SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 84, SIUE 81 (OT)
@Austin Peay 81, Morehead State 67
@Southeast Missouri 74, UT Martin 69 (OT)
@Belmont 79, Tennessee Tech 67
Jacksonville State 69, @Tennessee State 62
@Murray State 97, Eastern Kentucky 85
EASTERN ILLINOIS 84, SIUE 81 (OT)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men’s basketball won its second straight overtime contest as the Panthers opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 2-0 record after an 84-81 win over SIUE on Saturday afternoon at Lantz Arena.
EIU improved to 9-6 overall, 2-0 in the OVC as the Panthers are now 4-0 in overtime games this season. SIUE fell to 5-9 overall, 1-1 in the OVC.
The Cougars held the lead for most of the first half building a 37-30 advantage at the break converting eight EIU turnovers into 12 points. In the second half and overtime session, SIUE could only produce eight points off of nine EIU turnovers.
Brandon Jackson was an efficient 6-of-9 from the floor in the first half scoring from several areas of the floor. Jackson had 13 of his game high 26 points in the opening half going 11-of-16 for the game.
Rade Kukobat would give EIU its second lead of the game draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 11:41 to play in regulation as the Panthers pulled in front 48-47. EIU would eventually push its second half lead to six points on a Ben Harvey jumper with 6:56 to play, EIU leading 59-53.
SIUE would regain the lead with 1:49 to play on a lay-up by Tyresse Williford. EIU would get four free throws from Josiah Wallace in the final 1:25 to account for its final points. Cameron Williams had a three point play to score for SIUE. The Panthers had a chance to win the game in regulation as Harvey’s jumper from the corner came off the back rim.
In overtime Wallace opened the EIU scoring with a lay-up and then a 3-pointer with 4:14 left to play. On the 3-pointer, a technical foul was assessed to SIUE on the rebound giving EIU free throws and the ball. It proved to be a five point swing that SIUE could not overcome. EIU would push the overtime lead to as many as seven points on a lay-up by Aboubacar Diallo with 56 seconds left.
Wallace was EIU’s leading scorer with 24 points going 6-of-6 from the foul line. Shareef Smith added 14 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Diallo had six points, five rebounds and five blocks.
Williford had 15 points and 11 assists for SIUE. Williams added 18 points.
AUSTIN PEAY 81, MOREHEAD STATE 67
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Govs broke out early and never looked back, dispatching Morehead State 81-67 in the Dunn Center to sweep the opening weekend of OVC play.
Chris Porter-Bunton proceeded to score 11 points in the first seven minutes of play, part of a solid offensive start for both teams—the Govs hit five of their first six shots (Porter-Bunton was 4-of-4) and Morehead State (4-11, 0-2 OVC) was no slouch in the early going itself, hitting five of its first eight offerings from the floor.
While the Govs cooled slightly after their (in fairness, mostly Porter-Bunton's) hot start, Austin Peay (10-5, 2-0) still managed to shoot a more than respectable 55.2 percent (16-of-29) for the half. Morehead State was not as fortunate; the Eagles went from pretty good to lukewarm to ice-cold, finishing the half at 29.0 percent (9-of-31) and missing nine of their final 10 shots from the floor.
Foul trouble caught up to the Govs early in the second half—by the first media timeout, Austin Peay had already been whistled for five fouls, with both Porter-Bunton and grad transfer Jarrett Givens hitting the pine after picking up their third personals.
The "next man up" mentality that has defined this team for much of the year came to the forefront once more. With two of the starters missing a large chunk of action early in the second half, it was a good opportunity for Dayton Gumm to take over, and so he did. A three-pointer from the left wing kicked off a 10-2 run, of which the sharpshooting sophomore contributed six points—he also converted an old-fashioned three-point play to increase the lead to 22 points.
Contributing alongside Gumm was grad transfer Jabari McGhee; the Albany, Georgia native scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds in the second half alone. The Gumm-McGhee duo battled Morehead State's Malek Green to help Austin Peay reestablish control of the boards in the second half, with Gumm and McGhee pulling down 14 of Austin Peay's 22 second-half rebounds.
Morehead State turned up its intensity on the offensive end late, outscoring the Govs 40-35 in the second half, and Austin Peay went 3-for-13 from the floor with three turnovers from the 18:12 mark in the second half until 9:44 remained. Despite that, Austin Peay's lead actually increased during that stretch—from 17 points at its start to 20 at its end—and the Eagles never got closer than the 14-point margin the game ultimately settled at.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 74, UT MARTIN 69 (OT)
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri men's basketball (6-9, 1-1 OVC) erased a 16-point deficit to overcome UT Martin (5-8, 0-2 OVC), 74-69, in overtime for the Redhawks first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the 2018-19 season Saturday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
Isaiah Gable led the Redhawks with a career high 28-point outing and Alex Caldwell matched a personal best of 17 points off the bench.
Southeast opened the contest on a 5-0 run on a basket from Gable coupled with a three-pointer from Skyler Hogan before extending its early advantage to 10-2.
UT Martin then tied the game at 13-13 at the 10:37 mark in the opening half on a basket from Fatodd Lewis before extending the gap to 16 points, 31-15, with 2:42 remaining in the first period.
Trailing 33-17 at the break, Southeast forced overtime with a 41-point second half. The Redhawks converted 60 percent of their field goals and 41.7 percent from three-point distance in the second half.
Gable knocked down a three at 15:48 to cut the Skyhawks edge to four points, 36-32, before UTM regrew its advantage to 10, 42-32, with 12:15 remaining.
