SATURDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 80, @SIUE 73
@Eastern Illinois 86, Southeast Missouri 80 (OT)
@Jacksonville State 63, Tennessee State 57
Morehead State 67, @Eastern Kentucky 62
@Murray State 102, Austin Peay 58
@Tennessee Tech 83, Belmont 70
UT MARTIN 80, SIUE 73
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Javier Martinez continued his dominant stretch of play this afternoon as the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad posted an 80-73 Ohio Valley Conference road victory at SIUE.
Martinez, who was named adidas OVC Player of the Week on Monday, collected his ninth double-double of the season with 23 points and 15 rebounds in 38 minutes of play. It was the fifth time this season that the senior from St. Croix Virgin Islands scored at least 20 points in a game for the Skyhawks, who improve to 18-10 (8-5 OVC).
Jacolby Mobley overcame a tough shooting night to score 21 points, making 13 of his 14 free throw attempts to go along with a career-high six assists. Jalen Jackson (11 points, four assists, career-high six steals) and Fatodd Lewis (10 points in 14 minutes) also scored in double-figures for UT Martin.
SIUE (5-22, 0-13 OVC) received a game-high 25 points out of Burak Eslik while Jalen Henry (16 points) and Keenan Simmons (10 points) also contributed to the Cougar attack.
SIUE scored the first six points of the game before Martinez accumulated seven points in a 60-second span for the Skyhawks, capped off with an old-fashioned three-point play at the 16:46 mark. A little under a minute later, Dante Bailey swished a trey from the left wing to even the score at 10-all.
Jackson knocked down a trifecta from the left wing at the 12:08 mark to provide UT Martin with its first lead of the contest at 17-16. Four more ties followed before the Skyhawks opened up a 29-25 advantage after a pair of Martinez free throws.
The lead would change hands four more times in the first half before UT Martin’s defense stepped up by not allowing SIUE to score a field goal over the final 3:09. As a result, the Skyhawks took a 39-36 lead into the break.
Martinez already reached a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds) in the opening half while SIUE was led by Eslik’s 10 points.
Martinez accounted for a pair of open layups in the first 52 seconds of the second half, extending UT Martin’s advantage out to 43-36. The Cougars closed within two points at the 14:11 mark but a Lewis left corner three-pointer and another Martinez layup pushed the Skyhawk lead back out to seven points.
UT Martin’s advantage remained at seven points after back-to-back takes to the hoop by Mobley. SIUE then pushed back to trim its deficit to one point (58-57) at the 8:21 mark but Mobley scored seven consecutive points for the Skyhawks to push UT Martin’s lead back out to six points.
The Skyhawks held a narrow 65-63 lead with 3:34 to go but Chandler Rowe came up with a pair of big plays down the stretch. The senior from Atlanta, Ga. dropped in a leaner while being fouled to give UT Martin a 71-67 lead with 1:37 remaining. A little under a minute later, Rowe converted a tough reverse layup on the Skyhawks’ next trip down the floor to essentially seal the win.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 86, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 80 (OT)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Three Eastern Illinois players posted double-doubles Saturday afternoon as the Panthers needed overtime to beat Southeast Missouri, 86-80, at Lantz Arena.
EIU honored the members of its senior class prior to the game as the Panthers improved to 13-13 overall, 5-8 in the OVC. SEMO fell to 12-16 overall, 7-6 in the OVC.
The game was the fifth overtime game for EIU this season with the Panthers now 2-3 in extra sessions with a pair of double overtime games. Tied at 71-71 each after regulation EIU jumped out to a four point lead on baskets by Muusa Dama and Montell Goodwin. SEMO tied the game at 75-75 on a Denzel Mahoney jumper with 2:40 to play.
