SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 86, Green Bay 75
@Austin Peay 67, Alabama A&M 47
@Furman 64,
Tennessee Tech 50
@Chattanooga 66,
UT Martin 63
@Eastern Kentucky 70, Jacksonville 65 (OT)
Southeast Missouri 86, @North Carolina Central 77
@Northern Kentucky 86,
Morehead State 49
@Murray State 80, Florida A&M 59
Lipscomb 95,
@Tennessee State 86 (OT)
BELMONT 86, GREEN BAY 75
NASHVILLE - Amanze Egekeze, Dylan Windler and Mack Mercer combined to score 60 points as Belmont University men's basketball defeated Green Bay, 86-75, Saturday afternoon.
After early scores from Mercer and Egekeze gave the Bruins a 6-1 lead, Belmont struggled to find a rhythm. After a driving layin from senior Austin Luke pushed Belmont to an 18-17 edge, the visiting Phoenix would go on a 14-5 run. A Luke bounce feed to Egekeze for a slam and a 3-pointer from freshman Nick Hopkins provided sparks, but behind the play of Khalil Small, Green Bay led 42-35 at halftime.
A 3-pointer from Windler opened things up for Belmont in the second half, and confident, determined basketball followed. Five interior points from Egekeze highlighted a 14-3 Bruin run to open the second half and gave Belmont a 49-45 lead with 16:22 left. From there, the teams exchanged a flurry of five 3-pointers in a 102 second span, as heroics from Windler were answered in kind.
After junior Kevin McClain tied the score at 59 midway through the second half, Luke delivered a timely steal and coast-to-coast conventional 3-point play to push the Bruins ahead by three. Sophomore Seth Adelsperger would sandwich a layin around two more McClain 3-pointers to increase the Belmont lead to eight, 74-66, with 4:55 left.
But just as Belmont was stringing together defensive stops and scores, consecutive 3-pointers from Kameron Hankerson and TJ Parham got Green Bay within 76-74 with 3:01 to go. From their, the Bruins held the Phoenix without a field goal in closing the game on a 10-1 run. Egekeze answered with a straight-on 3-pointer, then after a string of empty possessions, Windler buried a deep wing 3-pointer with 46 seconds remaining to push Belmont to a 82-75 lead.
All told, Belmont shot 49 percent (29-for-59) from the field - including 60 percent in the second half. The Bruins limited Green Bay to 38 percent shooting after halftime.
Egekeze led four Bruins in double figures with 21 points and eight rebounds. Windler posted his seventh double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Mercer had a season-high 19 points, while McClain added 11, all in the second half.
Hankerson and Kevin Jesperson led Green Bay (2-4) with 16 points each.
AUSTIN PEAY 67, ALABAMA A&M 47
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball completely shut down Alabama A&M's offense in Saturday's 67-47 win at the Dunn Center, evening its record at 4-4 thanks to standout defense.
The Governors locked down the Bulldogs almost from the opening tip. After a Marcus Merriweather jumper made it 12-9 Bulldogs with 14:06 to go in the first, the Governors defense didn't just slow Alabama A&M down; Austin Peay embarked on a game-defining 21-1 run and held the Bulldogs without a field goal for nearly 12 minutes of the first half before Ariston Johnson's three-pointer at the 2:08 mark.
A 36-10 run over the first 12 minutes of the second half would swell Austin Peay's lead to 28 points, capped by a three-pointer from junior Steve Harris—he scored 15 points off the bench, tied with senior Averyl Ugba for the game-high. Ugba scored 10 of his points during this stretch, including a thunderous fast break dunk which put the lead at 20 and signaled the end for Alabama A&M.
FURMAN 64, TENNESSEE TECH 50
GREENVILLE, S.C. - For just the second time in the 2017-18 season, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team found defeat rather than victory Saturday afternoon, falling on the road to Furman, 64-50.
The Golden Eagles (7-2) and Paladins (5-3) found themselves in defensive struggle during the contest, with the biggest difference-maker coming from beyond the 3-point line. Furman held a Tech offense averaging 89.0 points per game enter the contest to just 33.3 percent (20-of-60) shooting from the field, 10.5 percent (2-of-19) from 3-point range and 50 percent (8-of-16) from the charity stripe.
