THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Belmont 77, Morehead State 60
@Jacksonville State 69, Eastern Illinois 62
@Tennessee State 82, Eastern Kentucky 81
Murray State 98, @UT Martin 77
@Tennessee Tech 78, SIUE 69 (OT)
Austin Peay 78, @Southeast Missouri 60
BELMONT 77, MOREHEAD STATE 60
NASHVILLE - Behind a career-high 22 points from freshman Caleb Hollander, Belmont University (11-3, 2-1 OVC) men's basketball defeated Morehead State, 77-60, Thursday night.
Hollander, who scored 21 points in two of his first three career games in a Bruin uniform, went 9-for-16 from the field and added seven rebounds.
Belmont scored the first six points of the game and never trailed.
Freshman Nick Muszynski also delivered a career game, with 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots. Two Nick Hopkins free throws made the score 66-42 with 9:06 left. Senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler had 12 points and six rebounds despite foul trouble.
Lamontray Harris led Morehead State (4-12, 0-3 OVC) with 13 points.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 69, EASTERN ILLINOIS 62
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team improved to 3-0 to begin Ohio Valley Conference play Thursday night with 69-62 win over Eastern Illinois in front of a rowdy crowd at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Ray Harper's Gamecock squad is the first to begin league play with a 3-0 record since the 2002-03 team when Jacksonville State was a member of the Atlantic Sun. This is first 3-0 start in JSU's OVC history. Coincidentally, that was also the last team to win 10 of its last 12 games. Thursday, Harper led the Gamecocks to their 11th win in 13 games, matching a feat not achieved since the 1999-2000 season under then-head coach Mark Turgeon.
Harper gave a lot of credit to the crowd of 2,275 at The Pete for helping push Jacksonville State to the finish line.
The Gamecocks took a narrow one-point lead to the locker room at halftime after a first period that saw the lead change hands five times. Marlon Hunter scored a team-best eight points in the opening stanza, going 4-for-5 from the field, while the reigning OVC Newcomer of the Week, Josiah Wallace, paced EIU with nine points.
Three big runs made for an exciting second half, kicked off by a 9-0 JSU stretch. Jason Burnell hit back-to-back 3-pointers, forcing EIU head coach Jay Spoonhour to take a timeout, and Ty Hudson hit a third trey following the timeout to give JSU a 39-29 advantage after just two minutes of play.
Eastern Illinois found its footing and answered with a stunning 12-1 run that yielded just a Hunter free throw. EIU guard Ben Harvey scored five points during the clip, helping the Panthers to a 49-44 lead with 11:44 to play.
The Gamecocks rallied back immediately with a 13-0 run that kept Eastern Illinois scoreless for more than seven minutes. The Jacksonville State forced three of EIU's 16 turnovers during the stretch, while Burnell and Ty Hudson each tallied six points to help JSU to a 57-49 lead.
For the remaining five minutes of the game, the Gamecocks outscored the Panthers 13-12 to claim a seven-point win.
Burnell finished the night with a team-best 18 points, while Hunter followed closely with 15 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Detrick Mostella rounded out double-digit scoring with 12 points along with three assists. Hudson led the assists effort with four.
Eastern Illinois' Wallace finished the night with a team-high 14 points and three assists, scoring just five during the closing half.
TENNESSEE STATE 82, EASTERN KENTUCKY 81
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men’s basketball team won its first Ohio Valley Conference game at home Thursday evening, defeating the Eastern Kentucky Colonels, 82-81.
The win snaps a six-game losing streak for the Tigers, and marks the first conference win under head coach Brian “Penny” Collins.
Tennessee State fought back from a small seven-point deficit at the half, leading for just 3:57 of the game – 2:39 of which was in the second period.
Five TSU players scored in double digits for the second time this season, shooting 50 percent from the field, 92.9 percent from the free throw line.
TSU moves into its final matchup of its four-game home stand, 4-11 on the season. 1-2 in league play.
MURRAY STATE 98, UT MARTIN 77
MARTIN, Tenn. - The Murray State Racers rolled to a 3-0 start and their seventh-straight Ohio Valley Conference road win Thursday in a 98-77 victory over the UT Martin Skyhawks at the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee.
The Racers (12-2, 3-0 OVC) travel to Southeast Missouri Saturday to play the Redhawks in a 4:15 p.m. tip at the Show Me Center in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
The records watch was in full swing in the second half when Ja Morant set the Murray State record for assists in a game with 18 (Surpassing Chad Townsend’s mark of 16 from 1997) and Tevin Brown tied the MSU record with nine 3-point baskets. Brown finished with a career-high 31 points on 9-of-14 from long range and Morant was three rebounds from a triple-double with 26 points and 18 assists. His 18 assists is the highest in NCAA D-I this season. Shaq Buchanan gave the Racers three players with 20 or points with 21 points and four steals.
In the first half, Brown hit four-straight 3-point baskets to give the Racers a 21-17 lead in just under 9:30 of game time. MSU ended the half by hitting 4-of-5 shots with a 12-4 run to get a 49-42 lead at the intermission. Brown had the hot hand and was 5-of-6 from long range for 17 points.
In the second half, Brown’s sixth 3-pointer and a dunk by Buchanan put MSU in front 61-48 Racers at 16:21 remaining. MSU’s lead grew as large as 21 points in the closing minutes.
