SATURDAY'S SCORES
@North Alabama 67,
Morehead State 57
Chattanooga 63,
Jacksonville State 60 (Niceville, Fla.)
Southeast Missouri 66, Denver 51 (Santa Clara, Calif.)
Belmont 71, @Middle Tennessee 59
NORTH ALABAMA 67, MOREHEAD STATE 57
FLORENCE, Ala. - A tough day shooting the ball spelled trouble for the Morehead State men's basketball team at North Alabama Saturday as the first-ever meeting between the teams went to the host Lions, 67-57, at Flowers Hall.
Morehead State slipped to 4-4 overall.
The Eagles found the going tough from the outside, hitting only 3-of-24 from distance. The Eagles did trim as much as a 16-point deficit down to only five (59-54) with less than two minutes left, but eight free throws made by the Lions pushed the final margin back out to double digits.
Junior forward James Baker was the team's leading scorer with 14, while senior guard Jordan Walker drained a three with 13 seconds left to get to 12 points and his 61st career double-figure effort.
CHATTANOOGA 63, JACKSONVILLE STATE 60
NICEVILLE, Fla. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team came up one basket short of the Emerald Coast Classic championship Saturday, falling 63-60 to Chattanooga at Northwest Florida State's Raider Arena.
Despite leading by as much as nine in the first half, the Mocs used a couple of timely runs to catch the Gamecocks at the half and control the second period by two points.
Senior Jacara Cross scored a career-high 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting, while fellow senior Ty Hudson fought for 12 points on five buckets. Sophomore De'Torrion Ware led the Gamecocks with 10 boards.
The first half sped by with only eight fouls whistled - four for both teams. Neither team went to the free-throw line the entire period.
Cross and junior Martin Roub each tallied six points in the first half and helped the Gamecocks to a nine-point advantage with 7:05 to go before the break. Roub ended the day with nine points - all coming from beyond the arc on three shots.
Down 23-14, that's when Chattanooga came alive and strung together a 10-point run to take a 24-23 lead going to the locker room. The UTC defense kept JSU off the board through the last seven minutes of the half, while the Mocs' offense was fueled by back-to-back Matt Ryan 3-pointers.
Jacksonville State came out firing after the break and regained the lead on Hudson's lone 3-pointer, but Chattanooga regained the advantage only four possessions later and did not relinquish it again.
The game came down to JSU inbounding with less than two seconds remaining on the clock. Down by three, Derek St. Hilaire dribbled twice off the inbound and threw up a half-court shot on the move, but the attempt fell short as the horn sounded.
Following his 22-point performance against Chicago State on Friday and his four points against the Mocs on Saturday, St. Hilaire was named to the Emerald Coast Classic All-Tournament Team.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 66, DENVER 51
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Alex Caldwell was named to the Cable Car Classic All-Tournament Team after Southeast Missouri (3-4) defeated Denver (3-5), 66-51, Saturday.
The Redhawks finished the tournament with a 1-2 mark, but ended a two-game losing streak with their victory today.
Caldwell scored a total of 43 points and did not miss a free throw (10-of-10) in three games at the Cable Car Classic.
It was a slow offensive start for both the Redhawks and the Pioneers as SEMO held a 10-9 edge with 10:50 remaining in the first half.
SEMO, however, led for the majority of the game and Caldwell scored with seven minutes left to give the Redhawks and 18-17 lead and start a 7-0 SEMO run.
Oscar Kao drained a 3-pointer with two minutes left in the first half to put the Redhawks ahead, 29-20, at halftime.
Skylar Hogan went 4-for-4 (1.000) from the field in the first half and finished at 7-of-8 from the field on the day. Hogan had a season-high 16 points against the Pioneers.
The Redhawks used a 6-0 run increase their lead to 35-20 and never looked back.
SEMO then led by as many as 17 points multiple times throughout the second half. The first time the Redhawks took over by that margin was when Quatarrius Wilson scored a layup in the paint with 17:40 remaining.
The Pioneers cut SEMO's lead to under double figures when Jase Townsend scored four points on back-to-back jumpers in the paint to make it a 55-47 game, but that was as close as they would get.
Wilson recorded his second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds against Denver. Caldwell and Hogan each dropped in 16 points and SEMO shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the field in the second half and a season-high 54 percent (27-of-50) for the game.
BELMONT 71, MIDDLE TENNESSEE 59
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Behind a game-high 20 points from sophomore Nick Muszynski, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Middle Tennessee, 71-59, Saturday.
Belmont has won 10 of the last 13 meetings vs. Middle Tennessee, including five victories at the Murphy Center.
Belmont was lazer-focused on both ends of the floor to open the game, amassing a 27-7 lead midway through the first half on a Muszynski conventional 3-point play.
But in a game full of momentum swings, Belmont would score two points over the next nine minutes, as Middle Tennessee closed within 29-25 on a Jayce Johnson basket. Sophomore Adam Kunkel delivered two free throws and a baseline 3-pointer to close the first half as Belmont led 34-25 at halftime.
Five quick Blue Raider points and missed assignments prompted Belmont head coach Casey Alexander to call an impassioned timeout two minutes into the second half. Despite the words of encouragement, Middle Tennessee continued a run of its own, leading 46-39 with 13:56 left on another Johnson basket.
Belmont silenced the home crowd behind a strong drive from senior Michael Benkert and four Muszynski points to get within 46-45. A Muszynski slam and a determined drive from Kunkel gave Belmont the lead to stay, 54-53 with 7:22 to go.
Belmont (5-3) limited Middle Tennessee to one made field goal the final eight minutes of the game, as strong defense and rebounding enabled the Bruins to finish well. Muszynski provided a clutch offensive rebound, conventional 3-point play to give Belmont a 59-55 lead with 5:39 left.
Junior Nick Hopkins made a floating basket and capped a steal with two free throws to increase the margin to six. Consecutive driving baskets from graduate student Tyler Scanlon, sophomore Grayson Murphy and Kunkel at the end of the shot clock made the score 69-59 with 1:31 left.
All told, Belmont shot 50 percent (28-for-56) from the field - incuding 59 percent in the second half.
Aside from Muszynski's 20 points and eight rebounds, Kunkel had 17 points, and Murphy added five points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Johnson led Middle Tennessee (3-5) with 15 points.