SATURDAY'S SCORES
Belmont 100, @Boston College 85
SIUE 57, @Incarnate Word 55
@Tulsa 72,
Austin Peay 65
@Wichita State 103,
UT Martin 62
Appalachian State 69,
Tennessee Tech 47 (Greensboro, N.C.)
@Morehead State 76, Maryland-Eastern Shore 53
@Murray State 114, Brescia 48
BELMONT 100, BOSTON COLLEGE 85
BOSTON - Behind a career-high 35 points from sophomore Adam Kunkel, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Boston College, 100-85, Saturday afternoon in the Gotham Classic.
Kunkel, who scored 28 points Nov. 11 vs. Samford, went 10-for-20 from the field - including 5-for-9 from 3-point distance - and 10-for-10 from the free throw line in leading Belmont to an impressive road victory.
Belmont led 49-45 at halftime, but used an overwhelming 30-9 run in the first eight minutes of the second half to seize command. Junior Nick Hopkins capped the scintillating run with a wing 3-pointer to make the score 79-54 with 12:08 remaining.
All told, Belmont shot 53 percent from the field - including 15-for-26 from 3-point distance.
Hopkins scored a season-high 15 points on his birthday, while sophomore Nick Muszynski added 13 points and six rebounds. Senior Michael Benkert added 10, while sophomore Grayson Murphy had nine points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Nik Popovic led Boston College (3-1) with 23 points.
SIUE 57, INCARNATE WORD 55
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - SIUE men's basketball erased an 11-point second-half deficit to score a 57-55 win on the road Saturday afternoon at Incarnate Word.
The Cougars improved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 on the road. UIW dropped to 1-3.
Mike Adewunmi knocked down a pair of free throws with less than two seconds to play to seal the win for the Cougars.
SIUE opened up a 7-0 lead over the first two and a half minutes but UIW came back and eventually gained its first lead at 12-11 at the 12:17 mark in the first. The teams traded leads from then until the Cardinals took the lead in the final five minutes of the half. Incarnate Word led 31-26 at halftime.
The Cougars chipped away a couple of times in the second half, but each time UIW would answer and began to extend its lead. The Cardinals had their largest lead of the game at 48-37 after a Morgan Taylor layup with 10:39 to play. This time, SIUE had the answer.
A 3-pointer by Adewunmi kicked off a 9-0 run, and after a 3-pointer by Iziah James, the Cougars had pulled within two with 8:27 to play.
SIUE didn't pull even with UIW until two free throws from Adewunmi, a steal by Tyresse Williford and a layup by Kenyon Duling knotted the score at 55 with 2:11 to play. It stayed tied until Adewunmi was fouled fighting for an offensive rebound. He hit the first, then attempted to glance the second shot off the rim, allowing the clock to run out, but his shot rattled in instead. Augustine Ene's three point attempt from near half court didn't find them the rim and allowed SIUE the win.
Adewunmi led SIUE with 12 points, all of which came in the second half. He finished a rebound shy of his second consecutive double-double.
Cam Williams added nine points in the Cougar win. Keaston Willis scored 14 points for Incarnate Word, while Vincent Miszkiewicz scored 12 points and added 12 rebounds.
Incarnate Word knocked down 20-53 shots (37.7 percent), including nine of 24 3-point attempts. SIUE was 22-61 (36.1 percent) and just 5-18 (27.8 percent) from 3-point range. SIUE has attempted more shots than its opponents in each of the four games this year.
TULSA 72, AUSTIN PEAY 65
TULSA, Okla. - On the road, close and late, Austin Peay State University men's basketball team nearly toppled Tulsa in an exhilarating contest at the Reynolds Center, ultimately succumbing to the Golden Hurricane in a 72-65 affair.
The Govs (1-2) fell behind early, trailing 10-2 less than three minutes into the game and by 10 after Brandon Rachal scored the Golden Hurricane's (3-1) first 14 points to stake a 14-4 lead.
Eight points from Terry Taylor eventually shook Austin Peay from its early malaise; the junior from Bowling Green keyed a 13-4 run to bring the Govs within a point. Taylor would eventually tie the game, rebounding a missed free-throw by Jordyn Adams and putting it back up for a score; on the next possession, Antwuan Butler would find Adams for a bucket to give the Govs their first lead of the night.
At that point, the Govs seized the upper hand. Another 13-2 run, with seven supplied by junior Eli Abaev, gave the Govs their largest lead of the day at nine points with just over two minutes to play in the half.
Unfortunately, the final two minutes belonged to the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa closed the half on a 7-0 run, erasing much of Austin Peay's advantage and sending the Govs into the break with a 36-34 lead.
The teams traded buckets and the lead early in the second half, with Tulsa ultimately taking an eight-point lead at the halfway point. But as quickly as the lead was built, the Govs erased it on huge three-pointers from Evan Hinson and Adams, and an old-fashioned three-point play by Taylor that allowed Austin Peay to retake the lead with just over seven minutes remaining.
The teams resumed trading buckets for most of the next four minutes; with 3:19 to play, a pair of Taylor free-throws tied the game up once more. On Tulsa's next possession, Martins Igbanu muscled up a bucket, then Darion Jackson stole an errant pass and zoomed in for a layup to make it a two-possession game.
