TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 102, Kentucky Christian 82
@Austin Peay 114, Oakland City 53
Pacific 74,
@SIUE 65
@Memphis 76,
Tennessee Tech 61
@Texas 71,
Eastern Illinois 59
@Saint Louis 75,
Southeast Missouri 65
@UT Martin 91, Cumberland 58
MOREHEAD STATE 102, KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN 82
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State men's basketball opened the 2018-19 season Tuesday with four players in double figures in the point column en route to a 102-82 victory over Kentucky Christian at Johnson Arena.
Sophomore forward Malek Green topped the offense with a career-best 18 points, while sophomore guard De'von Cooper also registered a career-best point output with 16. Green also helped the Eagles to a 48-24 rebounding edge with a team-best nine.
Junior guard Jordan Walker cashed in with with 13 markers, and senior point-man A.J. Hicks totaled 10 points to go along with a team-high six assists.
Green was 9-of-14 from the floor, while Cooper was 7-of-9. Off the bench, freshman forward Ja'cori Wilson notched nine points and six rebounds, while freshman forward Sasha Sukhanov corralled seven caroms in his collegiate debut. Sophomore forward James Baker also had a career-best day on the glass, securing eight.
MSU raced out to 8-0 lead before KCU got its first bucket. The Eagles shot 60 percent (26-of-43) in the opening 20 minutes to take a 61-41 lead.
The Knights kept the game within reach, including trailing just 32-28 with 8:17 left in the first period. But, a 20-9 run, sparked by a breakaway slam from Riddle, pushed the Eagles to a 52-37 cushion.
From the 16-minute mark of the final half until the final horn, the hosts maintained an advantage of between 16 and 22 points. Morehead State held a sizable advantage in points in the paint (64-28). The Eagles also grabbed 21 offensive boards, leading to 33 second-chance points.
Connor Maddox came off the bench for 22 points, including six triples, for the Knights. The Eagles finished the game shooting 54 percent.
AUSTIN PEAY 114, OAKLAND CITY 53
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Behind seven players in double figures and a lockdown second-half defensive performance, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team opened its 2018-19 campaign with a resounding 114-53 thumping of Oakland City in the Dunn Center.
Austin Peay dominated all facets of the game. After trading buckets early on, the Govs broke the game open on a 14-0 first-half run punctuated by a Dayton Gumm-to-Terry Taylor alley-oop. Over the final 2:05 of the half, a 14-2 Austin Peay burst took the Govs into the break up comfortably at 62-39.
For an Austin Peay team not—Gumm, Taylor and Zach Glotta excepted—well-known for their three-point prowess last year, the Govs did considerable damage beyond the arc in the first half. Glotta tied his career high with five threes, all in the first half, and was flanked by newcomer Jarrett Givens, who hit three off the bench as well. In fact, all nine of the Governors first-half three-pointers came from reserves—Glotta (five), Givens (three) and Ivan Cucak.
The Governors offensive prowess never waned in the second half, but the defense turned up to an incredible degree. Austin Peay held Oakland City to just 20.0 percent shooting from the floor over the final 20 minutes, including an 0-for-9 mark from beyond the arc, as a run-of-the-mill rout turned into a demolition the likes of which has rarely been seen on the Dunn Center floor. The 61-point margin of victory was the largest for the Govs since a 112-52 win against Fontbonne, Dec. 11, 2010.
PACIFIC 74, SIUE 65
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE staged a strong second-half comeback, but the University of Pacific fought off the Cougars 74-65 Tuesday in the season opener for both teams at the Vadalabene Center.
SIUE trailed by 23 points in the first half and 40-21 at half, but cut Pacific's lead to four points with less than two minutes remaining before the Tigers held on for the victory in the first meeting between the two teams.
Pacific built a 16-0 advantage before SIUE freshman Cameron Williams hit the Cougars' first basket with 14:33 to play in the first half. The Tigers led 40-17 late in the first half and by 19 at the break.
Then the Cougars rallied, thanks mainly to senior David McFarland. The 6-foot, 4-inch senior tallied 15 of his team-high 17 points in the second half. His four-point play early in the half ignited the Cougars, and he followed that with a trio of treys.
Daniel Kinchen's steal and basket with 1:56 to go narrowed Pacific's lead to 65-61, and the Cougars were within striking distance. Yet they could get no closer. The Tigers sank seven free throws in the closing 42.5 seconds to give third-year Head Coach Damon Stoudamire, a former NBA standout, an opening-game win. Lafayette Dorsey's 18 points led Pacific, a member of the West Coast Conference.
