SATURDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 54, @Eastern Kentucky 53
SIUE 70, @Morehead State 65
Tennessee Tech 87, @Tennessee State 81 (OT)
Jacksonville State 64, @Belmont 60
@Murray State 82, UT Martin 68
@Austin Peay 76, Southeast Missouri 71
EASTERN ILLINOIS 54, EASTERN KENTUCKY 53
RICHMOND, Ky. - After dropping its first nine road games of the season Eastern Illinois has now won back-to-back road games after the Panthers escaped with a 54-53 win on Saturday afternoon at Eastern Kentucky.
EIU improved to 6-9 on the year, 2-2 in the OVC while Eastern Kentucky fell to 6-11, 0-4 in the OVC.
Dedric Boyd cut what had at one time been a 15 point second lead by Eastern Illinois down to the one point margin, 54-53, with a 12-foot jumper with 32 seconds remaining.
EIU then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 24 second remaining that could have increased the Panthers lead. Ray Crossland then picked up a steal on the next EKU possession. Crossland was fouled but missed the front end of his one-and-one giving EKU one final shot at the basket with 7.1 seconds left.
On the missed free throw EIU pressed the ball as it came up the court and the Colonels had a hurried shot at the buzzer fall short. EIU held the Colonels to 33 percent shooting in the game.
Muusa Dama scored ten of his 18 points in the first half as EIU was able to take a 29-19 lead. Dama pulled down 13 rebounds to post his tenth career double-double. EIU finished the night with a 40-36 rebound margin as Jajuan Starks added nine rebounds. Aboubabar Diallo and Montell Goodwin each had six rebounds.
EIU lead by 15 points on four different occasions in the second half, the last coming on a Goodwin jumper with 11:09 to play. Goodwin had 15 points but was limited to just 1-of-6 on 3-point shooting. EIU was 4-of-14 from behind the arc with Mack Smith knocking down a pair early in the game.
EKU was able to get back in the game following Goodwin's jumper as the Colonels went on a 10-3 run. DeAndre Dishman scored five points for the Colonels in the run as he was one of two EKU players with 12 points. Nick Mayo added 12 points with nine coming in the second half.
SIUE 70, MOREHEAD STATE 65
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Four SIUE players scored in double figures Saturday to lead SIUE men's basketball to its first-ever win at Morehead State. The Cougars upended the Eagles 70-65 at Johnson Arena.
Coupled with Thursday's win at Eastern Kentucky, it is the first time SIUE has swept a two-game Ohio Valley Conference road trip. The Cougars improved to 2-2 in the OVC and 6-9 overall. The win also is the fourth road win of the year for the Cougars, marking a new high for road wins since the move to Division I.
Jalen Henry's fourth double-double of the season of 16 points and 11 rebounds paced the Cougars. Jaylen McCoy followed with 14 points. David McFarland scored 12 points. Daniel Kinchen added 10 points and a game and a career-high eight assists. Christian Ellis added four points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Bradon Jackson scored six points.
The 65 points allowed by the Cougars is a season low.
SIUE buried eight first-half three-pointers on its way to a 14-point lead at the break. The lead is the largest halftime lead this year for the Cougars.
The Cougars pushed their lead to 16 points on a Keenan Simmons jumper just 24 seconds into the second half.
A 12-2 run capped off by a three-pointer from Djimon Henson with 14:16 left trimmed SIUE's lead to six at 45-39. The Cougars extended the lead to double digits several more times, only to have the Eagles answer.
SIUE knocked down six of eight free throw attempts to lead 70-62 with 10 seconds to play. Morehead State's A.J. Hicks ran the floor and nailed a three from the left wing with four seconds to play for the 70-65 final.
Lamontray Harris scored 16 points to lead Morehead State. Hicks and Jordan Walker each scored 14 points. Henson added 11 points.
TENNESSEE TECH 87, TENNESSEE STATE 81 (OT)
NASHVILLE - For the second time in as many years, it took an extra five minutes to determine the outcome between the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team and the Tigers of Tennessee State in the Gentry Center. And for the second straight year, the Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-1) came out on top, defeating the Tigers (6-9, 1-3) in overtime, 87-81.
