THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 68, Jacksonville State 65
@Southeast Missouri 82, Murray State 69
@UT Martin 76, Austin Peay 72
@Morehead State 73, Tennessee Tech 68
EASTERN KENTUCKY 68, JACKSONVILLE STATE 65
RICHMOND, Ky. - Sophomore Nick Mayo had 22 points and nine rebounds to lead the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team past visiting Jacksonville State, 68-65, on Thursday night at McBrayer Arena.
Jacksonville State (16-14, 8-7 OVC) led by as many as 11 points in the second half, as Malcolm Drumwright buried a three-pointer to make it 44-33 with 14:57 remaining in the game.
However, EKU (11-19, 4-11 OVC) stormed back, using a 13-2 run to tie it up, 46-46, when Mayo converted a three-point play with 10:33 on the clock.
The Gamecocks made another bid to put the game away by stretching their lead back to six, 56-50, following a jumper by Christian Cunningham. But the Colonels kept clawing back.
A three-pointer in the corner by senior Isaac McGlone tied it, 59-59, with 4:41 showing. Less than a minute later, freshman Asante Gist found Mayo on the break for a thunderous dunk that ignited the McBrayer crowd and gave EKU the lead for good, 61-59.
With Eastern up by two, 67-65, and 11 seconds remaining, Gist missed two free throws that would have iced the game. However, junior Zach Charles blocked JSU’s potential game-tying layup attempt on the other end. Mayo retrieved the rebound, was fouled, and sank one free throw seal it.
Mayo scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half. The 6-9 forward from Maine is now only six points shy of 1,000 for his career. He would be the first EKU player ever to reach 1,000 career points as a sophomore.
Gist added 16 points and matched a career-high with six assists. He also grabbed three rebounds and came up with two steals. McGlone contributed 13 points and two assists in the win.
Charles had only two points, but delivered six rebounds and a career-best five blocks, including the game-sealer in the waning seconds.
EKU won the turnover battle, 13-9, and stifled JSU to 36 percent (23-of-64) shooting from the field. The Colonels, meanwhile, shot 48 percent (21-of-44) from the floor.
JSU’s Greg Tucker led all players in the game with 24 points, while Cunningham chipped in 14 points and eight boards.
Eastern maintained a narrow lead for most of the first half, but JSU closed the half on a 7-2 run and a pair of free throws by Tyrik Edwards sent the Gamecocks into the locker room at the break up by five, 29-24.
JSU carried that momentum into the second half, using an early 15-4 run to grab its largest lead of the game, 44-33, at the 14:57 mark of the second half.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 82, MURRAY STATE 69
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Six players scored double figures and Antonius Cleveland led the way with a double-double 13 points and 11 rebounds to send Southeast Missouri (14-16, 9-6) to an 82-69 victory over Murray State (14-15, 8-7) Thursday night in front of a raucous crowd of 5,225 at the Show Me Center.
With the win, SEMO moved into sole possession of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference West Division. The Redhawks also clinched a spot in next week's OVC Tournament. And, to top it all off, SEMO swept the Racers in a season for the first time in 74 years.
SEMO's entire starting five reached double figures in the scoring column for the first time this season and MSU had no answer. The Redhawks dished out 23 assists on 31 made baskets and that was another big key to their success.
In the 75th meeting between the heated rivals, the first half played out as expected. Both teams went back-and-forth to two ties and seven lead changes in the first half. After Terrell Miller dropped in a 3-pointer, SEMO broke a 24-24 tie with a 14-4 run to take a 38-28 lead. Tahj Eaddy buried a 3-pointer on the front and back end of that surge which ended at the 2:34 mark. Cleveland threw down a one-handed dunk off a missed jumper by Eaddy to give SEMO a 40-28 advantage before the Redhawks headed into the locker room ahead, 40-33.
SEMO shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and scored 18 of its points from 3-point range.
The Redhawks kept pouring it on in the second half, where they shot a red-hot 65.2 percent on 15-of-23 makes.
At one time, Jonathan Stark's jumper sliced SEMO's lead to 43-39 with 15:55 left to play, but that was as close as the Racers would get. SEMO did not let its lead dip below double-digits for the final 6:10 of the game and led by as many as 16 when Denzel Mahoney knocked down a jumper to make it 78-62 at the 2:38 mark.
Cleveland grabbed his team-high 10th career double-double and third this season. He also dished out a career-high seven assists in 34 minutes. Mahoney led all SEMO scorers with 14 points, while Eaddy and Jamaal Calvin each chipped in 13, Trey Kellum added 10 points and seven boards, and Jaylen Benton dropped in 10 off the bench.
SEMO shot 56.4 percent (31-of-55) and drained 12 three-pointers for the night.
Bryce Jones led MSU with 18 points and Stark and Terrell Miller turned in 17 apiece. Gee Mcghee scored 10 for the Racers, as well.