Brandon Jackson added 12 points and seven rebounds to the SIUE effort. Kinchen finished with 13 points, including three tthree-pointers. The Cougars made 22 of 56 shots, were 8 for 31 on three-pointers and made just 13 free throws. Pacific outrebounded them 43-25, but SIUE forced 22 turnovers, 10 more than the Cougars committed.
MEMPHIS 76, TENNESSEE TECH 61
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Ball security was the key to the game Tuesday night, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell on the road to Memphis in the 2018-19 season opener, 76-61 at the FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn.
Running a full-court press for much of the contest, the home-town Tigers (1-0) pressured the Golden Eagles (0-1) into 26 turnovers on the night, leading to their first win in the Penny Hardaway era in front of a crowd of over 15,000. Despite the tough night will ball control, Tech continued to battle despite seeing three players battle foul trouble.
A shining star on the night for the Golden Eagles was the play of junior Micaiah Henry, who turned in his first career double-double behind a career showing both on the glass and the scoreboard. The Tech big man was dominant inside the paint, putting up a career-high 16 points at the break.
Henry finished the night with a team-high 23 points on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and an impressive 7-for-11 effort from the charity stripe. The veteran center also hauled in a career-high and game-high 13 rebounds, including six on the offensive glass. He chipped in two blocks as well.
Making his long-awaited Golden Eagle debut after sitting out the 2017-18 campaign due to injury, Hunter Vick did not disappoint in his first collegiate action. The redshirt freshman tallied 10 points, six rebounds and three assists while playing a game-high 33 minutes.
Northwestern transfer Johnnie Vassar turned in eight points in limited action due to foul trouble while Courtney Alexander II snagged nine rebounds to go along with six points and team-high five assists.
Tech drew a healthy amount of fouls in the contest, heading to the free-throw line 29 times. The Golden Eagles converted 19 of the trips for a percentage of 65.5. TTU also only allowed 11 Memphis free throws on the night.
The Tigers' Kyvon Davenport led all scorers on the night with 30 points and added 10 rebounds for a double-double. Jeremiah Martin posted 18 points, the only other Tiger in double figures.
The Golden Eagles hung toe-to-toe with their in-state rivals early, sinking three of their first four field goals to earn an 8-6 lead in the opening three minutes. Memphis answered with three straight 3-pointers before the media break, taking advantage of a cold spell that would see Tech miss its next 10 attempts from the field.
In that span, the Tigers jumped ahead 24-10, essentially covering for the final 15-point decision. The lead inflated to as much as 19, but the Golden Eagles cut it to 11 in the second half. Both sides finished the second half with 30 points.
TEXAS 71, EASTERN ILLINOIS 59
AUSTIN, Texas - Texas used a 15-0 run late in the first half to break open a two-point game as the Longhorns beat Eastern Illinois, 71-59, in the season opener Tuesday night at the Frank Erwin Center.
Eastern Illinois and Texas traded the lead for the first 16 minute of the game with nine lead changes between the schools. EIU's biggest lead was at 20-16 on a basket by JaQualis Matlock.
The Panthers took the lead at 25-23 with 3:50 remaining in the first half on a Ben Harvey 3-pointer as the Panthers were 4-of-11 from 3-point range in the opening half.
Texas then went on a 15-0 run to open up a 38-28 halftime lead. Elijah Mitrou-Long had seven points in the run and handed two other assists during the run. EIU was able to snap a 3:49 scoring drought to end the opening half as Josiah Wallace drained a 3-pointer as time expired.
Texas opened the second half holding EIU without a basket for the first 90 seconds of the half while the Longhorns knocked down a couple of shots to create comfortable lead as Jericho Sims dunk gave Texas a 45-29 lead.
The Longhorns ended the game shooting 50 percent from the floor while holding EIU to 36 percent for the game.
Eastern Illinois closed the gap scoring the final six points with baskets by Rade Kukobat, Mack Smith and Shareef Smith. Kukobat finished with a team-high 12 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Mack Smith had 11 points.
Texas won the battle on the glass by a 35-34 margin with EIU collecting ten rebounds on the offensive glass. Cam Burrell had three offensive rebounds, four points and two blocks.
Matt Coleman finished with 13 points while Jaxson Hayes added 12 off the bench to lead Texas.
SAINT LOUIS 75, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 65
ST. LOUIS - Southeast Missouri (0-1) scored 41 points in a furious second half rally to give Preseason Atlantic 10 Conference favorite Saint Louis (1-0) a scare in a 75-65 season-opening loss Tuesday night at Chaifetz Arena.