On the flip side, Tech held Furman to just 34.4 percent from the floor, 27.8 percent from deep and 66.7 percent from the free throw line. It just so happened that the home team attempted a whopping 36 shots from beyond the arc, over half of the team's field goal attempts in the game.
Furman outhit Tech from downtown, 10-2, easily accounting for the difference on the scoreboard, particularly in the first half, when the Paladins took a 32-19 lead into the break after hitting 6-of-18 attempts from deep.
After Furman extend the lead to 36-19, Tech ran off 10 straight points to cut the advantage to just seven with 17:26 to play following a four-point play by senior Aleksa Jugovic. Furman answered with five quick points to push the advantage back to double digits for good.
Despite driving the ball into contact throughout the game, the Golden Eagles couldn't pull in the same amount of foul calls they managed against Lipscomb, attempting just 16 free throws compared to the 49 from Wednesday's contest against the Bisons.
Jugovic and junior Courtney Alexander II led Tech with 11 points each. Jugovic added a team-high six assists on the day while Alexander narrowly missed a double-double, hauling in nine rebounds to tie for the team lead with graduate guard Kajon Mack. Furman was led by John Davis, with a game-high 16 points, and Matt Rafferty, with a game-high 14 rebounds.
CHATTANOOGA 66, UT MARTIN 63
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Matthew Butler poured in the University of Tennessee at Martin’s final 15 points this evening but the Skyhawks could not hold off Chattanooga in a 66-63 loss at McKenzie Arena.
Butler lit up the scoreboard for a game-high 27 points in 31 minutes tonight, shooting 9-of-18 from the floor (5-of-11 from three-point range). He also knocked down four of his five attempts from the charity stripe for UT Martin (1-7).
Fatodd Lewis compiled 11 points to go along with seven rebounds for the Skyhawks. Terrence Parker also shared the team lead with seven rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench while Darius Thompson registered seven points and a team-high three assists for UT Martin, who limited the host Mocs to just 36.5 percent shooting (19-of-52).
Chattanooga (4-4) placed four scorers in double-figures, led by Makale Foreman’s 18 points. Rodney Chatman (12), Nat Dixon (10) and James Lewis, Jr. (10) also pitched in to the Mocs’ offensive attack.
Butler provided UT Martin with its first lead, scoring the game’s opening bucket on a drive down the left side of the lane. Thompson later canned a straightaway three-pointer and Butler added another trifecta to give the Skyhawks an 8-5 advantage five minutes into the contest.
Chattanooga held a pair of brief leads but a 7-2 run put UT Martin back on top. Jailen Gill slammed home an alley-oop dunk at the 7:20 mark to ignite the run, which was capped off by a Lewis left corner three-pointer and a 15-foot jumper by Delfincko Bogan that made the score 19-15.
Dominique Williams sank a leaner in the paint to extend the Skyhawk lead out to five points with 3:10 remaining before the halftime break. Jerome Davis tacked on a pair of free throws to round out the first half scoring as UT Martin took a 28-25 advantage into the locker room.
Lewis compiled team-highs of six points and five rebounds for a balanced Skyhawk attack that included four scorers with at least five points. UT Martin shot 55.6 percent from three-point range (5-of-9) while limiting the Mocs to just 25 percent shooting (6-for-24) from the floor in the opening half.
Chattanooga began the second half on a 10-0 spurt, going ahead 35-28 in the process. Mike Fofana ended the Skyhawk drought with two free throw makes at the 16:21 mark while Lewis knocked down a three-pointer on UT Martin’s next possession to pull the Skyhawks back within four points at 37-33.
The Mocs answered with back-to-back three-pointers to take a double-digit lead (43-33) with 14:28 remaining. UT Martin then unreeled a 15-2 run to get back in the game, keyed by the duo of Butler and Parker. Butler scored seven points during the run while back-to-back buckets by Parker gave the Skyhawks a 48-45 lead with nine minutes to go.