Morant’s 18 assists tops the Murray State mark of 16 by Chad Townsend (02-20-1997 vs EIU). He was only two shy of the 20 by James Johnson, of Middle Tennessee (vs. Freed-Hardeman, 1985-86) for the OVC record. Morant has the best assist game this season in all of NCAA D-I.
Brown’s nine 3-pointers ties the Murray State record since the 3-point shot was put into the game in 1986. Brown is the third Racer to do it. The last was Jonathan Stark at South Dakota State in overtime (12-17-2016) and Justin Burdine who had nine in a regulation game against Eastern Kentucky at home (2-21-2002).
TENNESSEE TECH 78, SIUE 69 (OT)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It took an extra five minutes, but the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team outlasted SIUE in Ohio Valley Conference play Thursday night, defeating the visiting Cougars in overtime, 78-69.
The Golden Eagles (6-10, 2-1) took advantage of the overtime period, holding the Cougars (5-10, 1-2) without a field goal and finishing the game on an 11-2 run. The Tech defense forced SIUE to miss all 10 attempts from the floor in the extra time, giving its offense plenty of room to work.
Tech made all three of its attempts from the field in the overtime period and sank 5-of-8 tries at the charity stripe, but it was a fade-away jumper by graduate transfer Johnnie Vassar with just over a minute remaining that really made its mark. The Golden Eagle faithful broke into a roar with the make and continued as the purple and gold knocked down four of its final six free throws to ice the game away.
Showing some of that toughness and leadership was the Special Olympics Player of the Game, junior Micaiah Henry. The big man tallied a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards in the contest, playing 33 minutes. He dished out a career-high four assists and tied a career-high with four blocks while shooting 4-for-6 from the field and impressive 6-for-8 showing at the line.
In the overtime period alone, Henry made his only field goal attempt, dished out an assist, blocked a shot and grabbed three rebounds.
Helping in making the presence felt on the block was graduate transfer Malik Martin. The seven-footer notched 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including a 2-for-4 showing from 3-point range. He also posted four assists and hauled in nine rebounds, narrowly missing his own double-double. Martin played a career-high 41 minutes, the most by a Golden Eagle this season.
Leading the Tech scoring effort was redshirt freshman Hunter Vick, who showed grit and toughness while playing 39 minutes, despite taking two apparent elbows to the face during the contest. With a black eye slowly appearing as the game wound down, Vick finished his night with 18 points and six rebounds, sinking three tries from downtown.
Jr. Clay, who was limited to just 18 minutes after leaving the game with an undisclosed injury, came back off the bench and continued to fight, closing his night with 11 points and five assists.
On the night, Tech shot 54.2 percent from the field and 35 percent from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles earned a 49-34 advantage on the boards, despite snagging just five offensive rebounds. The Cougars did force 19 turnovers by the Golden Eagles while making just eight themselves, but Tech blocked six SIUE shots in the contest while having none of its own rejected.
For some, it may not come as a shock that once the game reached an extra period, the Golden Eagles came out on top. Those who know their purple and gold would recognize that Coach Payne was a sizzling 7-1 in overtime games heading into the night, improving that mark to 8-1 with the victory.
In fact, Tech's only overtime loss in the Steve Payne era came in double overtime of the first round of the 2016-17 OVC Tournament. Murray State's Jonathan Stark hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the closing seconds to lift the Racers over the Golden Eagles 85-84. Tech claimed an 87-81 victory over Tennessee State in Nashville last season in its most recent overtime affair prior to Thursday's contest.
With the win, Tech stays undefeated in the Eblen Center when facing the Cougars, boasting a perfect 5-0 mark all-time in Cookeville. It also marked Tech's fifth straight overall win over SIUE and represented the Golden Eagles' fourth straight season winning its first OVC home game.
AUSTIN PEAY 78, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 60
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - In their first road test in Ohio Valley Conference play, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team passed with flying colors, soundly defeating Southeast Missouri in a 78-60 affair at the Show Me Center, Thursday, to remain unbeaten in league play.
From the opening tip, a physical contest ensued, with the opening minutes devoted to both teams testing one another in the first of at least two meetings this season. At the 12-minute mark, it was a 10-6 contest with both teams vying for space to create.
Rather than player breaking the game open for the Govs, everyone did a little to open it up. Terry Taylor and Jabari McGhee got good looks to go underneath, which freed up Jarrett Givens to nail the first three of the night at the 9:55 mark to make it 17-11. Givens' three kicked off a 13-3 run, which he bookended with another three with 6:01 to go to make it 26-11.
In the final minute of the period, with Southeast Missouri threatening to cut the lead to single-digits, McGhee made two plays which might've been as dispiriting for the Redhawks as any in the contest. First, with time winding down on the shot clock, he nailed a step-back jumper and then, following an offensive foul, he skied for a putback of a Dayton Gumm miss and tipped it home as time expired, sending Austin Peay into the break with a 37-20 lead.
The second half unfolded the same way many have against the Govs this year. Southeast Missouri would make a run, cutting the lead to 11 or 13 or 14 and each time, Austin Peay roared back to seize the upper hand and leave no doubt who was in charge. With 10 minutes remaining, the Redhawks cut the Austin Peay lead to 13 on a Ledarrius Brewer lay-up, but a Zach Glotta three-pointer stopped that run and an old-fashioned three-point play by Taylor had the Govs back up 19 with just under eight to go.
Southeast Missouri responded with an 8-0 run but again the Govs answered, first via Givens' third and final three of the night, then on the last of Taylor's team-high 17 points. The Govs would lead by at least 14 points the rest of the night.