THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 80, Eastern Illinois 73
@Murray State 68, Jacksonville State 60
@Belmont 84, Eastern Kentucky 73
SIUE 70, @UT Martin 69
@Tennessee State 83, Morehead State 74
Tennessee Tech 86, @Austin Peay 80
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 80, EASTERN ILLINOIS 73
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Freshman Ledarrius Brewer dropped in 34 points and made seven 3-pointers to lead Southeast Missouri (13-15, 7-8) to an 80-73 win over Eastern Illinois (9-17, 5-10) Thursday night at the Show Me Center.
Brewer became the second SEMO player to score 30 or more points in a game this season. He is also the first Redhawk to make seven or more 3-pointers in a game since Corey Wilford knocked down eight at Austin Peay on Feb. 28, 2013.
A native of Meridian, Mississippi, Brewer set the tone early scoring his first 17 points in the first half, including 12 from long range. Brewer buried his first four 3-pointers of the game.
A pair of Denzel Mahoney free throws gave the Redhawks their first double-digit lead at 21-11 with 12:20 remaining. After that, SEMO later used a 9-0 run to widen its lead to 35 18 at the 7:19 mark. Milos Vranes and Brewer each made a 3-pointer on consecutive possessions to cap the surge.
Brewer then completed a conventional 3-point play to give SEMO its biggest lead of the game (41-20) with under five minutes left before the Redhawks headed into the locker room ahead, 45-30.
The Redhawks shot 50 percent (15-of-30) from the field and drained 8-of-12 threes for a 66.7 percent clip in the opening stanza.
EIU came out hot in the second half scoring on five of six possessions to fuel a 14-0 run. Mack Smith made a deep 3-pointer near the halfcourt line with two seconds on the shot clock to tie the game at 61-61.
Brewer answered by making two free throws and sinking another 3-pointer to grab SEMO a 65-61 advantage with a little over six minutes to go. Vranes then nailed a big 3-pointer and later made a free throw to increase the Redhawks lead to 70-66. After that, the Panthers couldn't cut SEMO's lead to anything less than four.
Brewer shot 11-of-18 from the field, 7-of-10 from 3-point range and 5-of-11 at the free throw line en route to his career-high. He scored double figures in 14 of his last 15 starts, including each of his previous five.
Mahoney followed with 13 points and 10 rebounds, the second double-double of his career. Mahoney was presented with a basketball commemorating his 1,000-point milestone prior to tipoff. Vranes added 11 points in a nice effort off the bench.
SEMO made a season-high 13 three-pointers and shot 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from downtown. The Redhawks also outrebounded EIU, 34-32.
Montell Goodwin led the Panthers with 18 points and Muusa Dama turned in a double-double 17 points and 10 rebounds. Smith and D'Angelo Jackson added 15 and 13 points, respectively.
The Panthers outscored the Redhawks, 43-35, and shot 51.7 percent (15-of-29) in the second half. EIU committed 12 turnovers which led to 18 points, as well.
MURRAY STATE 68, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
MURRAY, Ky. - The winning streak is eight in a row for the Murray State Racers after they defeated the Jacksonville Gamecocks 68-60 Thursday at the CFBS Center in Murray, Ky. The Racers also pushed their home win streak to eight with their 21st win of the season.
In a game that had postseason intensity, the Racers (21-5) kept a share of first place in the Ohio Valley Conference with Belmont, each at 13-2. MSU wraps up the home portion of the regular season Saturday when they host the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at 7 p.m. on Senior Day. The Racers will honor fabulous seniors Terrell Miller, Jr., and Jonathan Stark before the game.
On a day when the Racers wished to overturn the trend of an earlier loss to JSU at their arena in January, the Racers got the job done with outstanding defense and timely shooting.
When JSU took the lead at 45-43 with 8:12 remaining, Jonathan Stark was unleashed and scored 10-straight points to put the Racers ahead 53-47 at 5:44. When Byron Hawkins hit the only shot he attempted, a 3-pointer from the corner with 49 seconds left, the Racers had outlasted the tough Gamecocks in a key OVC clash.
Stark finished the game with 32 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field and 4-of-11 from the 3-point line. In his recent trend of getting to the free throw line a lot, he also knocked down 12-of-15. Stark also added five assists. Terrell Miller, Jr., was MSU’s only other double-digit scorer with 12 points. Freshman guard Ja Morant dished out six assists to go with six rebounds.
In the first half, Stark didn’t hit his first field goal until the 7:33 mark and his first 3-pointer at the 6:07 mark to tie the game at 18-18. MSU finished the half on an 11-5 run thanks to a brilliant Morant steal and alley oops lame for Shaq Buchanan and back-to-back baskets by Anthony Smith. The Racers went into the halftime leading JSU 29-23.
BELMONT 84, EASTERN KENTUCKY 73
NASHVILLE - Behind 19 points and seven assists from senior Austin Luke, Belmont University men’s basketball defeated Eastern Kentucky, 84-73, Thursday night.
