SATURDAY'S SCORES
@#21 Tennessee 75,
Jacksonville State 53
@Ohio 82,
Morehead State 76
@Tennessee State 86, Blue Mountain 71
Duquesne 86,
Austin Peay 77 (St. Petersburg, Fla.)
@Detroit Mercy 81,
SIUE 55
Alabama 92,
Belmont 72 (Huntsville, Ala.)
@Southern Illinois 64,
Southeast Missouri 45
Western Carolina 89,
@Tennessee Tech 76
@Evansville 78,
Murray State 76 (OT)
Charleston Southern 76,
@Eastern Kentucky 69
@Grand Canyon 85,
Eastern Illinois 63
#21 TENNESSEE 75, JACKSONVILLE STATE 53
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team fell at Tennessee's Thompson-Boling Arena on Saturday, dropping a 75-53 decision to the No. 21 Volunteers.
Senior guard Ty Hudson led Jacksonville State (4-8) with 11 points, hitting three treys along the way, but it was not enough to stave off Rick Barnes from earning his 700th career win.
Jacksonville State turned the ball over five times in the first four minutes, helping Tennessee (8-3) to a 6-0 run and an 11-5 lead at the first media timeout, but the Gamecocks settled down soon after and earned a three-point lead just minutes later.
Tennessee's shooting cooled off and Jacksonville State hopped on a 10-0 run to take a 16-13 advantage at the 6:19 mark. Kayne Henry put the Gamecocks ahead by one on a drive and hook shot, and Martin Roub padded the lead with a jumper. Jacksonville State's defense didn't allow the Vols to score a basket over seven minutes during the run.
Tennessee was held to 37.5 percent shooting in the first half. The Gamecocks blocked four would-be baskets with Henry getting credit for two.
The Gamecocks turned the ball over just five times the remainder of the half and trailed by four at the break. Hudson had a team-best nine points following the first 20 minutes, hitting all three of his baskets from beyond the arc. His 3-pointer at the buzzer made it a 30-26 game heading into halftime.
The Volunteers came out and quickly took control of the game in the second half. Tennessee went on a 10-0 run midway through the period that took its lead from nine to 19. The Vols' Jordan Bowden was one of four to score in double figures, totaling 19 points. The guard had 11 points in the 45-point second half.
JSU's Henry ended his day with six points and a team-high 10 rebounds, while Jacara Cross came up just one point shy of his eighth double-digit scoring game of the season.
OHIO 82, MOREHEAD STATE 76
ATHENS, Ohio - Morehead State seniors Jordan Walker and Djimon Henson combined for 46 points as the Eagle men's basketball team came up just short at Ohio Saturday, falling 82-76.
The Eagles fell behind by 12 in the first half but never fully faltered, mounting a furious rally to lead at the half. MSU slipped to 5-7 overall, while the Bobcats moved to 8-4.
Walker, who drilled six three-pointers, became just the second player in program history with at least 1,200 points, 200 assists, 100 steals and 175 triples. He has 176 three-balls now in his four seasons.
Henson, who had a career-high 23 points against Marshall last time out, nearly equaled that today, hitting all three three-pointers and 8-of-11 from the floor to score 22 today.
Morehead State, which had only hit 28 percent from three-point range in the last four games, nailed 50 percent (9-of-18) today.
TENNESSEE STATE 86, BLUE MOUNTAIN 71
NASHVILLE - Shakem Johnson led the Tigers to its fifth non-conference victory in the Gentry Center this season, scoring a career-high 27 points versus Blue Mountain College Saturday afternoon. Tennessee State men’s basketball improved to 8-5 on the season with the 86-71 win.
The night wasn’t without its stressful moments as the Tigers held the lead for 35:14 of the game, but the Topper’s efficient 48.2 percent shooting from the field, tied the game three times, and changed the lead six.
Shakem Johnson and Michael Littlejohn led TSU offensively throughout the first half, knocking down two free-throws a piece, missing just two shots over 20 minutes of play. Emmanuel Egbuta and Wesley Harris joined Johnson and Littlejohn in the second half combining for 43 points on 68 percent shooting.
DUQUESNE 86, AUSTIN PEAY 77
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball team threw a scare into one of four unbeaten teams left in Division I, pushing Duquesne to the brink in an 86-77 contest to open the St. Pete Shootout, Saturday.
