THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 70, UT Martin 53
Austin Peay 86, @SIUE 82
@Eastern Kentucky 91, Southeast Missouri 88
Murray State 76, @Eastern Illinois 66
@Tennessee Tech 69, Tennessee State 64
@Jacksonville State 78, Belmont 67
MOREHEAD STATE 70, UT MARTIN 53
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior guard A.J. Hicks set a single-game school record for steals during Morehead State men's basketball's 70-53 season-sweeping victory over UT Martin Thursday night at Johnson Arena.
The Norcross, Ga., product swiped away nine steals to claim the record while also dropping in a team-high 15 points and seven assists.
Although the Eagles experienced a somewhat slow night offensively, the team played flawless defense and forced 26 Skyhawk turnovers.
Hicks' record-setting night shadowed a big effort by six-foot-seven forward Londell King. King played a prominent role off the bench, recording his sixth double-double of the year by scoring 14 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in 24 minutes.
Freshman guard De'Von Cooper added 12 points as well, all in the second half.
The win improved Morehead State's overall record to 7-21 and 3-14 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
AUSTIN PEAY 86, SIUE 82
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Chris Porter-Bunton tied a career high, as Austin Peay State University men's basketball team downed SIU Edwardsville enroute to securing an opening round bye in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament.
On the Cougars senior night, Austin Peay (17-12, 12-5 OVC) looked to play celebration spoiler, but the evening got off to a rocky start, as SIU Edwardsville (9-19, 5-12 OVC) jumped out to a 10-2 lead. Chris Porter-Bunton stopped the Cougar run with a smooth runner in the lane, as the Govs leaned on their near perfection at the free-throw line for an 11-point lift in the first 15 minutes of the half.
The Governors continued to crank up the offensive pressure, but were unable to string together defensive stops until the final two minutes of the first half. Austin Peay rattled off an 8-0 run to bring the once 11-point margin to just a single point. Porter-Bunton was the only Gov in double figures at the half, with 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting.
It was night and day for the Govs in the second half, a different energy and intensity, as the Governors shot 63.0 percent from the field and 63.6 percent from three-point territory. The Cougars spent much of the second half navigating foul trouble, and Austin Peay took full advantage of the rotating matchups, spreading the offense, as five Governors worked their way into double digits.
Porter-Bunton and Zach Glotta approached career nights, but the Cougars clawed back into the matchup, eliminating the Govs' eight-point lead late in the second half. The game was tied heading into the final minute of regulation, but Porter-Bunton was determined not to let the first round bye slip away, draining a three-point shot to give the Govs a crucial lead.
Glotta iced the game going 3-for-3 from the free throw line down the stretch, as the Govs topped the Cougars in four-point thriller, 86-82.
Four of the five starters ended in double figures, with Porter-Bunton leading the Govs with 23 points and four rebounds, shooting 70.0 percent from the floor. Averyl Ugba scored 16 points, pulled down five rebounds and racked up four assists in 38 minutes of play.
Dayton Gumm racked up 12 points and three assists, while freshman Terry Taylor led the team in boards with six, scoring 10 points in Austin Peay's final regular season road matchup.
Glotta added 19 of the Governors' 23 bench points, one point shy of his career high, pulled down four boards and dished out four assists to pad his stat line.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 91, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 88
RICHMOND, Ky. - Senior Dillon Avare capped off Senior Night by recording a game-sealing block with 11 seconds left to secure the Eastern Kentucky men’s basketball team’s 91-88 victory over Southeast Missouri State on Thursday night at McBrayer Arena.
It was the first block of Avare’s four-year college career, and it helped keep EKU’s (11-19, 5-12 OVC) postseason hopes alive.
After a three-pointer by SEMO’s Ledarrius Brewer cut the Colonels’ lead to 86-85 with 25 seconds remaining, the Redhawks sent JacQuess Hobbs to the line to shoot two free throws. The freshman nailed both attempts to extend the lead to three points, leaving SEMO only 20 seconds to respond.
Struggling to find an open shooter, Ray Kowalski attempted to tie the game, but Avare rushed in from behind to record the clutch block. The Redhawks fouled and sent Dujuanta Weaver to the line, where he went 2-for-2.
SEMO, however, would not let the Colonels walk away with the win easily, quickly sprinting down the court for Brewer to hit another three-pointer with just five seconds on the clock. The Colonels went back to the line after a foul and hit 1-of-2 attempts. A desperation heave from half court by SEMO missed right.
The Colonels were led by Nick Mayo’s 25 points and team-high nine rebounds. Hobbs, Weaver and DeAndre Dishman had double digit scoring efforts with 16, 12 and 14 points, respectively. Eastern forced 15 turnovers and recorded a game-high six blocks.
Denzel Mahoney scored a game-high 26 points for SEMO and hit all seven of his attempts from the free throw line. Brewer contributed 16 points and 8 rebounds, while Daniel Simmons notched 12 points and a team-high nine boards.
Southeast Missouri knocked down 16 three-pointers in the loss.
The lead changed hands 13 times throughout the game.
SEMO (14-16, 8-9 OVC) led by as many as 15, 41-26, in the first half, thanks to 8-of-11 shooting from behind the arc in the early going; however, the Colonels used an 8-0 run to pull back to within seven, 41-34, with 3:35 left. Mayo then spearheaded a 9-2 EKU run in the closing minutes of the first half to cut the Eastern deficit to three, 46-43, at the break.
Avare got Eastern rolling quickly in the second half, nailing a right-corner three-pointer to tie the game 46-all. A free throw by Dishman made it a five-point EKU lead, 54-49, with just over 15 minutes to play.
The two teams traded baskets over the next ten minutes, with the Redhawks battling out to a 78-76 advantage with five minutes left. Hobbs and Dishman fueled a 9-0 run over the next four minutes to get the Colonels back out in front for the final time.
