SATURDAY'S SCORES
@IUPUI 71,
Eastern Illinois 65
@Bradley 68,
Southeast Missouri 57
@Lipscomb 86,
Tennessee State 79
Eastern Kentucky 81, @Chattanooga 78
Presbyterian 80,
@Tennessee Tech 65
@#14 Syracuse 84,
Morehead State 70
@Western Kentucky 86,
UT Martin 71
@Belmont 100, Illinois State 89
@Murray State 73, Wright State 54
Winthrop 94,
@SIUE 82
IUPUI 71, EASTERN ILLINOIS 65
INDIANAPOLIS - Last season Eastern Illinois made two free throws in the final seconds to beat IUPUI in Charleston. On Saturday it was IUPUI making seven of ten from the line in the final 36 seconds to hold off EIU, 71-65, at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.
Josiah Wallace capped a 6-0 EIU run that trimmed an eight point Jaguars lead down to 64-62 with 1:21 left in the game. EIU would then have two shots to tie the game just under the minute mark after Rade Kukobat pulled down a rebound on a IUPUI miss. The Panthers were unable to tie the game and had to foul over the final 36 seconds.
Nick Rogers made four of the free throws down the stretch for IPUI as he was 6-of-10 from the stripe finishing with nine points. Cameron Justice had 21 to lead IUPUI as the Jaguars improved to 1-1 on the season.
IUPUI opened the game on an 8-0 run with a pair of 3-pointers by Justice. EIU would respond and take the lead 11-9 on a Ben Harvey 3-pointer. Harvey scored 10 points off the bench as he was one of five Panthers to score in double figures.
Grant Weatherford answered Harvey’s bucket before Wallace knocked down a jumper to give EIU the lead for the final time at 13-12 with 9:44 to play in the first. Weatherford was 5-of-5 shooting for IUPUI finishing with 14 points. Wallace had 12 points for EIU.
A pair Rogers free throws just before half gave IUPUI a 35-31 lead at the half. IUPUI opened the second half with a 13-3 lead as they extended the lead to 48-34 on a Justice lay-up with 15:23 remaining.
EIU battled back to trim the lead to two points on the Wallace free throws but never got closer.
Kukobat had a team high 18 points with Shareef Smith scoring 13. Mack Smith had 12 points and eight rebounds. EIU shot 36 percent for the game as the Panthers fell to 0-2 on the year.
BRADLEY 68, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 57
PEORIA, Ill. - Southeast Missouri (0-2) fell to Missouri Valley Conference member Bradley (2-0), 68-57, in a Saturday matinee at Carver Arena.
Freshman Sage Tolbert led SEMO with 13 points and eight rebounds in his first double-digit performance as a Redhawk. Ledarrius Brewer followed with 11 points and eight boards.
SEMO shot just 31.6 percent (18-of-57) from the field and 17.4 percent (4-of-23) from 3-point range.
The Redhawks held a one-point lead with 5:05 remaining in the first half on a Mark Laros layup. BU countered with a 11-0 run to take a double-digit lead and later pulled ahead, 31-23, at the half.
SEMO managed to get within five points on two occasions in the second half, but that was as close as it would get. The Braves used another hefty run, this time 18-8, to build its biggest lead of the afternoon at 64-45 with 3:30 to go.
Luuk van Bree made a 3-pointer on two of the Braves' last three possessions during that surge.
After that, BU's lead didn't dip below double figures again.
Tolbert shot 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 at the free throw line in 28 minutes, while Brewer made three field goals and went a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe. Jonathan Dalton and Nygal Russell followed with nine and seven points, respectively.
Dwayne Lautier-Ogunleye led the Braves with a game-high 22 points, including 13 at the free throw line. Darrell Brown added 14 points and Elijah Childs grabbed 11 rebounds.
LIPSCOMB 86, TENNESSEE STATE 79
NASHVILLE - In a back-and-forth game that went down to the wire, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team battled to the end in an 86-79 road loss at reigning Atlantic Sun Conference Champion Lipscomb on Saturday at Allen Arena. The game was the season opener for the Tigers and the first game in Brian “Penny” Collins’ TSU head coaching career.
In his first game for TSU (0-1), Ole Miss transfer Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey exploded for a career-high 26 points, including 14 in the first half. Redshirt junior guard Kamar McKnight also had a career best with 19 points to go with 10 points from Jalen Duke.
TSU trailed throughout the first half, as Lipscomb (2-0) took a 41-40 halftime edge. The Tigers secured their first lead 1:31 into the second half on a three-point play from Fitzpatrick-Dorsey to spark a see-saw half.
The second half featured eight ties and eight lead changes with Lipscomb scoring the final five points of the game to pull away.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 81, CHATTANOOGA 78
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Senior Nick Mayo poured in a career-high 40 points to lead the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team to a come-from-behind 81-78 road win against Chattanooga on Saturday night at Mckenzie Arena.
It marked A.W. Hamilton’s first win as a Division-I head coach.
Mayo dropped 35 of his 40 points in the second-half comeback. He added 12 rebounds, giving him two double-doubles in as many games this season.