SEMO trailed by as many as 22 points and was down, 40-26, at halftime before rallying to win the game's final 20 minutes.
The Redhawks heated up to shoot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field and outscored the Billikens, 41-35, in the second half.
Down, 65-53, with 1:35 remaining, Ledarrius Brewer cut SLU's lead to single digits when he buried a 3-pointer.
Jordan Goodwin regained a 10-point advantage (66-56) for the Billikens when he split two free throws 13 seconds later. SLU would then miss six free throws in the final 1:22.
Skyler Hogan scored a layup off an assist from Alex Caldwell to make it a two-possession game at 68-62 with under a minute to go.
After Javon Bess split a pair of free throws, Gabe McGlothan made a jumper to bring the Redhawks to within five, 69-64, with 45 seconds on the clock.
Seven seconds later, Caldwell was at the free throw line for a two-shot foul and made 1-of-2 attempts as SEMO remained behind by five (70-65).
SLU, however, managed to sink five of its final six free throws over the last 34 seconds to hang on.
In the first half, SEMO fell victim to a 12-2 run and went without a basket for a period of 3:22.
Tied, 5-5, early on, the Billikens scored 12 of the next 14 points to build a 17-7 advantage. Tremaine Isabell scored on a fast break off a SEMO turnover to cap the surge with 13:29 remaining.
Brewer knocked down a 3-pointer for SEMO's first field goal in over five minutes cutting SLU's lead to single digits (19-10). Isaiah Gable then buried a 3-pointer of his own to cut the lead to nine again before SLU outscored SEMO, 14-7, to take a 40-24 lead at the intermissioin.
Brewer and Caldwell led the Redhawks with 18 and 14 points, respectively. Brewer topped SEMO with seven boards. Caldwell added a team-high four assists.
Isaiah Gable, Sage Tolbert and Skyler Hogan each made their first career starts for the Redhawks tonight. Gable had six points, Tolbert contributed seven points and five rebounds, and Hogan scored four points.
SLU put four players in double figures with Isabell and Bess each scoring 18. D.J. Foreman followed with 12 and Goodwin pitched in 11. Hasahn French pulled down a game high 12 rebounds.
The Billikens shot just 16 percent (4-of-25) from 3-point range and missed 14 free throws, including 13 in the second half.
SEMO opened a season on the road for the 12th time in 13 years and dropped to 10-18 all-time in season-opening games as an NCAA Division I program.
UT MARTIN 91, CUMBERLAND 58
MARTIN, Tenn. - A balanced offensive scoring attack highlighted the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball season opener, as the Skyhawks sped past Cumberland for a 91-58 victory at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
UT Martin won its first season opener for the first time since 2010 while improving to 55-0 all-time against non-Division I teams since the Skyhawks joined the Division I ranks in 1992.
Five UT Martin players scored in double-figures, led by Delfincko Bogan's 17 points (on 7-of-9 shooting) off the bench. Kevin Little chipped in 16 points as Derek Hawthorne, Jr. provided 14 points and a game-high five assists. Fatodd Lewis tallied 14 points and a team-best seven rebounds while Parrish Hewitt tacked on 12 points to round out the double-digit scorers for the Skyhawks, who also received a game-high 10 rebounds out of Jailen Gill.
As a team, UT Martin shot 50.8 percent (30-of-59) while sinking 10 three-pointers. The Skyhawks limited the visiting Phoenix to 34.5 percent shooting (20-of-58), including a 4-for-18 effort from beyond the three-point line. UT Martin also forced Cumberland into 22 turnovers while the Skyhawks bench held a 39-19 scoring advantage.
Cumberland (4-0) was led by a game-high 19 points from Shamari Denson while Ty Sean Powell compiled 11 points and eight rebounds. The Phoenix led by five points in the early stages of the first half before UT Martin seized control and led for 34:34 of clock time.
UT Martin used an 11-0 run midway through the first half to take a lead and never look back. A Jeremy Joyner layup at the 4:23 mark gave the Skyhawks their first double-digit lead of the contest (28-17) as they cruised to a 42-27 advantage at the break. Bogan's 10 points led UT Martin in the first 20 minutes.
The Skyhawks began the second half on a 13-3 run and Cumberland would not get any closer than 16 points the rest of the way. UT Martin's biggest lead of the night (33 points) came after Little shifted through the paint for a driving layup with 35 seconds remaining in the contest.