MURRAY STATE 76, EASTERN ILLINOIS 66
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Murray State Racers won for the 10th straight time with a 76-66 victory over the Eastern Illinois Panthers Thursday at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Illinois.
The win for MSU (23-5) clinched at least a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season championship, MSU's 25th and first since the 2014-15 season. Doing some scoreboard watching after their win at EIU, the Racers knew they had moved past Belmont into sole first place when the Bruins were defeated at Jacksonville State about a half hour after the Racers' game went final.
The Racers finish the regular-season Saturday with a showdown at Austin Peay in another chapter of the Heritage Bank Battle of the Border.
Terrell Miller, Jr., had his 21st double-double in his two seasons at MSU and his ninth this season with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Ja Morant flirted again with a triple-double with 15 points to go with nine rebounds and nine assists. Shaq Buchanan scored 15 points and had nine rebounds.
Leading 44-36 at the half, the Racers hit EIU with a 10-2 run which included a Buchanan dunk and 3-pointers from Miller and Stark for a 56-40 lead with 13:25 remaining. When EIU cut the lead to seven with 3:26 left, the Racers responded with a 6-0 run to get the lead back to 72-60 with 1:50 left.
In the first half, EIU had its last lead of the game at 20-19 at the 12:13 mark. MSU ended the half on a 10-5 run with 3-pointers from Miller and Morant and a dunk by Byron Hawkins.
The Racers held EIU to 39 percent shooting for the game on 24-of-61, while they hit 49 percent on 26-of-58. The Racers won the rebound battle 39-35.
TENNESSEE TECH 69, TENNESSEE STATE 64
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Good ball movement and a strong first half proved enough for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (18-12, 10-7) to claim a crucial, 69-64 victory over in-state rival Tennessee State (15-13, 10-7) Thursday evening.
With the win, the Golden Eagles kept their chance at a first-round bye in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament alive, simply needing a victory over Jacksonville State on Saturday evening's Senior Night contest to claim the No. 4 seed in Evansville, Ind.
On his way to claiming Special Olympics Player of the Game honors, graduate transfer Shaq Calhounput forth a tremendous effort on the scoreboard, dropping a game-high 21 points on 5-for-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Coupled with his six triples hit in Nashville, Calhoun helped Tech to a season-series sweep of the Tigers for the first time since the 2006-07 campaign by making a total of 11 3-pointers in two games against its rival.
Curtis Phillips Jr. tallied his third double-double of the year, scoring 15 points and snagging 10 rebounds while also posting five assists and three steals. Mason Ramsey also scored in double figures, finishing with 11 points. Kajon Mack finished with eight points, six assists and zero turnovers and Courtney Alexander II notched nine points on the night, including a savage slam dunk in the first half.
TSU's Christian Mekowulu led his team with 19 points while Armani Chaney and Delano Spencer each contributed 16 points.
The Golden Eagles dished out a whopping 19 assists on 22 made field goals in the contest, breaking the program record for highest percentage of assists to made field goals in a single game with a mark of 86.4. Tech originally set the record earlier this season on Dec. 28 in a win against Morehead State, assisting on 85.7 percent (24 out of 28) of its makes.
That ball movement led Tech's offense early, which finished 6-of-13 from 3-point range in the first half, a 46.2 percent showing. Overall, the Golden Eagles wrapped up the first half at 52.2 percent shooting from the floor for a 33-19 lead.
Tech's defense held on late, despite the Tigers sinking 14-of-20 attempts at the line in the second half alone. The Golden Eagle defense forced 18 turnovers and held TSU under 40 percent shooting for the contest. The Tigers managed just a 15.8 percent clip from downtown as well, including an 0-for-11 first half.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 78, BELMONT 67
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team claimed its third consecutive victory over Belmont University on Thursday, downing the Bruins 78-67 on ESPNU at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The win forces a scenario in which the Gamecocks can enter the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament in Evansville, Ind., as the No. 4 seed with a first-round bye, but help will be needed to achieve the higher seeding. Belmont must defeat Tennessee State in its game Saturday night at the Curb Event Center, while Jacksonville State must win on the road Saturday against Tennessee Tech.
Senior Malcolm Drumwright bucketed 11 points to surpass former Gamecock Darion Rackley (2011-15) for second all-time among Jacksonville State's Division I scoring leaders with 1,348 career points. His final basket, a 3-pointer with 48 seconds remaining in the game, served as the dagger that put the game out of Belmont's reach.
Drumwright's nine assists led the Gamecocks in the category as the team totaled 25 helpers. It's the highest assists total since collecting 25 against Savannah State on Nov. 20 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Jacksonville State went to the half break leading by a narrow two-point margin, 37-35. Junior Marlon Hunter, who went on to lead the Gamecocks in scoring with 21 points, put up eight first-half points. Junior Jamall Gregory led the JSU scoring effort in the first with 10 points off the bench, helping Jax State to out-work the Bruins 22-2 in bench points for the period.
Belmont tied the game after three minutes of play in the second and built a three-point lead by the 12:55 mark, but a timely 30-second timeout from Coach Harper halted the Bruins' momentum and swayed it in the Gamecocks' favor. Following the timeout, Jacksonville State went on an 8-0 run to take a five-point, 52-57, lead halfway through the period.
Jacksonville State stretched its lead to double digits and did not allow the Bruins within less than five points until the 1:24 mark. Belmont's Dylan Windler hit a couple of free throws to pull the JSU advantage down to 69-65, but it was as close as the Bruins got to seeing another lead change. With 48 seconds remaining in the contest, Drumwright drained a 3-pointer to push the Jax State lead to eight, 75-67, all but securing the Gamecocks' third win in five games in the past two seasons against the rivals from Nashville.