Mayo is the first Colonel to score 40 points in a game since Lavoris Jerry posted 41 versus Eastern Illinois in February of 2001.
With Mayo saddled with early foul trouble, Chattanooga (1-1) ran out to a 13-point lead in the first half when Kevin Easley knocked down a jumper to make it 37-24 with 5:53 on the clock.
A layup by freshman Jomaru Brown, two free throws from freshman Tre King and a jumper by sophomore Jacquess Hobbs in the final minutes of the first half helped trim the deficit to nine at the break, 45-36.
The Mocs continued to keep the Colonels (1-1) at bay early in the second half, going up by 11, 59-48, following a three-point play by Easley with 11:28 remaining in the game.
Hobbs cut the deficit to nine with a jumper on EKU’s ensuing possession.
Then, Mayo took over.
He scored EKU’s next 17 points. His three-pointer at the 7:26 mark gave the Colonels their first lead of the game, 65-63. His jumper at the 6:44 mark capped a 19-6 Colonel run.
Chattanooga retook the lead, 69-67, when Easley converted a layup with 4:50 on the clock, but that would be the Mocs’ final advantage.
Junior Kelvin Robinson buried a jumper on the Colonels’ next possession to tie it, and then Mayo kept pouring it on. He scored 10 of EKU’s final 12 points, including two free throws with 16 seconds on the clock to ice it.
Mayo finished 12-of-23 from the field, 4-of-10 from deep and 12-of-13 from the free throw line. He is now 20-of-21 from the stripe this season.
Hobbs was the only other Colonel in double figures, finishing 6-of-8 from the field to record 13 points. Sophomore Peyton Broughton contributed eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
Easley paced the Mocs with 22 points.
Saturday night’s performance moved Mayo past Arlando Johnson and John Allen to No. 4 on EKU’s all-time scoring list (1,648 points).
PRESBYTERIAN 80, TENNESSEE TECH 65
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Second-half turnovers and a four-minute cold spell on offense proved to be the difference in the home opener for the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team, as visiting Presbyterian defeated the Golden Eagles in the Eblen Center Saturday evening, 80-65.
Trailing by nine at halftime, Tech (0-2) came out of the break chipping away at the Blue Hose (1-1) lead, pulling to within 47-42 with 14:33 to play in the contest. Presbyterian took advantage of the next four minutes, a span that saw the Golden Eagles commit six turnovers and shoot 0-for-3 from the floor. The visitors increased their advantage to 16 in that span, never allowing the Golden Eagles back to within single digits.
Tech shot a solid 46.4 percent from the floor and 44.4 percent from 3-point range in the first half, but Presbyterian more than matched the effort, firing at a 50 percent clip from downtown to convert eight triples.
The Golden Eagles finished the contest with eight blocks and four steals on the defensive end and held the Blue Hose to just 1-for-5 shooting from deep after the team’s first-half barrage. Tech also out-rebounded Presbyterian in the second half, 22-17. The visitors owned the advantage in the game, however, 40-33.
Senior forward Courtney Alexander II set a career-high with 17 points, adding 11 rebounds on top to tally his first double-double of the season. He led Tech in both categories on the night, finishing 7-for-11 from the field.
Freshman Jr. Clay put up an impressive day on offense, scoring 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting while adding four assists. Corey Tillery had the hot hand working from deep, knocking down 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. He finished with 12 points.
Overall, Tech finished the contest shooting 41.5 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from deep. Presbyterian forced the Golden Eagles into 15 turnovers on the night while Tech forced 13 by the Blue Hose.
#14 SYRACUSE 84, MOREHEAD STATE 70
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - More than 20,000 fans in the Carrier Dome may have been a bit nervous for their No. 14 Syracuse team Saturday. Morehead State battled the Orange for the entire 40 minutes before finally falling 84-70 in the second game of the 2K Empire Classic.
Junior guard Jordan Walker had just five points at the half but erupted for 19 in the final half and finished with a game-best 24. He drilled six of his 10 three-point shots in 36 minutes. His point total came within two of his career high.
Senior forward Lamontray Harris nearly had his second straight double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore forward Malek Green posted his third double-figure effort of the season with 12.
The Eagles fell behind 25-11 in the first 10 minutes of the opening half, but just like at UConn Thursday, the Eagles refused to be blown out. MSU outscored the Orange 19-11 in the final 10 minutes of the half and trailed just 36-30 at the break.
MSU was within three (43-40) with 16:23 left after a breakaway slam by Harris, but the hosts used a 12-0 run over the next three minutes to distance themselves. While they couldn't quite pull all the way back, MSU did have the game within eight (66-58) with six minutes remaining.
The Eagles shot 40 percent (28-of-70) against Syracuse's 2-3 zone defense and only had 12 mistakes, including just three miscues by the half. The Orange shot 41 percent, but MSU's perimeter defense forced them into just a 3-for-16 night from three-point range.
Senior guard A. J. Hicks dished out a game-best seven assists and now has 22 in the first three games.
Oshae Brissett led the Orange with a 17-point, 13-rebound double-double. Tyus Battle hit nine free throws and scored a team-best 23 points.