Southeast once again answered the call and pulled ahead, 55-54, on a three-point basket from Caldwell with 1:54 left to play.
Jonathan Dalton then drew a foul on his lay-up to push the Redhawks advantage to 58-55 with 29 ticks left in regulation.
Delfincko Bogan responded with a three to knot the game at 58-58 and force extra basketball in Cape.
In the overtime period, Southeast reclaimed a five-point lead, 63-58, after a three from Hogan and a basket by Gable.
Derek Hawthorne Jr. then answered with a three to pull the SEMO advantage to two, 63-61, at 3:01 in OT before Caldwell swished from behind the arc to bring the lead back to five, 66-61.
A lay-up by Lewis brought the Skyhawks within three, 72-69, before Caldwell hit both of his free throws to put the game on ice, 74-69.
SEMO hit at a 44.4 percent clip in overtime including 60 percent from three. Gable and Caldwell paced Southeast in the third period with five points each.
The Redhawks also converted 63.2 percent of their free throws in the game.
BELMONT 79, TENNESSEE TECH 67
NASHVILLE - Behind 23 points and nine rebounds from senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler, Belmont University (10-1) men's basketball defeated Tennessee Tech, 79-67, Saturday.
Freshman Nick Muszynski capped a 13-0 run in the latter portion of the first half as Belmont seized a 42-32 halftime lead.
The Bruins maintained a double figure lead throughout the second half behind stingy defense and the all-court play of Windler. A Windler wing 3-pointer made the score 61-45 with 10:59 remaining. The teams combined to shoot 29 second half free throws.
Belmont outscored Tennessee Tech 42-30 in the paint and 27-14 in bench points as nine Bruins scored.
Aside from Windler, Muszynski and junior Seth Adelsperger added 12 points each.
Malik Martin led Tennessee Tech (5-10, 1-1 OVC) with 17 points.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 69, TENNESSEE STATE 62
NASHVILLE - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team improved to 2-0 to begin Ohio Valley Conference play for the third season in a row under head coach Ray Harper with a 69-62 win over Tennessee State on Saturday.
A couple of late 3-pointers from senior Detrick Mostella and junior Ty Hudson lifted the Gamecocks (10-5, 2-0 OVC) over the Tigers (3-11, 0-2 OVC) for just the third time in 17 trips to TSU's Gentry Center.
After leading at the half, a couple of technical fouls that went against the Gamecocks midway through the second period allowed Tennessee State to climb back into the lead. TSU guard Tripp Davis converted all four free throws on the fouls before hitting a 3-pointer to give the Tigers a 48-47 lead at 10:44.
The TSU advantage grew to as much as four until Hudson and Mostella struck in the last four minutes of play. Down by one, Hudson hit a 3-pointer to make it a 58-56 game in favor of the Gamecocks, and Mostella dropped a triple two possession later to give JSU a five-point lead.
Jacksonville State then proceeded to hit eight straight free throws in the closing minute to push the game out of reach by seven points.
Mostella didn't miss a shot all night, going 4-for-4 from the field with three 3-pointers and four free throws. The guard tallied 15 points - his third-highest total of the season - along with a steal and two rebounds.
A neck-and-neck first half saw the Gamecocks pull away within the last 10 minutes to take a 34-25 lead to the locker room. Tied 15-15, Mostella and Jacara Cross combined for eight straight points in the next two minutes to put the Gamecocks ahead with 7:18 remaining before the half. Mostella was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line with a 3-pointer, while Cross hit three freebies during the stretch.
JSU put up 11 points to the Tigers' 10 to push the Gamecock advantage to nine before the half's horn.
Hudson finished with six points from beyond the arc and six points from the free-throw line, while Marlon Hunter racked up 13 points. Jason Burnell snagged his sixth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
The win completes the Music City sweep for the first time in the Jacksonville State's OVC history. It is the first time the Gamecocks have won their road games at both Belmont and Tennessee State in the same season, becoming just the second OVC team to accomplish the feat. Eastern Kentucky was the first to do it in 2015-16.
MURRAY STATE 97, EASTERN KENTUCKY 85
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers kept to their winning ways Saturday when they defeated the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 97-85 at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
The Racers (11-2) improved to 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference and pushed their home winning streak to 18. The Colonels (7-8) fell to 0-2 in OVC play.
In a game that had a postseason feel, even though it's only the first week of the conference season, the Racers got 34 points and 10 assists from Ja Morant and 13 points and 13 rebounds from KJ Williams. Tevin Brown, Shaq Buchanan and Darnell Cowart all scored 16 each as the Racers put five in double-figure scoring.
Never having the lead in the first half (EKU led 48-41 at the intermission), the Racers trailed by as many as 12 points with 18:11 remaining before they caught the Colonels with at 15:33 on Buchanan's dunk to complete a run of 15-2. EKU regained the lead by five (63-58) at 13:44, but the Racers answered on the shooting of Brown. His fourth-straight 3-pointer at 12:41 made sure the Racers never trailed again. EKU tied it 60-60 with 9:53 left, but could never go back in front.
The Racers put the game away with four dunks in the final 2:09 by Morant, Cowart and a pair from Buchanan to thrill a crowd of 6,552 at The Bank.
A lot of shots fell in this one with the Racers shooting 54 percent on 37-of-69, while EKU shot 49 percent on 30-of-67.
The game will be memorable for its intensity that reminded of what March tournament games are like and for the highlighting of two of the top players in the OVC. EKU's Nick Mayo scored 36 points and Ja Morant pumped in 34 for the Racers. Both have gained their schools much national attention with much more to come.