Already down four players to start the day, a turned ankle left Pavle Djurisic sidelined and the Govs down to nine dressed players by tipoff. The next-man-up mentality turned to Carlos Paez and Sita Conteh, who each made their first start in an Austin Peay uniform. The fresh blood in the lineup seemed to invigorate the Govs, who raced out to an early 15-8 lead, with Jordyn Adams and Terry Taylor scoring the first 12 points and Evan Hinson picking up an old-fashioned three-point play to push the Govs out in front.
The Govs found early success against one of the nation's top defenses, hitting six of their first nine shots from the floor to open play. But Duquesne didn't come in as one of the nation's last unbeatens without taking the best shots from its opponents. The Dukes, on a 7-of-9 stretch from the floor, went from down three at the 12-minute mark to up by 11 points less than six minutes later as Duquesne heated up from the floor and the Govs drifted into foul trouble. The Dukes were in the bonus by the 11:22 mark, which spelled double trouble for Austin Peay; not only did the shorthanded Govs have to mix and match lineups due to foul trouble, the Dukes shot 20 free throws in the first alone.
But just when things looked bleakest for the Govs in the first half, Austin Peay rallied. A 9-2 Governor run cut the deficit to four with under a minute to go in the half, but Duquesne scored the final five points of the half to lead 45-36 at the break, despite 12 points from Taylor and 10 from Adams.
The Dukes scored the first six points to open the second half and looked on the verge of pulling away again, but Austin Peay's resilience reared its head again. Antwuan Butler opened an 11-2 run with an old-school three-point play, followed by a three from deep, then it was Adams' turn for another five points to cut the Duquesne lead to six less than four minutes into the half.
The Govs were continued to make life difficult for the Dukes as they chipped away at the deficit. A Paez runner made it a five-point game at the 7:37 mark. Conteh nailed a three to cut it to four less than three minutes later. Taylor, who spent most of the contest double-teamed by one of the nation's most prolific frontcourts, laid in a bucket with 1:56 to play to make it a one-possession game for the first time since early in the first half.
But each big Austin Peay bucket was countered by Duquesne. On the possession following Taylor's bucket, Marcus Weathers got in the lane and earned a three-point play with 90 seconds left; Austin Peay would never get closer than that against one of the nation's best free-throw shooting teams as the Dukes went 10-of-11 at the free-throw line over the final 1:34.
DETROIT MERCY 81, SIUE 55
DETROIT, Mich. - SIUE men's basketball fell to an eighth consecutive loss Saturday, dropping an 81-55 decision at Detroit Mercy.
SIUE fell to 2-10. Detroit Mercy also is 2-10.
SIUE was just 4-20 from the field in the first half and went into the locker room down 37-15 at the break. It was the lowest scoring half of basketball for the Cougars this season.
Horizon League preseason player of the year Antoine Davis scored a season-high 35 points for Detroit Mercy including 20 in the first half.
The Cougars played much better in the second half, shooting 15-31 from the field (48.4 percent).
Anselm Uzuegbunem led SIUE with a career-high 16 points, including 10 in the second half. He was 5-6 from the floor and 6-8 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds. Shamar Wright added a career-high 10 points He was 5-8 from the field.
Justin Miller and Marquis Moore each added 12 points for Detroit Mercy. Moore was 4-4 from three-point range. Detroit Mercy was 13-27 from long range for the game.
ALABAMA 92, BELMONT 72
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - Belmont University men's basketball dropped a 92-72 decision to Alabama Saturday in the 2019 Rocket City Classic.
The 3-point line - which has been so kind to Belmont over the years - let the Bruins down on this day.Belmont, which leads the nation in made 3-point field goals since becoming an NCAA Division I institution in 1996-97, went 7-for-30 from behind the arc while Alabama went 14-for-32.
Yet behind the inspired play of sophomore Nick Muszynski, Belmont led 34-30 with 3:44 left in the first half.
Alabama used a 16-4 scoring run to end the first half to lead 46-38 at halftime. From there, the Crimson Tide opened the second half on another 16-4 spurt to break the game open.
Sophomore Grayson Murphy and graduate student Tyler Scanlon spearheaded a Belmont rally, closing within 82-70 with 2:35 left. Alabama scored 10 of the game's final 12 points.