After a pair of Butler free throws kept UT Martin’s lead at three points, the Mocs chalked up 10 of the next 12 points to go ahead by a 57-52 margin at the 4:25 mark. Butler accounted for 15 consecutive points down the stretch – including an 18-foot jumper at the 2:27 mark that tied the score at 57-all.
Butler added a pair of contested three-pointers in the final 18 seconds to get the Skyhawks as close as one point (64-63) but Chattanooga made all four of its free throw attempts in the last 13 seconds to seal the win.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 70, JACKSONVILLE 65 (OT)
RICHMOND, Ky. - The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team took down Jacksonville University, 70-65, in a thrilling overtime contest on Saturday night at McBrayer Arena.
A three-pointer by redshirt sophomore Dujuanta Weaver gave EKU (4-4) a 16-point lead, 57-41, with 6:37 remaining in the game; however, Jacksonville (3-6) came storming back, ending regulation on an 18-2 run. A tip-in by Jace Hogan with 19 seconds on the clock tied it at 59-59 and sent the game into overtime.
Weaver sank another long ball to open overtime and swing the momentum back to EKU. After a pair of foul shots by junior Nick Mayo put the Colonels up by five, JU responded with back-to-back put-back dunks to draw back to within one, 64-63, with 2:08 left in OT.
Freshman Dedric Boyd responded with a field goal followed by an Asante Gist free throw to put the Colonels back ahead four, 67-63. Boyd then came up with a huge offensive rebound, drew the foul and put away two from the charity stripe to give Eastern a six-point advantage, 69-63, with 25 ticks on the clock. The Colonels never looked back.
Mayo led four Colonels in double figures with 22 points, 12 rebounds, six blocks and three assists. It was his third double-double of the season. Sophomore DeAndre Dishman also notched a double-double, going for 11 points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Mayo and Dishman are the first EKU teammates to have double-doubles in the same game since November 22, 2015.
Boyd finished with 14 points, while Gist contributed a season-high 13.
EKU trailed Jacksonville, 31-29, at halftime; however, Mayo and Boyd buried back-to-back trifectas to open the second half, sparking 10 unanswered points and tilting the score back in favor of the Colonels, 39-31. The Colonels stretched their second-half lead to 16 when Weaver knocked down the three-pointer to make it 57-41. That set the stage for Jacksonville’s furious comeback to end regulation.
Hogan led the way for Jacksonville with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Cody Helgeland (15) and JD Notae (11) also finished in double-figures.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 86, NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL 77
DURHAM, N.C. - Freshman Justin Carpenter scored a season-high 20 points to lead five players in double figures as Southeast Missouri (4-4) beat North Carolina Central (4-6), 86-77, for its first true road victory Saturday.
SEMO and NCCU met for the second time in six days on the back end of a home-and-home series. NCCU entered the game with a record of 84-20 in its last 104 games on its homecourt, but this night belonged to the Redhawks.
SEMO built a 14-7 lead in the first 6:16 of the game. Milos Vranes knocked down a 3-pointer and Justin Carpenter followed with a layup to grab the Redhawks the early advantage. Jonathan Dalton's layup ended the surge with 13:44 left to play.
Ahead, 35-28, with less than two minutes remaining in the first half, Isaiah Gable buried his second 3-pointer off the bench to give SEMO its first double-digit lead at 38-28. NCCU used a 7-0 run to pull to within three, 38-35, at the half.
Carpenter scored 11 points and did not miss a field goal in 11 minutes during the first half. It marked the second time Carpenter reached double figures in the first half this season.
With Denzel Mahoney on the bench with three fouls, SEMO went on a 10-0 run after Raasean Davis completed a conventional 3-point play to tie the game at 38-38 at the 18:22 mark of the second half. Vranes started the run with a layup and then blocked a shot. Carpenter rebound Vranes' block and pitched the ball ahead to Ledarrius Brewer for a breakaway dunk. Carpenter followed with back-to-back layups before another Brewer slam ended the surge, giving the Redhawks a 48-38 lead with 15:11 to go.