EIU then put the game away with an 8-0 run with Dama scoring seven of the eight points as he finished with 14 points and 18 rebounds. Dama scored nine of his points in the overtime period. The junior added five blocked shots as he became the EIU single season record holder in blocked shots breaking the previous mark of 55 set by Eric Frankford in 1994-95. Dama now has 58 blocks this season to lead the OVC. SEMO cut the lead to six points two times in the final 41 seconds but EIU answered each time at the foul line.
Senior Demetrius McReynolds and Ray Crossland joined Dama with double-doubles for EIU. McReynolds just missed a triple-double with 11 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. Crossland had 15 points, 11 rebounds.
Goodwin had the hot hand in the first half for the Panthers as he helped the Panthers go on a 16-1 over a four and half minute stretch in the middle of the first half. Mahoney put SEMO up 15-11 with 14:40 to play in the first. Goodwin drained back-to-back 3-pointers and would score 11 of his game high 24 points during the run. EIU would extend its lead to as high as 12 points in the first half on a Dama jumper with 7:57 to play in the first that put EIU up 32-20.
A pair of 3-pointers by Tahj Eaddy and five points by Mahoney allowed SEMO to chip away at the Panthers first half lead and trail 42-41 at the half. Mahoney scored 16 of his 22 points in the first half for the Redhawks.
In the second half Eaddy hit his third 3-pointer of the game to give SEMO a 51-50 lead with 13:51. The two teams would trade the lead with EIU going in front by six points with 2:57 left in regulation on a McReynolds jumper that made it 68-62.
A Goodwin 3-pointer looked to seal the game for EIU with 56 seconds left as EIU led 71-66. Trey Kellum closed it to a one possession game with a dunk 12 seconds later and Jamaal Calvin tied the game at 71-71 with 25 seconds left in the game. Kellum had a double-double for the Redhawks finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds.
Terrell Lewis was the fifth EIU player in double figures with ten points. Antonius Cleveland finished with 14 points to give SEMO three double figure scorers.
EIU won the battle on the glass finishing with a 53-45 rebound advantage. The Panthers converted 16 offensive rebounds into 22 second chance points.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 63, TENNESSEE STATE 57
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - A 24-point performance from senior Greg Tucker led the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a 63-57 victory over Tennessee State Saturday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The win completed a two-game season sweep of the Tigers – a feat that the Gamecocks had never accomplished until Saturday. JSU's 86-79 on Jan. 21 in Nashville was the program's first Ohio Valley Conference victory at the Gentry Center over TSU.
For the second night in a row, Tucker led the Jacksonville State offense in points. The senior guard put up a team-best 14 points just two days prior against Belmont. It was his third 20-point game of the year.
Tucker began the day with the hot hand and helped Jacksonville State (16-12, 8-5 OVC) control the first half, 26-18. He was 3-for-5 from the field, hit two three-pointers and was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe in the opening half. He led JSU scorers with 13 first-half points.
Despite JSU leading the game for more than 34 minutes, Tennessee State (15-11, 6-7 OVC) rallied near the middle of the second half to take a brief lead. At the 6:12 mark, a three-pointer from Armani Chaney put the Tigers ahead 40-39. The basket capped off an 11-1 TSU run, but the advantage stuck for less than a minute.
Jacksonville State reclaimed the lead, 42-40, with a Malcolm Drumwright trey on the following possession. The Gamecocks soon pushed their lead back to 10 points – just two points shy of their largest lead of the evening.
Drumwright finished the game as the Gamecocks' second-leading scorer with 14 points. The junior guard registered double-digits after bucketing just five points in the first period. Tyrik Edwards rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10.
The Gamecocks return to Pete Mathews Coliseum next Saturday for a 7 p.m. matchup against Tennessee Tech. It is the final home game of the season for Jacksonville State, and it is senior day for JSU veterans Erik Durham and Greg Tucker.
MOREHEAD STATE 67, EASTERN KENTUCKY 62
RICHMOND, Ky. - Morehead State men's basketball (13-12, 9-3 Ohio Valley Conference) earned its ninth win in the past 11 games, defeating in-state rival Eastern Kentucky (10-17, 3-9 OVC) 67-62 on Saturday night in front of a boisterous crowd at Alumni Coliseum.