Scanlon led Belmont with a season-high 20 points and eight rebounds. Muszynski had 17 points, while sophomore Adam Kunkel scored 16. Murphy added 11 points, five rebounds and six assists.
Jaden Shackelford led Alabama (6-5) with 16 points.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 64, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 45
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois (6-7) erased a 10-point deficit with a 26-0 run and never turned back in a 64-45 win over Southeast Missouri (3-9) Saturday afternoon at Banterra Center.
Longtime rivals SEMO and SIU met for the 117th time on the hardwood in the all-time series that goes all the way back to 1914. The Salukis have now won 15 of the last 18 matchups between the teams.
SEMO started strong out of the gate with a 12-2 run in the opening six minutes of the contest. Alex Caldwell and Skyler Hogan each buried 3-pointers and Darrious Agnew scored two baskets in the paint to grab the Redhawks the double-digit advantage.
The Redhawks instantly went cold after that missing their next 13 field goals and going scoreless for 11:21. SIU cashed in with a 26-0 run to open a 28-12 lead and later headed into the locker room ahead, 32-20.
SEMO began the game making four of its first six field goals for 66.7 percent. The Redhawks shot just 26.3 percent (5-19) over the final 14:24 of the opening stanza. The Redhawks scored a season-low 20 points in the first half and did not score more than 26 first-half points for the third-straight game.
Things didn't get much better for SEMO in the second half where it continued its shooting woes. The Redhawks shot just 18 percent (2-of-12) over the first 8:08 of the final half. SIU led by as many as 22 points before closing out its victory.
Hogan led SEMO with 15 points and seven points and Agnew followed with 10 points.
Marcus Domask topped the Salukis with 14 points as one of four players with double figures in the scoring column.
WESTERN CAROLINA 89, TENNESSEE TECH 76
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A terrific offensive display was too much for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles dropped a fast-paced show in the Eblen Center to the visiting Catamounts of Western Carolina, 89-76.
On the night, WCU shot 60.4 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from 3-point range to outgun the Golden Eagles. Tech finished the night 42.9 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from downtown, relying on the defense's 22 forced turnovers to outscore the visitors in the second half, 44-43.
They were the better basketball team, on the road, in both halves. I think we were pretty lucky to force them into 22 turnovers. That was kind of the only way we could stop them. They're very well-coached, a really good basketball team. I have a lot of respect for them.
The squad from Cookeville dished out 18 assists in the contest, making just 11 turnovers of its own. The Tech bunch also drew a healthy amount of fouls, finishing 14-of-19 from the charity stripe. The Catamounts dominated the glass, to the tune of 38-23, providing more opportunities for its red-hot offense to operate.
The offense was relatively distributed throughout the night for the Golden Eagles, with six players scoring at least seven points. Sophomore guard Jr. Clay continued his hot run over the past five games, scoring a game-high 17 points with five assists, five steals and three rebounds.
Junior forward Larry Kuimi enjoyed a strong night on offense, sinking 6-of-8 attempts from the floor for a season-high 14 points. He also had a block and three rebounds. Scoring 11 points with a pair of steals was freshman guard Keishawn Davidson, who rounded out the double-digit scorers for Tech.
Freshman forward Tujautae Williams contributed nine points with a 5-for-6 showing from the free throw line and four assists. Close behind, senior guard Darius Allen posted eight points and sophomore guard Hunter Vick scored seven.
EVANSVILLE 78, MURRAY STATE 76 (OT)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Murray State Racers and Evansville Purple Aces met for the 39th time Saturday, a game that eventually went to overtime. Evansville became the winner 78-76 in front of a crowd of 7,316 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
The Racers (6-5) scatter to their hometowns for the next several days to be with their families for Christmas, before returning to the court (Dec. 28) at home against Cumberland (TN).
Tevin Brown scored 26 second half points to help his team erase a 14-point deficit and tie his career-high with 31 points. Brown ended the day hitting 8-of-21 from the field including 4-of-9 from the 3-point line and 11-of-15 from the free throw line. DaQuan Smith and KJ Williams each added 10 points to the MSU attack. Anthony Smith led MSU on the boards with 10 rebounds.
