushed the Colonel lead to double figures for the first time, 50-39. The Thorobreds went 5:34 without scoring.
Eastern went in front by 20-plus when Jackson Davis knocked down two a pair of free throws with 9:14 showing on the clock. Youngman’s 3-pointer with 3:03 to go made it a 30-point game, 88-58.
After starting the game 6-for-24, the Colonels went 27-for-43 (63 percent) the rest of the game. EKU out-rebounded Kentucky State 45-38 and out-scored the visitors 22-5 off turnovers.
In addition to Dishman, Boyd finished with 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and five assists. Mayo contributed 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists, four blocks and one steal. Youngman went 4-for-6 from behind the arc and finished with 14 points, a career-high for the freshman. Fellow freshman Peyton Broughton finished with a career-best 13 points.
Ray Croon led all players with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting for Kentucky State.
BELMONT 69, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 63
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Behind 24 points from senior Amanze Egekeze, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Middle Tennessee, 69-63, Thursday night.
72 hours after defeating Nashville neighbor Vanderbilt, Belmont remained hungry and purposeful against one of the nation's most talented teams in the Blue Raiders.
The Bruins went 10-for-22 from behind the arc, sparked by Egekeze's 6-for-9 performance from deep.
After leading 29-27 at halftime, Belmont went on an 11-0 run - capped by a coast to coast layin from freshman Nick Hopkins - to lead 50-36 with 13:13 left. The host Blue Raiders responded behind Nick King, who scored seven points during a 20-2 spurt over a five-minute stretch to give Middle Tennessee a 56-52 lead.
The Bruins answered head coach Rick Byrd's call, displaying poise and execution on both ends to close the game. Egekeze capped an 8-0 reply, as Belmont never trailed thereafter. Then his wing 3-pointer with 2:35 remaining gave Belmont a 65-58 lead.
Free throws from junior Kevin McClain and senior Austin Luke in the final 39 seconds closed out the game.
Belmont shot 45 percent from the field (24-for-53), and outrebounded Middle Tennessee, 36-32.
In addition to Egekeze's 24, McClain added a career-high 14 points, while junior Dylan Windler posted his third consecutive double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Luke had 11 assists.
King led Middle Tennessee (2-1) with 21 points.
EVANSVILLE 66, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 50
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri (1-2) committed 18 turnovers and 24 fouls in a 66-50 loss to Missouri Valley Conference member Evansville (3-0) Thursday.
UE held Ohio Valley Conference leading scorer Denzel Mahoney to just three points on 1-of-7 field goals. Mahoney's only points came on a 3-pointer with 7:45 left to play. It was the second-lowest point total of Mahoney's career.
SEMO struggled against a physical and sound UE team.
The Purple Aces jumped out to a 10-2 lead in the first 3:26 of the game. SEMO, which never led in the contest, answered with a 8-3 jaunt and pulled to within three on Justin Carpenter's jumper with 13:58 left to play.
Milos Vranes' 3-pointer narrowed UE's lead to three again, but that was as close as the Redhawks would get.
UE expanded its lead to 36-21 at the half.
Dru Smith's two free throws gave the Purple Aces their largest lead at 58-32 with 8:36 to go before UE closed out the victory.
Vranes led SEMO with a double-double 16 points and 10 rebounds, the first of his career. He shot 6-of-11 from the field and buried three 3-pointers in 28 minutes off the bench.
Ryan Taylor and Smith each scored 17 points to lead UE. The Purple Aces outscored SEMO, 22-4, at the free throw line.
SEMO fell to 1-7 all-time against UE in Evansville.