SEMO built its largest lead at 11 points on six occasions before sending NCCU to its sixth loss.
Carpenter finished a perfect 8-of-8 from the floor and pulled down a team-high six rebounds. It was Carpenter's third double-digit scoring game. Mahoney followed with 19 points on 5-of-9 field goals and 8-of-11 free throws. Brewer added 12 points, while Vranes and Daniel Simmons each added 10. Freshman Isaiah Gable buried a game-high three 3-pointers in 12 minutes off the bench, as well.
SEMO matched a season-best 10 three-pointers going 10-of-16 from beyond the arc for a sizzling 62.5 percent. It was the first time the Redhawks shot over 60 percent from 3-point range in a game since Dec. 1, 2013 (vs. Texas State). In addition, SEMO shot 56 percent for the second time this season and outrebounded its opponent for the sixth game in a row.
Reggie Gardner, Jr., topped NCCU with 26 points, including 11 at the free throw line. Pablo Riva turned in a double-double 19 points and 12 rebounds.
NORTHERN KENTUCKY 86, MOREHEAD STATE 49
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Host Northern Kentucky opened the second half on an 11-0 run, and that was enough separation for the Morehead State men's basketball team to ultimately fall 86-49 at BB&T Arena Saturday night.
The Eagles slipped to 2-6 overall, while the Norse moved to 6-2. NKU ended up outscoring the Eagles 48-21 in the final 20 minutes.
NKU opened the contest with a 7-0 run, but the Eagles scored eight of the next 10 to keep it close. The hosts moved back ahead 23-12 with 8:30 left in the first half. MSU eventually trailed 38-28 at the break.
But NKU forward Drew McDonald scored his team's first 11 points to open the final half, including his 1,000th career marker, as NKU pulled ahead 46-28. The Norse's largest lead was the final margin.
Sophomore guard Djimon Henson led the Eagles with 15 points, his seventh consecutive double-figure effort. Freshman forward Malek Green, playing near his hometown of Cincinnati, grabbed a career-best nine rebounds.
MURRAY STATE 80, FLORIDA A&M 59
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers pushed their winning streak to four Saturday with an 80-59 victory over the Florida A&M Rattlers at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
Shaq Buchanan scored a season-high 21 points in leading a defensive effort from the Racers that held FAMU to 39 percent shooting for the game. Terrell Miller, Jr., scored 17 points including the first six of the game, while Ja Morant was one assist from a double-double with nine to go with 12 points. Anthony Smith had a productive 15 minutes and scored nine point, grabbed seven rebounds, swatted a pair of shots and posted a steal.
The Racers take next week off to concentrate on fall semester final exams before hitting the road for a pair of games. MSU plays (Dec. 9) at Illinois State and (Dec. 12) at Saint Louis.
Leading 25-19 at the 7:22 mark, the Racers hit the Rattlers with a 12-0 run to lead 37-19 with 2:20 left in the half. When Morant hit a 3-pointer with 2:02 left, the Racers had a 40-21 lead. After starting the game three of their first 11 shots, the Racers finished the half 14-of-24.
The Racers started the second half with the Morant and Buchanan show. Morant hit him on an alley-oop. Then they each nailed a 3-point shot to put MSU in front 52-31 17:12 left to play.
MSU's largest lead came with 5:46 remaining at 74-48.
LIPSCOMB 95, TENNESSEE STATE 86 (OT)
NASHVILLE - Playing its second overtime game of the season, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team was handed a 95-86 loss by Lipscomb on Saturday night at the Gentry Center.
TSU (4-3) forced overtime when Delano Spencer finished a layup with 18.4 seconds left to knot the score at 77-77, and the defense came up with a stop on Lipscomb’s last possession of regulation.
The Bisons (5-3) scored the first six points in the extra period and outscored the Tigers by an 18-9 margin in the five-minute overtime period.
A trio of Tigers had career nights on the offensive end led by Christian Mekowulu with a career-high 26 points to go with 15 rebounds. For Mekowulu, it was his second-consecutive double-double. Spencer also delivered 26 points, while Kamar McKnight added 17 off the bench.