SATURDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 92, Harris-Stowe 87
@East Tennessee State 80,
UT Martin 62
@Austin Peay 116, Calvary 33
Jacksonville State 81, @Delaware State 54
@Eastern Kentucky 76, Northern Kentucky 74
Southern Illinois 83,
@Southeast Missouri 73
Eastern Illinois 76, @Western Illinois 65
Murray State 64, @Middle Tennessee 42
SIUE 92, HARRIS-STOWE 87
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Brandon Jackson and Tyrese Williford led the way with career-scoring efforts as the SIUE Cougars outlasted Harris-Stowe of St. Louis, 92-87, Saturday afternoon at the Vadalabene Center.
Jackson, a junior from East St. Louis, Ill., poured in 28 points and snared 11 rebounds for his first career double-double. Williford, a junior guard from Chicago, contributed 25 points, nine rebounds and four assists. The Cougars improved to 2-5, in winning at home for the second time this season. Harris-Stowe, a NAIA school and member of the American Midwest Conference, dropped to 6-3.
SIUE used a 24-7 burst the final 7.5 minutes of the first half to overcome a nine-point deficit and build a 41-33 lead by the break. Jackson tallied eight of his 13 first-half points in closing out the half.
He made 10 of 18 shots and 8 of 9 free throws to key the Cougars' strong foul shooting. They made 36 of 42 free throws to go along with 26 of 61 shooting from the floor. All figured, the two teams attempted 125 field goals and also took 59 foul shots. Harris-Stowe made 33 of 64 shots and converted 13 of 17 free throws.
Williford sank four free throws in the final 19 seconds to ensure the victory, the Cougars' 15th consecutive win over the Hornets. SIUE leads the series 15-2.
SIUE's David Kinchen collected 12 points and teammate D.J. Jackson pitched in seven points and eight rebounds. The Cougars outrebounded the Hornets 41-33.
Nate Rigmaiden's 28 points powered Harris-Stowe, which used a 25-10 binge early in the second half to forge ahead 61-56. The Cougars countered with a 14-5 spree to grab a 70-66 advantage. Harris-Stowe closed to within 82-80 with 3:12 remaining, but Jackson punched in two baskets, the second with 1:02 to go, to give SIUE a six-point lead. The Cougars' final six points came on free throws.
EAST TENNESSEE STATE 80, UT MARTIN 62
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Despite 21 points off the bench from junior guard Preston Parks, the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team let an eight-point second half lead slip away in an 80-62 setback at ETSU this afternoon.
The Skyhawks (3-4) took a 38-33 advantage into the locker room at the halftime break and went on top by a 41-33 margin after an old-fashioned three-point play by Quintin Dove on the first possession of the second half. However, the host Buccaneers went on an 11-0 run midway through the second half and would not relinquish the lead over the final 10:25 of the contest.
Parks went a perfect 8-for-8 from the free throw line and also added three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 36 minutes. Dove made six of his 12 field goal attempts and also went 6-of-7 from the charity stripe for a total of 18 points. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. (six points, five rebounds, four steals, two assists), Kevin Little (team-high three assists, three steals) and Parrish Hewitt (team-high seven rebounds) also led a UT Martin squad who shot 83.3 percent (15-of-18) from the free throw line but could only manage a 35.0 percent shooting effort from the floor (21-of-60).
ETSU improved to 8-3 after Jeromy Rodriguez compiled game-highs of 21 points and 16 rebounds. Tray Boyd III notched 20 points while Patrick Good and Mladen Armus tallied 14 and 10 points, respectively. The Buccaneers were forced into 17 turnovers but shot 50.8 percent (31-of-61) – including a near-59 percent clip in the last 20 minutes.
The Skyhawks scored the first five points of the game as the duo of Dove and Parks carried the offense for a majority of the opening half. The eighth tie of the first half (27-all) took place at the 5:42 mark but UT Martin would soon score 11 of 13 points during one span to claim a 36-29 advantage with just under three minutes to go in the half. ETSU answered with five straight points before Fatodd Lewis made a layup to provide the 38-33 halftime score. Dove (13 points) and Parks (11) were the only double-digit scorers in the first half while Boyd’s eight points guided the Buccaneers.
The Skyhawks maintained their eight-point advantage after a Delfincko Bogan trifecta at the 18:07 mark but ETSU managed three treys in a four-minute span to start chipping away. A layup by Jailen Gill and three-pointer from Parks helped UT Martin keep its lead before the aforementioned 11-0 Buccaneer run. The Skyhawks could only tally three field goals over the final 10:45 as ETSU added another 9-2 run in the closing minutes.
AUSTIN PEAY 116, CALVARY 33
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Austin Peay State University men’s basketball team trounced visiting Calvary in their first appearance in the Dunn Center since Nov. 6, taking complete control from the opening tip and never relinquishing it in a 116-33 decision.