A back-and-forth affair from tip, the two in-state rivals battled just like their all-time series record of 32-32 would indicate they would. The Tigers shot out of the gate early, starting the contest on a 9-0 run for their largest lead of the game.
The Golden Eagles immediately responded with back-to-back threes and kept the game close for the remainder of the first half, despite being held without a field goal for nearly eight minutes. Instead, Tech hit 8-of-12 attempts from the charity stripe to stay within striking distance. A triple from senior guard Aleksa Jugovic just before the break made it a 33-30 lead for the Tigers.
After Tennessee State used a layup to go up by five to start the second half, senior forward Curtis Phillips Jr. and graduate guard Shaq Calhoun took over.
Phillips scored eight straight points to swing the lead in favor of the Golden Eagles for the first time. Calhoun then buried back-to-back shots from beyond the arc. Another three by senior Mason Ramseyand a fast-break layup from Phillips moved the Tech advantage to 10 with just under 15 minutes to play.
A 3-pointer by Jugovic with 12 minutes to go gave Tech its largest lead of the game. The 13-point advantage came on the power of a 20-5 run by the Golden Eagles.
TSU fought back, using a run of their own, and an almost four-minute drought from the floor by the Golden Eagles, to tie the game with 7:49 to play. Neither side gathered more than a three-point advantage the rest of the half.
The Tigers hits two free throws with 30 seconds to play, moving in front 73-70 with Ramsey on the bench with five fouls and both Micaiah Henry and Courtney Alexander II both in foul trouble as well. The Golden Eagles worked the ball around until Sparta native Cade Crosland found an open Calhoun in the corner for the game-tying trey.
In the overtime period, Jugovic carried the brunt of the load, hitting two layups, including a crucial 3-point play the old-fashioned way that gave Tech the lead for good. He hit all three of his free throw attempts in the extra frame, scoring seven points to lift the Golden Eagles.
Phillips finished with a career-high 28 points while on 5-for-8 shooting from downtown. He also added seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. Calhoun scored a Golden Eagle career-high 23 points, knocking down six of his 12 attempts from beyond the arc. Jugovic chipped in 17 points, six rebounds and five assists. Alexander snagged 11 rebounds while adding eight points.
TSU's Delano Spencer and Christian Mekowulu each recorded 20 points to lead the Tigers. Darreon Reddick contributed 17.
The Golden Eagles moved to an impressive 7-1 all-time in overtime contests under the direction of head coach Steve Payne with the victory.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 64, BELMONT 60
NASHVILLE - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team handed preseason-favorite Belmont just its second ever home Ohio Valley Conference loss Saturday, upending the Bruins 64-60 at Curb Event Center.
Prior to Saturday's matchup, Belmont was 40-1 in home OVC games, falling in 2016 to Eastern Kentucky. The JSU win is the second in as many meetings with BU, following last year's semifinals victory in the OVC Championships at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium. It's the Gamecocks' first win at the Curb Center and just the second all-time road win over Belmont - dating back to Feb. 4, 2002 before the construction of the Bruins' home court.
Senior Malcolm Drumwright led the Gamecocks with 11 points, followed by nine each from freshman Cam Martin and junior Jason Burnell. Burnell also chipped in a career-best seven assists and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds.
The game went to the break tied 25-25 with the Gamecocks' best lead reaching just seven, but the contest was blown open by the 8:52 mark in the second. Jacksonville State used an 18-5 run over six minutes to take a 17-point advantage.
Martin, who played four scoreless minutes of the first half, was 3-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from 3-point range to score all nine of his points in the second half. The ninth was a free throw in the closing minutes of the contest. The Texas native also had two assists.
The Gamecocks' defense was strong in the first half, holding the Bruins to 36% shooting. JSU allowed just 10 of 28 shots to fall, and only three were from 3-point range.
Belmont committed 11 turnovers while Jacksonville State totaled five steals. Drumwright picked the pocket of the Bruins twice in the period, and Gregory, Burnell and Dunlap each had one steal.