Xavier Moon once again led the way for the Eagles, notching 16 points, nine rebounds, and five assists in a full 40 minutes of action.
DeJuan Marrero followed closely behind with 14 points, six boards, and three steals over 27 minutes. Miguel Dicent, the only other Morehead State player not to come off the floor, logged 10 points, six assists, and four rebounds.
With 24-of-59 (.407) shooting from the Eagles and a 25-for-58 (.431) performance by the Colonels, both teams scored the ball at a relatively similar rate. However, Morehead State grabbed 46 rebounds to EKU's 27, winning the second chance battle, 12-2.
Eastern Kentucky scored the opening basket by way of a three-ball from freshman guard Asante Gist. The Colonels held an early lead for over eight minutes, but Morehead State ended the half with a 35-27 advantage that would not be relinquished.
Asante finished the contest with a game-high 20 points, while sophomore forward Nick Mayo poured in 17 points for Eastern Kentucky.
Coupled with an 80-54 win over the Colonels on Jan. 21, Saturday's victory marked Morehead State's first sweep of an opponent this season. The Eagles move to 4-2 in conference road games, with a trip to Nashville, Tenn. on the horizon.
MURRAY STATE 102, AUSTIN PEAY 58
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers scored 57 points in the first half on their way to a 102-58 victory over the Austin Peay Governors Saturday at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
The win made the Racers (13-13) 7-5 in the OVC and tied them for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division with UT Martin (8-5) in the loss column.
The Racers' 44-point win is the most lopsided in series history with APSU, topping the 87-46 win (41 points) in 1949 which was played at Murray State's Carr Health Building.
Terrell Miller paced six Racers in double-figure scoring with 22 points, while Damarcus Croaker, Gee McGhee and Jalen Dupree each scored 14 and Jonathan Stark 13 points. Gilbert Thomas added 12 points.
MSU got a great contribution from their bench with 45 points. Thomas and Dupree each scored new career highs at MSU in the win.
The game was 7-7 coming out of the first media timeout when MSU hit for an 8-0 run on two 3-pointers from Miller for a 16-8 lead with 12:40 in the half.
Leading 43-20, the Racers blew the game wide open with a Stark 3-pointer and a couple of run-out dunks by Thomas. It was 55-26 with under a minute in the half.
MSU led 57-26 at intermission marking their sixth half this season of 50 or more points.
The Racers shot 58 percent (22-of-38) in the first half and hit 5-of-9 from the 3-point line for 55 percent.
MSU's lead grew to 70-37 in the first four minutes of the half and then to 100-52 with 4:25 remaining.
The Racers shot 61 percent for the game (41-of-67) and held the Govs to 37 percent (20-of-54).
MSU had a dominant day on the boards in winning the rebound stat 43-21.
TENNESSEE TECH 83, BELMONT 70
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Kajon Mack had career highs in points (24) and rebounds (12) as Tennessee Tech dropped Belmont 83-70 on Saturday night to give the Bruins their only Ohio Valley Conference blemish this season.
Mack was 8 of 11 from the floor. Curtis Phillips added a career-best 19 points and Stephaun Adams had a career-high 11 for Tennessee Tech (11-17, 7-6).
Belmont (18-5, 12-1), which had won 14 consecutive games, last led at the 11:06 mark of the second half. Aleksa Jugovic drilled a 3-pointer to take a 50-48 lead. Mack made five straight for a 55-48 advantage.
Belmont's Evan Bradds, who finished with 16 points, hit a jumper to close to 72-63 with 2:37 remaining. The Golden Eagles stretched the lead back to double digits and coasted home.
Tech was 27 of 53 (51 percent) from the floor, while holding Belmont to 23-of-61 (38 percent) shooting.
Nick Smith added 13 points for the Bruins.