Trailing by as many as 17 points in the late first half, the Racers climbed back into the contest with a 13-2 run that saw them tie the game 56-56 on a steal and finish by Williams with 7:45 left. At the 3:38 mark, Noah Kamba scored in the lane to tie it again 62-62. MSU took the lead for the first time in the second half on a pair of free throws from DaQuan Smith. It was 64-62 Racers with 3:16 left.
With 14.2 seconds remaining, UE’s DeAndre Williams hit a 3-pointer to put the Aces ahead 69-66. Brown hit a 3-point basket straightaway deep beyond the top of the key to force the game into overtime.
In the extra frame, UE hit a pair of free throws with 31 ticks left and the Racers saw Brown’s late 3-point try for the win fall off the rim for a 78-76 loss.
The Racers dominated the rebound stat 46-28 and limited the Aces to only four offensive rebounds. However, MSU gave the ball up 20 times on turnovers, to which, UE turned into 30 points.
CHARLESTON SOUTHERN 76, EASTERN KENTUCKY 69
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team closed a 16-point second half deficit to four with less than two minutes to play, but lost to Charleston Southern University, 76-69, on Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
After the Buccaneers (5-6) took their third 16-point lead of the second half with 9:59 showing on the clock, the Colonels (3-9) stormed back. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Ty Taylor started a 20-8 run and immediately whittled the deficit to 10 points, 63-53. EKU got within eight twice before an old-fashioned 3-point play by Michael Moreno made it a 5-point game. Moreno came up with a steal and got the lay-up to fall with 2:57 left in the game. His free throw closed the gap to 69-64.
A lay-up by Jomaru Brown off a long pass from Moreno with 1:43 to go capped the run and made it a 71-67 game. Eastern missed on two jump shots and the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw trip before Deontaye Buskey’s jumper with 50 seconds remaining pushed the lead back to six for CSU.
Taylor led the Colonels with 20 points. Moreno finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Phlandrous Fleming had 20 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists for Charleston Southern.
CSU began the game by hitting on 12 of its first 15 attempts from the field, including 7-of-9 from behind the arc, to build a 14-point advantage. EKU took a 14-12 lead on a 3-pointer by Moreno, but the Colonels went cold and the Buccaneers stayed hot. CSU rolled off a 20-4 run to take a 14-point lead, 32-18, with 7:45 to go before halftime.
Three straight 3-pointers by Taylor got Eastern Kentucky within single digits, 36-27, and his two free throws made it an 8-point game, 37-29, with 3:48 remaining in the opening half. However, Charleston Southern scored eight of the final 12 and led by 12, 45-33, at intermission.
The Buccaneers shot 69 percent (18-for-26) in the first half, including 7-of-12 from deep (58 percent). Charleston Southern came into the game shooting 36 percent for the season from the field and only 24 percent from three-point range.
Eastern limited the visitors to 41 percent shooting in the second half, including just 1-of-9 (11 percent) from behind the arc.
GRAND CANYON 85, EASTERN ILLINOIS 63
PHOENIX - Grand Canyon knocked down 6-of-7 3-pointers early in the game to build an early double figure lead as the Lopes snapped Eastern Illinois three game win streak with an 85-63 win over the Panthers.
EIU fell to 7-5. GCU improved to 5-9.
Carlos Johnson had the early 3-pointers for GCU as they jumped out to a 22-12 lead as he finished with 16 points. Alessandro Lever then triggered a 14-0 run with six points down low finishing the night with 24 points.
George Dixon ended the GCU run with a lay-up with 9:45 to play. The Panthers responded with a 7-0 run of its own with Mack Smith knocking down a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws. Smith had 16 points including four 3-pointers as he extended his streak of consecutive games with a made 3-pointer to 61 games.
Josiah Wallace drained a 3-pointer with 50 seconds remaining in the half as GCU led 43-34. Wallace finished with 18 points, his highest scoring total of the season.
In the second half GCU continued to dump the ball down low to Lever as the Lopes opened the half hitting 8-of-11 from the field. GCU would finish the game shooting 46 percent from the field and 58 percent from 3-point range.
The Panthers were held to 32 percent shooting for the night with Dixon the third EIU player in double figures with ten points. Jordan Skipper-Brown pulled down 11 rebounds.