With 1:10 remaining, Reginald Gee would cut the deficit to three with a pair of free-throws, but Lawson Korital's lone bucket of the day, a jumper in the lane, would push the Golden Hurricane lead back to five; the Govs would get no closer the rest of the way.
WICHITA STATE 103, UT MARTIN 62
WICHITA, Kan. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team ran into an offensive buzzsaw this afternoon as the Wichita State Shockers used a big first half to defeat the Skyhawks, 103-62 at Charles Koch Arena.
Miles Thomas led UT Martin (2-2) with 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting, draining a trio of three-pointers to go along with four rebounds and two steals. Quintin Dove also provided 13 points and a team-high five rebounds while Derek Hawthorne, Jr. added 11 points as the Skyhawks sank a season-high 12 three-pointers today.
Wichita State (3-0) shot 68.8 percent in the first half – including a 10-for-15 performance from beyond the three-point arc. Tyson Etienne scored a game-high 21 points, joining Jamarius Burton (18), Morris Udeze (14), Trey Wade (10) and Erik Stevenson (10) as double-digit scorers for the Shockers.
The game started off well for UT Martin, as Thomas intercepted a pass near midcourt and swooped in for a fast break dunk just 32 seconds into the contest. However, Wichita State unreeled 14 unanswered points until a pair of Parker Stewart free throws at the 15:06 mark temporarily halted the momentum. Despite five treys in an eight-minute span by the Skyhawks, Wichita State was able to take a 57-30 lead into the locker room at the halftime break.
Thomas tallied a dozen points in the opening 20 minutes to pace UT Martin, tying his career-high in scoring in the first half. Burton’s 13 points off the bench led the Shockers.
Dove scored the Skyhawks’ first eight points of the second half, including back-to-back three-pointers in a 62-second span. Hawthorne and Craig Randall II knocked down three-pointers soon thereafter but UT Martin’s deficit was too large to overcome. The Skyhawks saw a glimpse into their bright future in the final portion of the game, as freshmen Eman Sertovic (a pair of three-pointers) and Eric Rustin (mid-range pull-up jumper) accounted for UT Martin’s final eight points of the contest.
APPALACHIAN STATE 69, TENNESSEE TECH 47
GREENSBORO, N.C. - The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell in its second contest of the Spartan Invitational Saturday, dropping the afternoon affair in Fleming Coliseum to Appalachian State, 69-47.
The Golden Eagles started the contest with a spark, leading 16-12 nearly halfway through the first period thanks to a 4-for-6 start from 3-point range. Two more 3-pointers from sophomore Hunter Vick, who led the purple and gold with 12 points on the day, put Tech down by just three points with just over six to play in the half.
Appalachian State took advantage of a dry spell from the Golden Eagle offense, outscoring the squad from Cookeville 10-2 over the remaining portion of the contest.
Undeterred, Tech clawed its way back from a 14-point deficit in the second have to close the Mountaineer lead to as close as six with just under 10 minutes play. A second App State run of 14 straight points proved too much for the Golden Eagles to overcome down the stretch.
For the contest, Tech had success from downtown, hitting 10-of-24 tries from deep. The Golden Eagles also won the assist battle, 11-10, with freshman Keishawn Davidson and sophomore Jr. Clay leading the way with four apiece.
MOREHEAD STATE 76, MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE 53
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State men's basketball utilized balanced scoring and a hard-nosed defensive presence to setback Maryland Eastern Shore, 76-53 Saturday night at Johnson Arena.
With tonight's victory, MSU advances to 4-0 for the first time since 1980-81.
Morehead State took a 46-25 lead into the halftime intermission, leading by as many as 31 late in the second half.
Junior forward James Baker paced the Eagles with 14 points, connecting on 7-of-13 from the field.
Nearly approaching double-double territory for the first-ever time was senior guard Djimon Henson, chipping in 13 points. He led the Eagles in this contest with a career-high nine rebounds. MSU held the rebounding advantage, 42-29.
Junior floor-general Justin Thomas continued his stat sheet-stuffing ways, logging 10 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals.
MURRAY STATE 114, BRESCIA 48
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers scored a 114-48 win Saturday over the Brescia Bearcats as they pushed their home win streak in the CFSB Center to eight.
The Racers (2-1) get back on their home court in Murray, Kentucky, Tuesday when they welcome regional rival Southern Illinois for a 7 p.m. tip at The Bank.
Chico Carter, Jr., led eight MSU players to score in double-figures with 20 points to go with nine assists. The freshman guard was 7-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.
MSU’s Demond Robinson tallied 16 points, while the Racers got 14 points from KJ Williams and 13 points from Anthony Smith as he had a career-high 14 rebounds. Darnell Cowart added 13 points and the Racers got 11 points each from DaQuan Smith and Tevin Brown and 10 points from Devin Gilmore.
Leading 36-16 13 minutes into the contest, the Racers held the lead at the half 57-29 and outscored the Bearcats 57-19 in the second half.
MSU shot 71 percent from the field in the second and half and managed 64 percent for the game on 42-of-66. Brescia hot 7-of-29 in the second half for 22 percent and was 17-of-62 for the game for 27 percent.