SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Jacksonville State 75, Louisiana-Monroe 56
@Central Michigan 74,
Tennessee Tech 69
Murray State 78, @Illinois State 72
Southeast Missouri 75, @Southern Illinois 69
JACKSONVILLE STATE 75, LOUISIANA-MONROE 56
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - After trailing by two at the half, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team responded by holding the University of Louisiana at Monroe to 21 second-half points in route to a 75-56 win Saturday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Junior Christian Cunningham posted a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds, and senior Malcolm Drumwright recorded his sixth double-digit scoring contest of the season with a team-best 18 points in the 19-point victory.
The Gamecocks and Warhawks went toe-to-toe in the first half. At the end of the period, both had 13 field goals and four successful free goals, but ULM's five 3-pointers compared to Jacksonville State's three gave the visitors a 35-33 halftime advantage.
Head coach Ray Harper called for some adjustments at the half, and the effect was felt immediately. After scoring just four points in the first, junior Jamall Gregory scored seven of the Gamecocks' next 13 points to blow the contest open at the start of the second period.
Just before the under-12 media timeout, the JSU defense had forced seven ULM turnovers, kept the Warhawks from sinking a field goal in over three minutes and held them to 2-for-10 shooting from the floor.
In total, ULM turned the ball over 13 times, and nine of those came in the second half. The JSU defense also blocked 10 shots - the second most recorded in a game this season behind the Gamecocks' 11 against Alabama State on Nov. 30.
Following the half opening 13-point run, Jacksonville State's lead hit a game-high 19 at the 4:30 mark. ULM and JSU traded baskets for the final 4:51, but Jacksonville native Des Curry got the last word with a jumper in the closing seconds to push the Gamecocks' lead back to 19 when the final horn sounded.
Including Drumwright and Cunningham, four JSU scorers put up double-digit points. Junior Jamall Gregory was 6-of-9 with a free throw for 14 points, and junior Marlon Hunter finished with 12.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN 74, TENNESSEE TECH 69
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - A slugfest ultimately decided at the free throw line, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (7-4) fell on the road against Central Michigan Saturday afternoon, 74-69.
A contest that never featured a double-digit lead and a total of six lead changes, the Golden Eagles struggled to draw foul calls throughout the game, despite posting an advantage of 34-36 in the paint.
Tech attempted just 14 shots at the charity stripe all day, and its struggles were noted, hitting just 50 percent. Central Michigan, on the other hand, attempted 24 freebies on its home floor, sinking 19 for an almost 80 percent clip.
The Golden Eagles won the turnover battle, making just eight to the Chippewas' 13, and outscored CMU 16-11 off those turnovers.
In the first half, Tech built as big as an eight-point lead, hitting 44 percent from the field and 50 percent from downtown. With the whistle seemingly swallowed in the second half, the Golden Eagles found scoring down low a slight bit more difficult, hitting at just 37.5 percent from the field. Tech also converted just 3-of-11 (27.3 percent) from deep in the second half.
Central Michigan found itself as much as an eight-point lead with 10 minutes to play in the second half, but the Golden Eagles always had an answer, trimming the deficit to as little as one with 28 seconds to play thanks to a Mason Ramsey hook shot in the paint.
CMU's Cecil Williams converted a 3-point play with 13 seconds to go for the 4-point lead. Tech then got two decent looks at the basket from downtown, but neither attempt would go down as the Chippewas held on for the 74-69 win.
Curtis Phillips Jr. led the Golden Eagles with 14 points. Ramsey finished just behind, scoring 13 points and narrowly missing a double-double with a season-high nine rebounds. Kajon Mack also just missed a double-double, tallying 12 points, nine boards and three assists. Aleksa Jugovic contributed 12 points as well.
Shawn Roundtree and Cecil Williams led all scorers with 17 points apiece for Central Michigan. David DiLeo added 14 points and Kevin McKay scored 10.
MURRAY STATE 78, ILLINOIS STATE 72
NORMAL, Ill. - The Murray State Racers won for the fifth-straight time Saturday with a 78-72 victory over Illinois State at Redbird Arena in Bloomington.
The Racers improved to 6-1 while the Redbirds fell to 4-6.
In a thrilling game, the Racers were led by Terrell Miller, Jr. with 25 points, while Shaq Buchanan added 16 and Ja Morant 15 to go with a team-high nine rebounds. Jonathan Stark scored 13 points as he and Morant combined for 12 assists.
Leading by as many as 13 with 13:28 remaining, the Racers withstood a furious ISU rally that eventually cut the lead to 70-68 with 2:37 left. The game turned in the final minute when the MSU defense got three-straight stops on ISU and iced the game on a lob score from Miller to Jalen Dupree and a pair of Morant free throws with :20 seconds on the clock.
In the first half, the Racers started slow, fell behind 7-0, and trailed again 21-13 with 11 minutes before the half. The Racers rallied after a pair of threes from Stark and a bucket by Miller for their first lead at 22-21 with 6:45 left. The Racers hit five shots in a row, four were 3-point baskets and ended the half with a 25-6 run to lead the Redbirds 36-27 at the intermission.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 75, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 69
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Denzel Mahoney scored a game-high 18 points and knocked down three 3-pointers to lead Southeast Missouri (6-4) to a big 75-69 road win over rival Southern Illinois (4-4) Saturday night at SIU Arena.
Mahoney, one of four starters in double figures, led SEMO to its first win in Carbondale during its NCAA Division I era. The Redhawks also picked up their fourth win in a row matching their longest winning streak under head coach Rick Ray.
SEMO dominated the first half on both ends of the court. The Redhawks forced 11 turnovers and heated up to shoot 52 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range in the game's opening 20 minutes.
Ahead, 14-11, with 12:14 left to play, SEMO used an 8-0 run to extend its lead to double figures. Ledarrius Brewer buried a 3-pointer, then got a steal which led to a Daniel Simmons layup. Isaiah Gable followed with a trey pushing the Redhawks lead to 22-11at the 9:43 mark.
SEMO then strung together a 15-4 surge to widen its lead to 37-15. Mahoney keyed the run with eight of his 14 first-half points as the Redhawks headed into the locker room with a 39-25 lead.
The Redhawks drained 6-of-12 three-pointers to SIU's cold 2-of-13. The Salukis missed 11 of their first 12 threes of the game.
SIU outscored SEMO, 44-36, in the second half and turned things around from long range where it made 9-of-15 threes for 60 percent.
Armon Fletcher's dunk cut the Redhawks lead to 59-54 with 5:52 remaining, but Mahoney answered with a huge 3-pointer on SEMO's next possession. Simmons then nailed a three of his own to grab SEMO an 11-point advantage at the 3:53 mark. The Redhawks then withstood a late 14-4 run in the final minutes en route to pinning down their first win at SIU Arena since Dec. 4, 1982.
Mahoney shot 6-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Milos Vranes followed with 14 points and six rebounds. Vranes made 4-of-7 field goals and 2-of-3 from downtown. Brewer added 13 points, while Simmons pitched in 12 and grabbed six boards. Dondre Duffus also had eight points, five rebounds and three steals in 17 minutes off the bench.
Defensively, the Redhawks held SIU's top scorer, Kavion Pippen, to just six points. Pippen played only 18 minutes and did not score in the entire second half. Aaron Cook led the Salukis with 18 points.