FRIDAY'S SCORES
Eastern Illinois 87, Saint Francis (Ill.) 47 (San Antonio, Texas)
FIU 89,
Eastern Kentucky 70
@Butler 68,
Morehead State 50
@Southeast Missouri 72, Missouri S&T 71
EASTERN ILLINOIS 87, SAINT FRANCIS (ILL.) 47
SAN ANTONIO - Eastern Illinois posted its third straight impressive win as the Panthers opened with an 11-0 run on its way to an 87-47 win over Saint Francis (Ill.). After two straight blow out home wins, Friday’s victory was on the road in the opening round of the Incarnate Word MTE Tournament.
EIU improved to 3-2 on the season while Saint Francis is now 3-2.
Mack Smith knocked down his first 3-point attempt of the game and finished 4-of-5 from 3-point range as he powered the Panthers opening run and finished with a game high 18 points. Smith was one of three Panthers in double figures scoring 16 of his points in the first half.
EIU jumped out to a 11-0 lead to open the game and had another 19-0 run during the first half to lead 53-23 at the break. EIU shot 74 percent in the first half before finishing the night at 58 percent from the floor including 9-of-18 from 3-point range.
In the second half George Dixon and Kashawn Charles joined Smith in double figures. Dixon had 15 points to go with 11 rebounds as he posted his second double-double of the season. Charles has 11 points off the bench.
EIU finished with a 56-19 advantage on the glass pulling down 18 offensive rebounds. Deang Deang just missed being a the second EIU player with a double-double posting nine points and nine rebounds.
Eric Ting led Saint Francis with ten points as the only Fighting Saints player in double figures as USF was held to 25 percent shooting.
FIU 89, EASTERN KENTUCKY 70
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team fell to Florida International, 89-70, on Friday in the Battle for the Capital at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.
Senior Ty Taylor and sophomore Jomaru Brown both finished with 19 points to pace the Colonels. Sophomore Tre King recorded 10 points and eight rebounds before fouling out. Junior Darius Hicks just missed his second straight double-double, scoring seven points and grabbing a team-best nine boards.
Taylor sparked EKU in the first half, shooting 4-of-5 from three-point range over the first 20 minutes of action. One of those three-pointers made it a one-point game, 19-18, with 9:24 left in the half. FIU, however, responded with a 7-0 run to claim an eight-point lead, 26-18, less than two minutes later.
The Panthers took their largest lead of the first half, 41-28, when Devon Andrews connected on a three-pointer with 2:26 on the clock.
A dunk by King and a free throw by Hicks sent the Colonels into halftime facing a 10-point deficit, 41-31.
Eastern battled throughout the second half and cut the FIU lead to six, 54-48, following a three-point play by Brown with 13:04 remaining in the game. Moments later, a three from the corner by senior Lachlan Anderson made it a five-point game, 56-51.
With EKU trailing by eight, 68-60, FIU exploded on a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach. A dunk by Osasumwen Osaghae capped the run and made it 83-62 with 3:38 to play.
EKU out-rebounded FIU, 39-36, in the game; however, the Panthers shot it at a 57 percent clip (34-of-60), while the Colonels were just 29 percent from the floor (21-of-64).
FIU’s Andrews led all players in the game with 24 points.
BUTLER 68, MOREHEAD STATE 50
INDIANAPOLIS - Despite being tied at the half, Morehead State men's basketball saw Butler pull ahead as MSU fell 68-50 at Hinkle Fieldhouse Friday night.
The Eagles fell to 4-2, while Butler stayed perfect at 5-0.
Indianapolis native and junior guard Justin Thomas, playing in front of a large contingent of hometown friends and family, put together yet another all-around solid effort. "Juice" finished with a game-high and career-high 11 rebounds while scoring eight and dishing out a game high six assists. The nation's second-ranked takeaway specialist also collected three more steals.
Another Indianapolis product, senior guard Djimon Henson, sank three triples and scored a team-high 11 points, joined by junior forward James Baker for team-high scoring honors.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 72, MISSOURI S&T 71
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Alex Caldwell drained a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to help Southeast Missouri (2-2) escape with a 72-71 win over Missouri S&T (1-2) Friday night at the Show Me Center.
Caldwell gave the game its eighth tie when his layup made it a 69-69 contest with 47 seconds on the clock.
Dulan Scott answered with a jumper to regain a 71-69 edge for the Miners 13 seconds later.
Caldwell then buried his game-winner on the Redhawks ensuing possession.
Missouri S&T gave SEMO one last scare when it stole the ball and took the last shot at the buzzer, but Mitch Fairless' jumper bounced off the rim.
Neither team led by more than seven points during the back-and-forth 135th meeting between these in-state schools. The win, which marked SEMO's 13th-straight over the Miners, pushed SEMO's lead to 104-31 in the all-time series. In addition, the Redhawks picked up their 29th consecutive win over non-Division I opponents.
While Caldwell made a big splash at the end, Sage Tolbert led SEMO in the first half dropping in 13 of his points.
SEMO shot 55.2 percent (16-of-29) from the field in the opening stanza, but trailed 44-42 at the intermission.
The Redhawks used a 6-0 run to take a 39-33 advantage with 2:14 remaining. Tolbert converted a conventional 3-point play at the end of that surge.
Tied, 42-42, with under 30 seconds to go, Fairless made two free throws to give Missouri S&T the halftime advantage. The Miners heated up to make eight 3-pointers for a 57.1 percent clip from long range.
SEMO shot 47.3 percent (26-of-55) from the field and outrebounded Missouri S&T, 41-33. The Redhawks missed 14 free throws for the night, as well.
Tolbert led four Redhawks in double figures with a near double-double 16 points and nine rebounds. Caldwell followed with 12 points, while Quatarrius Wilson added 11 and Oscar Kao chipped in a career-high 10.
Fairless turned in a double-double 19 points and 10 boards to lead the Miners. Missouri S&T cooled off to shoot just 3-of-12 (25 percent) from 3-point range in the second half.