WESTERN KENTUCKY 86, UT MARTIN 71
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad led by as many as eight points in the first half at Western Kentucky but the host Hilltoppers tallied an 86-71 win this evening.
The Skyhawks (1-1) led for a total of 8:30 in the opening half and were within six points of the Conference USA preseason favorites with 15 minutes to go in the contest. However, Western Kentucky (1-1) used an 11-3 run in the second half to create some separation and UT Martin couldn’t get within single-digits for the final 13:32.
Delfincko Bogan and Kevin Little (game-high five assists) shared the team lead with 18 points apiece for the Skyhawks. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. contributed 17 points while Jeremy Joyner (nine points, team-best eight rebounds) just missed a double-double off the bench for UT Martin, who held the Hilltoppers to 29.4 percent shooting (5-of-17) from three-point land.
Coming off a 27-win season, Western Kentucky placed four scorers in double figures while shooting 52.3 percent (34-of-65) from the field. Taveion Hollingsworth was responsible for a game-high 22 points while Desean Murray (18), Jared Savage (16) and Charles Bassey (15) also provided an offensive spark for the Hilltoppers.
Little (five) and Hawthorne (six) combined for the Skyhawks’ first 11 points. A deep trifecta from Little provided UT Martin with a 22-14 advantage at the 14:06 mark of the first half before Western Kentucky went on a 17-4 run over the next six minutes of clock time. The Hilltoppers eventually took a 47-37 lead at the break as Little and Hollingsworth both accounted for a game-high 12 points.
A layup by Joyner with 15:11 left to play whittled the Skyhawk deficit to 54-48. Bogan would later tack on nine consecutive UT Martin points over a stretch of 3:38 but the Skyhawks could not get any closer than 11 points over the final five minutes.
BELMONT 100, ILLINOIS STATE 89
NASHVILLE - Behind five double figure scorers, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Illinois State, 100-89, Saturday night in its 2018-19 season opener.
The Bruins, welcoming 10 newcomers, played with poise and confidence against one of the most experienced and talented programs ever to play in the Curb Event Center.
Belmont opened the game on a 13-2 run and closed the first half scoring 16 of the last 20 points to lead 62-46 at halftime. The Bruins made 22 first half field goals and committed only three turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Freshman Caleb Hollander led Belmont with 16 first half points.
A 3-pointer from freshman Adam Kunkel made the score 90-70 with 10:32 left.
Senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler had 20 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Freshman Grayson Murphy flirted with a triple-double before finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and 10 assists. Freshman Nick Muszynski added 18 points, seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
Phil Fayne led Illinois State (1-1) with 23 points.
MURRAY STATE 73, WRIGHT STATE 54
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers scored a 73-54 win in the 2018-19 season opener Saturday over the Wright State Raiders at the CFSB Center in Murray, Ky.
The Racers (1-0) opened their 93rd season of college basketball by putting together two solid halves in holding the Raiders (1-1) to 38 percent from the field and 17 percent from the 3-point line.
Ja Morant and Tevin Brown powered the MSU attack with 27 and 17 points respectively, while newcomer Darnell Cowart came off the bench to add 11 points. Morant added 11 assists for a double-double and he also grabbed five rebounds. He had six double-doubles and one triple-double a year ago in his freshman season.
Leading 35-29 at the half, Brown scored the first eight points of the second half as Morant assisted on a pair of 3-pointers and one shot in the paint for a MSU 43-34 lead at 18:32. The closest the Raiders could get was four points with 13:35 remaining, but the Racers answered with a 9-1 run which included a pair of Cowart post-up buckets and a 3-pointer from Mike Davis for a 54-42 advantage with 11:14 left. Morant and Brown each hit threes to push the Racers to their largest lead of the night with 2:22 left at 73-54.
The Racers hit 54 percent from the field (27-of-50) in total and were 10-of-22 from the 3-point line for 45 percent which helped them enjoy having the lead for more than 30 minutes of the contest. The final shot chart showed the Racers hit 15-of-19 layups for 79 percent.
MSU gets back on the floor Friday at home (Nov. 16) for a 7 p.m. game with the Spalding Golden Eagles.
WINTHROP 94, SIUE 82
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball had five players score in double figures Saturday and shot 48 percent from the field, but it wasn't enough to overcome 14 Winthrop three-pointers as the Cougars fell 94-82 to the Eagles at Vadalabene Center.
Winthrop moves to 1-1 on the season while the Cougars fall to 0-2.
Eight of Winthrop's 14 three-pointers came in the second half. Guards Bjorn Broman (13 points) and Adam Pickett (24 points) combined to go 9-15 from three.
The Cougars kept things close in the first half before the Eagles went on two separate runs to make it 35-28 with four minutes to go in the half.
Winthrop was up 43-39 when SIUE's David McFarland made a half court buzzer-beating three-pointer to make it 43-42 heading into half.
McFarland led the Cougars with 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting. He connected on two three-pointers. He added two rebounds and an assist.
Brandon Jackson finished the game with 13 points and five boards for the Cougars. Daniel Kinchen and Cameron Williams each scored 11 points and Tyresse Williford added 10 points. Anselm Uzuegbunem led SIUE with seven rebounds.