UT MARTIN 76, AUSTIN PEAY 72
MARTIN, Tenn. - For the sixth time this season, the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team overcame a double-digit deficit to post a victory, chalking up a 76-72 win over Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
With the win, the Skyhawks (19-11) remain tied with Southeast Missouri at the top of the OVC West standings with a 9-6 league mark. In order to win the OVC West and receive the league’s No. 2 seed in next week’s tournament, UT Martin must win its regular season finale against Murray State to go along with a Southeast Missouri loss to Austin Peay on Saturday. Tonight’s victory also officially sealed a spot in the eight-team OVC Tournament, which will take place on March 1-4 at Municipal Auditorium in Nashville.
The Skyhawks trailed by 10 points with 13:34 left to play tonight but made all the winning plays down the stretch. Mobley tossed in 16 of his game-high 28 points from that point forward, helping carry UT Martin to the finish line in its sixth straight home triumph.
Javier Martinez was responsible for his sixth straight double-double this evening, posting 18 points (on 8-of-11 shooting) and 15 rebounds. It was the 11th double-double of the season for the senior out of St. Croix, Virgin Islands, nine of which have occurred in OVC play.
Kedar Edwards just missed a double-double with 12 points, nine rebounds while Matthew Butler collected 11 points and a game-high six assists for the Skyhawks, who hauled in 23 offensive rebounds on their way to winning the rebounding battle by a 45-27 margin.
Austin Peay (10-19, 6-9 OVC) placed three players in double-figures scoring, led by Josh Robinson’s 21 points. John Murry and Jared Savage scored 18 and 12 points, respectively, for the Governors, who held a 40-36 halftime advantage.
Mobley got the Skyhawks going early, pumping in the game’s first four points to give UT Martin the early lead. A pair of Martinez free throws at the 16:45 mark resulted in an 8-2 Skyhawk advantage.
Austin Peay came back to even the score at 10-all but Edwards secured back-to-back buckets in the paint to push UT Martin’s lead back out to six points. The Governors answered with a 13-1 run to take their first advantage of the contest, leading by a 25-19 margin with 7:34 to go in the first half.
Butler canned a jumper at the 4:35 mark to tilt the score back in favor of the Skyhawks but Austin Peay claimed a four-point lead at the break.
Martinez already reached a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) in the opening half for UT Martin while Murry (12 points) and Savage (10 points) guided the Governors.
The Skyhawks tied the contest at 40-all and 42-all within the first two minutes of the second half but Austin Peay used a 9-0 run to create some separation. The Governor advantage expanded to 10 points after a Robinson three-pointer at the 13:34 mark made the score 56-46.
Mobley then ignited UT Martin’s comeback, scoring an old-fashioned three-point play coming out of the under-12 media timeout. A little under four minutes later, the senior out of Starkville, Miss. sank a three-pointer to pull the Skyhawks within four points at 62-58.
Layups by Chandler Rowe and Martinez resulted in a one-possession game before Mobley dialed up another trifecta to give UT Martin a 67-66 lead with 3:31 to go. Following an Austin Peay free throw, Mobley knocked down another triple to break a 67-67 tie.
Rowe made the score 72-67 after a strong take to the hoop with 1:08 remaining. The Governors scored on their next trip down the floor before Edwards came away with a steal and coast-to-coast dunk to pad the Skyhawk lead to five points. Mobley added two more free throws with seven seconds left to seal the win.
MOREHEAD STATE 73, TENNESSEE TECH 68
MOREHEAD, Ky. - In the penultimate game of the regular season, Morehead State men's basketball (14-14, 10-5 Ohio Valley Conference) knocked off Tennessee Tech (12-18, 8-7 OVC) 73-68 on Thursday night at Johnson Arena.
Six Eagles scored in double-figures, highlighted by junior guard Miguel Dicent. The 6-foot-3 native of the Dominican Republic landed 13 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, one block, and one assist in a game-high 38 minutes.
Morehead State ended the first half shooting 10-of-24 (.417) from the floor, including 5-of-8 (.625) from three-point range. Senior guard Xavier Moon struggled through the opening 20 minutes, however, clanking all four of his attempts from the field.
Moon turned in a prolific second half performance, though, finishing with a team-best 14 total points. Moon's 2-of-2 attempts from long range contributed to an 8-for-14 (.571) showing by the Eagles from beyond the arc. MSU ended the game shooting 25-of-51 (.490) overall as a team.
Forward Treshaad Williams logged 11 points and three boards, while Lamontray Harris, Ronnye Beamon, and Ty'Quan Bitting added 10 points each. Harris and Beamon combined for 11 rebounds, notching four blocks and two steals, respectively.
Morehead State held Tennessee Tech to 25-of-67 (.373) shooting, allowing just 5-of-21 (.238) baskets from three-point land. The Eagles dished out 15 assists, besting TTU's total of four.