FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 79, Gardner-Webb 78 (Asheville, N.C.)
@#10 Kentucky 77,
Tennessee State 62
@Tennessee Tech 79, ULM 73
EASTERN ILLINOIS 79, GARDNER-WEBB 78
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - In a game that had 17 lead changes the two most important came in the final nine seconds as Eastern Illinois picked up a 79-78 win over Gardner-Webb in the opening game of the visitcurrituckOBX.com Battle in the Blue Ridge in Asheville, N.C.
EIU improved to 2-2 on the season. GWU fell to 1-4 on the season.
EIU held a 77-76 lead with 32.2 seconds remaining and GWU forced a turnover in the paint. David Efianayi drove the lane for a lay-up with nine seconds remaining to give GWU a 78-77 lead. Efianayi had 20 points to lead the Bulldogs.
After the teams used a combined four timeouts, Rade Kukobat was fouled setting a screen on the inbounds play for EIU. The junior stepped to the line and sank both free throws with 2.4 seconds remaining. EIU played protection defense on the GWU inbounds to win the game.
EIU jumped out to a seven point lead in the second half with a pair of 3-pointers by Kashawn Charles that put EIU up 51-44. EIU finished the game 12-of-26 from 3-point range for 46 percent. The Panthers shot 51 percent from the field for the game.
Efianayi rallied GWU back and Justin Jenkins 3-pointer with 9:10 to play gave the Bulldogs a 58-56 lead. The two teams traded the lead back and forth down the stretch. Mack Smith had 11 straight points for EIU as he finished with 13, one of four Panthers in double figures.
Gardner-Webb led by as many as ten points with just over seven minutes to play in the first half as GWU went on a 13-0 run. Jose Perez dropped in a pair of 3-pointers during the run as he finished the game with 15 points.
EIU battled back behind the hot first half shooting of Josiah Wallace. Wallace had 16 first half points hitting three straight 3-pointers that trimmed GWU’s lead to 29-28 with 5:43 to play in the first half.
Lucas Jones 3-pointer with a minute left to play to give the Panthers at 37-36 lead. GWU closed out the half to hold the lead at the half 38-37. GWU shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and 53 percent for the game.
Wallace led all scorers with 22 points. Kukobat had 12 and Charles 11 for EIU. Kukobat had eight rebounds for EIU as the Panthers finished with a 35-23 advantage on the glass including 11 offensive rebounds.
Nate Johnson added ten points and six rebounds for GWU.
#10 KENTUCKY 77, TENNESSEE STATE 62
LEXINGTON, Ky. - In a Friday night trip to Rupp Arena, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team fought through a great first half before falling to #10 Kentucky 77-62. The game marks head coach Brian “Penny” Collins’ first against a high-major.
Ole Miss transfer Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey regained his spot as TSU’s scoring leader finishing the night with 18 points – 16 of which were scored in the second half. Emmanuel Egbuta also had a high scoring night, shooting 4-of-10 from the floor and hitting 5-of-7 from the free throw line. The Bronx native added six rebounds and led TSU in steals with two.
TSU led the Wildcats for 8:45 of the first half, holding them to 0-5 from three-point range for the first 11 minutes. Kentucky led Big Blue at the half, 35-27.
Closing the scoring gap that Kentucky increased to as much as 20, TSU finished the night 15 behind the Cats.
TENNESSEE TECH 79, ULM 73
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A dominant showing on the glass, a renewed effort in taking care of the basketball and strong performance shooting ball all led the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to its first victory of the 2018-19 campaign Friday evening, a 79-73 decision over visiting ULM.
The Golden Eagles (1-5) overcame a 10-point, first-half deficit to collect its first win of the season, holding on late down the stretch to down a Warhawk (2-3) squad that played Texas to within 10 points less than two weeks ago.
Tech outworked ULM on glass, grabbing a 14-6 advantage on the offensive boards and 45-28 advantage overall on the night. Entering the game averaging 21.0 turnovers per game, the Golden Eagles made just 12 in the contest while dishing out 12 assists.
The TTU defense was out in full force early, limiting the Warhawks to 32.1 percent shooting from the field in the first half. Even with a stronger second half, ULM still couldn't overcome a feisty Tech defense, which held the team to just 37.5 percent from the floor in the game.
A key part to the rebounding effort were big men Courtney Alexander II and Micaiah Henry, who combined for 27 of the teams 45 boards. Alexander corralled a career-high 16, narrowly missing a double-double with eight points. He also dished out five assists. Henry snagged 11 boards while scoring 14 points on an efficient 6-of-7 shooting from the floor for his second double-double of the season.
On offense, guards Corey Tillery and Hunter Vick led the way, each dropping 20 points on hot nights. Tillery, who boasted a Tech career-high and was named the Special Olympics Player of the Game, sank 5-of-9 attempts from beyond the arc and finished 6-for-10 from the floor.
A redshirt freshman, Vick posted his second career 20-point effort on 8-of-12 shooting from the field. He made especially strong work of a turnaround, mid-range jumper that seemingly gave ULM fits throughout the night.
Also in double figures for the Golden Eagles was freshman Jr. Clay, who tallied 11 points and two assists in 22 minutes of action off the bench.
For the game, Tech shot 48.2 percent from the floor and 47.1 percent from 3-point range. The one red flag on the night was at the charity stripe, where the Golden Eagles hit on just 17-of-32 attempts for a 53.1 percent clip.
The win for the Golden Eagles comes after a three-game road trip that saw Tech play two top-15 teams.
The Golden Eagles trimmed a 10-point deficit with 3:20 to play in the first half to six at halftime. Tech then scored the first eight points of the second half, taking the lead and never surrendering it the rest of the night.