At no point did Austin Peay seem in any danger of losing this game. The Govs enjoyed runs of 17-4 to open the game, 16-4 in the middle of the first half and 30-6 to close the half and took a 65-21 advantage into the break. Calvary averaged a turnover per minute in the first half, with Zach Glotta setting his career high with six steals all in the first half.
The second half was more of the same. The Govs scored the first 15 points of the half, with the Warriors going nearly 11 minutes of game time between made shots from the floor. Although only nine Govs were available on this night, all nine scored and played double-digit minutes, with seven scoring in double figures, led by sophomore Dayton Gumm with a season-high 18 points.
So thorough was Austin Peay’s second-half domination that Calvary scored just 12 points over the final 20 minutes, including just two in the paint. Jarrett Givens had 11 points by himself for the Govs over the final 20 minutes.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 81, DELAWARE STATE 54
DOVER, Del. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team picked up its fifth consecutive win with a 81-54 victory over Delaware State at the Hornet's Memorial Hall on Saturday.
The streak is the longest under head coach Ray Harper, who led the Gamecocks to two four-game winning streaks during the 2016-17 season. It's the longest JSU winning streak since the 2014-15 Gamecocks won five in a row.
Senior Jason Burnell led the attack against the Hornets, earning his third double-double of the season on 22 points and 11 rebounds. The forward was 7-for-9 from the field and knocked down seven of seven free throws.
The 22-point showing - one point shy of his career-high - upped his scoring average to a team-high 14.6 points per game this season. The 6-foot-7 senior leads the Gamecocks with 117 points, 65 rebounds, .545 3-point average and 38 baskets scored.
After leading JSU to a 43-22 advantage with eight points in the first half, Burnell helped Jacksonville State to an 8-0 run to begin the second half. He tied his first-period total within the first six minutes. The senior finished with 14 points in the closing period.
Senior Jamall Gregory totaled 14 points - 10 in the second half - in front of a small home crowd. Just 90 miles away from his hometown of Washington, D.C., the guard received a large ovation when he slammed an alley-oop feed in the second period.
Senior forward Christian Cunningham was the third of three Gamecocks to score in double-digits, logging his first double-double of the year. He had 10 points and 10 rebounds in what was his 100th game played in a Jacksonville State uniform. The Albuquerque, N.M., native is just nine games away from breaking into JSU's all-time games played rankings, and just one rebound from tying the program's Division I record for career rebounds.
On the other end of the court, Delaware State was led by Saleik Edwards who scored 19 points on 5-for-11 shooting. He, along with Kevin Larkin's 10 points, represented more than half of the Hornets' points scored.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 76, NORTHERN KENTUCKY 74
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Nick Mayo’s jumper with 0.4 seconds left in the game gave Eastern Kentucky University a 76-74 win over visiting Northern Kentucky University on Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
Drew McDonald put the Norse (8-3) in front by two on tip-in with 1:01 left in the game. Mayo went to the free throw line with 46 seconds remaining and tied the game for the 14th time, 74-74. A deflection put Northern in the situation of having to inbound the ball with two seconds left on the shot clock, and 17.5 seconds left in the game.
A long three-pointer missed and Jomaru Brown secured the rebound for the Colonels (6-4). Kelvin Robinson handed the ball off to Mayo on the right wing. The senior took three dribbles toward the basket and put up a fade-away jumper over the out-stretched hand of McDonald that swished through the bucket.
It was the eighth lead change of a game that neither team led by more than six points.
The Norse threatened to take control when they scored eight unanswered early in the second half to take their largest lead of the game at six points, 37-31. Eastern answered with a 16-5 fueled by three 3-pointers from Brown. A block by Mayo and lay-up from Brown, his 11th points of the spurt, finished it off and put the Colonels in front by five, 47-42.
After Northern Kentucky battled back and went in front by four, 63-59, on a triple from Zaynah Robinson with 5:54 to go, the EKU defense pitched a shutout for the next two minutes. The 9-0 run gave the Colonels their sixth 5-point advantage of the game, their biggest of the night. Seven of the nine came at the free throw line, including the final two by Kelvin Robinson for a 68-63 advantage.
Tyler Sharp’s three-pointer ended the run. Robinson tied it, 70-70, on a jumper with 2:30 to go. After Mayo hit two free throws on the other end, McDonald scored the next four to put NKU ahead 74-72.
Mayo finished with a game-best 27 points and 11 rebounds. He has 1,826 points and needs seven more to break Matt Witt’s program record of 1,832. It was Mayo’s 13th career double-double. The Oakland, Maine native was 5-for-10 from the field and 17-of-20 at the free throw line.
Brown scored 16 off the bench for Eastern Kentucky. McDonald had a team-best 23 for Northern.
EKU is now 4-0 this season in games decided by three points or less.
After missing on all 12 attempts from three-point range in the first half, Eastern knocked down 5-of-8 in the second. The Colonels shot 50 percent from the field in the second half.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 83, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 73
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southern Illinois (7-3) heated up to shoot 63.6 percent from the field in the second half to key a 83-73 victory over Southeast Missouri (5-5) Saturday at the Show Me Center.