Belmont, which has won 16 of its last 18 games, shot 59 percent from the field – including 14-for-31 from 3-point distance.
After trailing 18-10 early, the Bruins (21-7, 13-2 OVC) rode the hot shooting of senior Amanze Egekeze in building a 41-29 halftime lead. But Eastern Kentucky made its first six shots of the second half, closing within 47-44 on a JacQuess Hobbs basket.
Baskets from Luke and juniors Kevin McClain and Dylan Windler pushed the lead back to 10. Luke would sink three consecutive 3-pointers down the stretch, the last of which made the score 77-64 with 3:49 left.
Egekeze added his second consecutive double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
Nick Mayo led Eastern Kentucky (9-19, 3-12 OVC) with 21 points.
SIUE 70, UT MARTIN 69
MARTIN, Tenn. - SIUE men's basketball kept itself in the hunt for an Ohio Valley Conference tournament bid with a 70-69 road win at UT Martin Thursday night.
The Cougars improved to 5-10 in OVC play and 9-17 overall, while turning the tables on the Skyhawks who grabbed a 70-69 win of their own in Edwardsville Jan. 20.
Keenan Simmons paced the Cougars with a perfect night from the field. The senior scored a career-high 25 points on a 12-for-12 night shooting. He scored 21 points in the first half to help the Cougars to a halftime advantage.
UT Martin opened a five-point lead three times in the opening minutes, before the Cougars pulled ahead. Brandon Jackson, David McFarland and Daniel Kinchen scored to complete a 6-0 run and give SIUE a 14-13 lead and never by more than two the rest of the period. UTM tied the game at 24 on a three-pointer by Matthew Butler, but the Cougars proceeded on an 8-0 run to take control.
The Cougars took a 41-34 lead into halftime.
Simmons opened the second half with bucket to give SIUE its largest lead at nine (43-34). The Skyhawks chipped away until finally pulling ahead 47-46 with a three-pointer by Delfincko Bogan with 14:20 to play. Bogan led UT Martin with 22 points.
The Skyhawks led by as many as five, but the Cougars never relented.
SIUE didn't regain the lead until a free throw from Jalen Henry made it 66-65 with 2:59 to play. Henry was back at the line with 16 second left and SIUE down 69-68. He knocked down both shots to push SIUE back in front.
Jailen Gill had a chance to win it for UT Martin, but is hook shot from the line missed, and Henry secured the rebound as the buzzer sounded. Henry finished with 12 points. He was 3-8 from the field and 5-8 at the free throw line, with all eight free throw attempts coming in the second half.
Henry is now just 12 points shy of 1,000 points for his career. He will be the 15th player at SIUE to reach the milestone.
The Cougars won nearly every specialty stat of the game. SIUE outrebounded UTM 37-29, matching its season best for rebounding margin. The Cougars hauled in 14 offensive rebounds and outscored the Skyhawks 16-3 in second chance points.
SIUE turned 15 UT Martin turnovers into 17 points. The Cougars scored 32 points in the pant compared to UTM's 30.
TENNESSEE STATE 83, MOREHEAD STATE 74
NASHVILLE - Delano Spencer put up a career-high 32 points to lift the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to an 83-74 Ohio Valley Conference victory over Morehead State on Saturday night at the Gentry Center. The Tigers have now won seven games in a row.
Spencer, who made a career-best seven three pointers, helped the Tigers (15-11, 10-5 OVC) shoot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the floor.
The Tigers maintained the upper hand for most of the game, leading for 33:37 of the 40 minutes. After taking a 35-30 edge into the locker room, TSU stretched its lead to as many as 18 points in the second half. Morehead State (6-20, 2-13 OVC) trimmed the Tigers’ edge down to five before TSU regained the momentum to pull away.
Darreon Reddick (12), Kamar McKnight (11) and Armani Chaney (10) also scored in double figures for TSU on the night.
TENNESSEE TECH 86, AUSTIN PEAY 80
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Curtis Phillips Jr. scored a career-high 29 points with four 3-pointers, grabbed seven rebounds and had three steals to lead Tennessee Tech to an 86-80 win over Austin Peay on Thursday night to end a three-game skid.
Kajon Mack scored 19 points with seven assists and Shaq Calhoun added 16 points for the Golden Eagles (17-11, 9-6 Ohio Valley Conference), who hit 10 3-pointers and shot 53 percent from the field to sweep the season series against the Governors.
Austin Peay closed to 43-39 on Dayton Gumm's dunk early in the second half, but Tennessee Tech pulled ahead on a 10-0 run and twice led by 14. Gumm's jumper with 14 seconds left made it 85-78 before Zach Glotta missed a 3 with five seconds left with Terry Taylor's layup closed the scoring.
Calhoun's 3 amid an 11-0 run put the Golden Eagles up for good, 18-16, and they led 36-28 at halftime behind Phillips' 11 points.
Averyl Ugba scored 19 points and Gumm added 16 for the Governors (15-12, 10-5), who saw their eight-game home win streak end.