In total, Jacksonville State shot 50% (27-for-54), while the defense held Belmont to 21-of-59 (35.6%) for the game. The Bruins' average coming into the game was 47.7% and averaged 11.5 3-pointers per game. Today, Belmont hit just seven from long range on 34 attempts.
MURRAY STATE 82, UT MARTIN 68
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers rolled to their fifth-straight win and to 4-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 82-68 win Saturday over the UT Martin Skyhawks at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
The Racers improved to 12-3 overall, while UTM fell to 6-11 and 1-3 in the OVC.
Jonathan Stark scored a game-high 22 points and became the 43rd Racer to reach 1,000 career points and tied the record of getting there in just 48 games.
Stark and the Racers showed the kind of offensive firepower that had them atop the OVC in scoring when they took a 31-25 halftime lead and blitzed UTM. Stark hit back-to-back 3-point baskets to give MSU a 44-32 lead with 16:16 left to play. With their first half shooting slump over, the Racers had a 20-4 run in a span of 5:13 in which they hit 6-of-8 from the field. The run was highlighted by a 3-pointer from Byron Hawkins and a steal and dunk by Shaq Buchanan. Stark hit his fifth 3-pointer of the second half with 7:09 left for a 72-44 Racer lead.
The Racers put five in double-figure scoring including Terrell Miller, Jr., with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Shaq Buchanan and Ja Morant each added 10 points.
The first half was slow for each team when each team shot 35 percent. The Racers ran away with it in the second half in shooting 62 percent on 18-of-29 from the field including 8-of-14 from the 3-point line. MSU’s previous 10 wins all included them winning the rebound battle, so tonight was their first win without it. It was close, but UTM held a 34-33 lead in rebounding at the end of the game. MSU had 17 assists on 29 field goals for an excellent percentage of .586.
AUSTIN PEAY 76, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 71
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Freshman Terry Taylor’s outstanding second-half performance helped Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team remain unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play with a 76-71 win against Southeast Missouri, Saturday, in the Dunn Center.
Taylor scored 24 of his game-high 29 points in the second half and Austin Peay (9-7, 4-0 OVC) now finds itself tied with Murray State as the only unbeaten teams remaining after two weeks of league play. Southeast Missouri falls to 7-10 (1-3 OVC).
The start was not what the Govs envisioned; Austin Peay missed its first four shots and committed four turnovers in the first 4:30 of the contest, trailing 11-2 just over five minutes in. Back-to-back runners in the lane from senior Tre’ Ivory provided Austin Peay some much-needed spark as they sought to find their footing in the game’s opening moments.
Once the Govs found their offense, they poured it on to the tune of a 16-2 run, highlighted by five points each from Averyl Ugba and Chris Porter-Bunton. Six of those came came via second-chance opportunities, which the Govs earned early and often—Austin Peay outrebounded SEMO 25-12 in the first half, including 11 offensive rebounds. Thanks to 10 points from Porter-Bunton and nine from Ugba, the Govs to a 36-27 lead into the break.
Southeast Missouri forged a comeback in the second half. After the Govs stretched the lead to 11 points, the Redhawks needed less than three minutes to reel off a 15-5 run and cut Austin Peay’s lead to a single point.
What followed was a see-saw battle over the final nine minutes of play, as the Govs and Redhawks traded buckets and stops. When Southeast Missouri’s leading scorer, Denzel Mahoney, scored his 24th point on a three-pointer with 1:19 to go, it was again a one-point game.
After a missed jumper by Porter-Bunton and a turnover on the other end, the Govs had the ball and looked to bleed the clock down to limit Southeast Missouri’s chances for a go-ahead bucket. With the shot clock winding down, Ivory launched a three that missed its mark but was corralled by freshman Terry Taylor, the last of his career- and team-season high 14 boards. He was immediately fouled and hit both free-throws to put the Govs up three points.
The Redhawks had one final chance, but Southeast Missouri guard Jonathan Dalton lost the ball out of bounds as he turned to head up the court. The Govs got the ball in to Taylor, who was fouled and hit two more free-throws to wrap up the win for Austin Peay.