SIU picked up its fifth-straight win in the 116thall-time meeting between the longstanding rivals.
The Salukis held a 35-33 edge at halftime after a back-and-forth first half that featured five ties and eight lead changes.
SEMO was down by three on four occasions in the first 4:18 of the second half. Then, the Salukis used an 11-3 run after Gabe McGlothan's 3-pointer made it a 45-42 game at the 15:42 mark.
The Redhawks never recovered after that and fell behind by as many as 19 when Sean Lloyd's layup gave SIU a comfortable 69-50 advantage at the 6:43 mark.
SEMO managed to get within single digits down the stretch on Ledarrius Brewer's 3-pointer (76-67) with 1:33 to go, but that was as close as the Redhawks could get.
Brewer and Skyler Hogan led the Redhawks with 17 and 14 points, respectively. Brewer shot 6-of-15 from the field, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and added 3-of-4 free throws. Hogan, who did not start due to a stomach illness, ended up 5-of-12 from the field with four rebounds and three 3-pointers in 25 minutes.
SIU shot 51.9 percent (28-of-54) for the night and hit 14-of-22 shots in the second half alone. The Salukis also had 21 assists on their 28 made field goals.
Sean Lloyd led SIU with 25 points and Aaron Cook followed close behind with 23. Kavion Pippen contributed 18 points, as well.
SIU outrebounded SEMO, 37-28, and outscored the Redhawks, 18-5, at the free throw line.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 76, WESTERN ILLINOIS 65
MACOMB, Ill. - Eastern Illinois held Western Illinois scoreless for just over a 10-minute span in the second half as the Panthers used a 19-0 run to rally for a 76-65 win over Western Illinois on Saturday night.
EIU improved to 5-5 on the season winning their second straight and sweeping the season series over WIU. Western Illinois fell to 4-6.
At the 16-minute media timeout, Eastern Illinois trailed 49-33 after Western Illinois extended a nine point halftime lead as they knocked down 3-of-4 3-pointers to open the half.
EIU would then clamp down on defense as they began with a 9-0 run with Ben Harvey scoring five points in the first part of the run. EIU would finish with a 19-0 run with Harvey scoring eight of his 12 points during the run. Harvey’s basket with 7:40 to play tied the game at 49-49.
Shareef Smith drained a 3-pointer with 6:56 remaining to give EIU a 52-49 lead as EIU was 5-of-9 from 3-point range in the second half. Smith has nine points, five rebounds and five assists.
On the defensive end of the floor EIU held WIU scoreless for 10:01 during the 19-0 run. After a basket WIU tied the game at 52-52, EIU would again hold WIU scoreless for a four-minute stretch as they built a late double figure lead.
Josiah Wallace had a team-high 18 points hitting six-of-six from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds. Mack Smith finished with 14 points.
Western Illinois hit five of its final six shots of the first half from 3-point range with Kobe Webster dropping in three of those as WIU led 38-29 at the half. WIU was 9-fo-14 from 3-point range in the first half and 13-of-27 from behind the arc for the game.
EIU opened the game hot as Mack Smith scored the Panthers first eight points. EIU would hold the lead for most of the first half with Kashawn Charles scoring seven points off the bench giving EIU a spurt that resulted in a 17-10 lead following Charles lay-up at 11:59.
The Panthers would cool off going 3-of-14 from 3-point range including one of their final ten 3-pointers in the opening half. EIU would have a 2:30 scoring slump late in the half as WIU took the lead with an 11-2 run. Webster’s first 3-pointer put WIU up 28-25 with 3:32 to play in the first.
Webster had 17 points to lead WIU. Pyle had 16 points.
MURRAY STATE 64, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 42
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - The Murray State Racers ran away with a 64-42 victory over the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
The Racers improved to 5-1 and posted their first win on the road this season as they travel to Carbondale to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis on Wednesday.
Shaq Buchanan tied his career-high with 21 points on 9-of-17 shooting to go with a career-high seven steals. Tevin Brown posted a 15-point night with four 3-pointers. Ja Morant was a main focus of the Blue Raiders as they tried to hold him down with a trapping zone. But the sophomore still managed nine points and a game-high seven assists.
MSU has their own great defensive performance when they held MTSU to 29 percent shooting (14-of-48) and 15 percent shooting from the 3-point line (2-of-13). Buchanan was the main defender against MTSU leading scorer Antonio Green who entered the contest leading the Blue Raiders at 19 points per game. Buchanan and the Racers held Green to 11 points (four in the first half).
Leading by seven, the Racers popped off a 7-0 run for a 26-12 lead at 4:19 of the first half, before Brown hit a pair of threes to put MSU in front 32-13 at the 2:58 mark. By halftime, the Racers had the lead 35-19 and held MTSU to 7-of-24 from the field for 29 percent and had forced them into 14 turnovers.
The Racers put the game away with a 12-0 run for a 52-27 lead with 8:15 left to play. Jaiveon Eaves hit a pair of threes with 4:44 remaining and the Racers led 62-35.