SATURDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee Tech 63, @Eastern Illinois 57
@UT Martin 91, Tennessee State 86
Jacksonville State 97, @SIUE 72
Morehead State 78, @Eastern Kentucky 77
Belmont 84, @Southeast Missouri 66
@Murray State 94, Austin Peay 83
TENNESSEE TECH 63, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57
CHARLESTON, Ill. - A 9-0 run with less than two minutes to play helped the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to wrap up the 2018-19 campaign with momentum. The Golden Eagles rallied on the road to defeat Eastern Illinois, 63-57, Saturday evening in Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill.
It was a surge led by a trio of freshmen, with some assistance from a couple of cagey veterans, that propelled the Tech men (8-23, 4-14) to snap a nine-game skid and end the season with something to build on. Trailing 57-54 with 1:32 to play, rookie point guard Jr. Clay fought for a contested layup and pulled Tech to within one.
Fellow freshman guard Jared Sherfield earned a quick steal, but the Golden Eagles gave the ball right back on its own turnover. The Panthers (14-17, 7-11) would miss their next shot with 38 seconds to play, allowing junior guard Corey Tillery to corral the board and start a crucial possession for the purple and gold.
It was Clay who stepped up, draining an NBA-range triple with 20 seconds on the clock to seize the lead for the Golden Eagles. The found himself some room after a fantastic screen by junior center Micaiah Henry, pulling up and hitting a monster shot. Arguably the biggest shot of the youngster's career came just seconds after he had lost a contact on the floor and had to leave the game before he could come back in after a timeout from Tech head coach Steve Payne.
With nine seconds to play, the Tech defense forced up a tough 3-point attempt by the Panthers and redshirt freshman guard Hunter Vick battled for a well-earned rebound and subsequent foul. The Camden, Tenn. native went to the line and hit a pair of crucial free throws, advancing the Golden Eagle lead to 61-57 with eight seconds to play.
Henry soared into the air and swiped a hail-mary pass down the court with two hands, and with one motion, sent a pass to Jered Sherfield back down the court where he shaved five seconds off the clock. Sherfield, a Tuscaloosa, Ala. native, calmly sank two free throws to ice the game away, giving Tech the 63-57 victory.
Vick was roaring hot early in the contest, sinking his first three attempts from beyond the arc for nine points in the opening half. He continued his scoring prowess in the second stanza, scoring 10 more to finish with a game-high 19 points. He shot 6-of-12 from the field, 4-for-6 from 3-point range and 3-of-3 from the charity stripe while grabbing five boards without taking a break.
Clay laid down 12 of his 14 crucial points in the second half, concluding his freshman campaign with six boards, five assists and three steals. It marked his 24th game scoring in double figures, the second-most in program history behind Earl Wise's 25 in 1986-87.
Sherfield, who entered the game volcanic, having scored 19, 20, and 11 points in each of his last three games, dropped 14 more on Saturday, helping Vick with eight of his 14 points in the contest coming in the first half. He snared four rebounds and tallied a game-high four steals in 35 minutes.
Tillery finished with eight points and three boards while Henry contributed six points, nine rebounds, three blocks and a career-high three steals.
Tech out-shot one of the hottest, 3-point shooting teams in the Ohio Valley Conference, sinking 39.1 percent from distance to Eastern Illinois' 18.2 percent showing from downtown. The Golden Eagles managed five more steals on the day and outshot EIU from the field, 44.2 percent to 37.1 percent.
UT MARTIN 91, TENNESSEE STATE 86
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team punched its ticket to the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Championship tournament with a thrilling 91-86 home victory over Tennessee State this afternoon.
It was a highly emotional day from the start as the Skyhawks honored seniors Kevin Little, Jailen Gill, Delfincko Bogan and Fatodd Lewis during a pregame ceremony. UT Martin followed that up with an efficient offensive performance as the Skyhawks did not trail over the final 33 minutes of the contest.
Bogan poured in a game-high 22 points to lead five UT Martin scorers in double figures today. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. compiled 17 points and a game-best seven rebounds off the bench for the Skyhawks while Craig Randall (16), Quintin Dove (14 points, seven rebounds) also had high-scoring days. Preston Parks collected 10 points, including four clutch free throws over the final 17 seconds to ice the win.
Tennessee State (9-21, 6-12 OVC) saw Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey and Thomas Davis, score 21 and 20 points, respectively. Michael Littlejohn secured 14 points while Kamar McKnight posted 12 points for a Tigers squad that were forced into 19 turnovers.
The Skyhawks started off slow as Tennessee State led by a 7-1 margin nearly eight minutes into the game. UT Martin answered with a 12-0 run and never trailed from that point forward. The Tigers would get within two points on three different occasions but the Skyhawks unreeled an 8-0 run towards the end of the half, taking a 12-point advantage after back-to-back Bogan layups. UT Martin would settle for a 41-30 lead behind Hawthorne’s 12 points while Tennessee State was led by Davis’ game-high 14 points.
The Tigers used a 10-2 run to close within two points with 17:17 left to play but buckets by Gill on back-to-back possessions stretched the Skyhawk lead back out to 50-42. Tennessee State went on an 11-4 surge to get within a single point (64-63) just under the midway point of the second half. A pair of Gill free throws at the 2:33 mark extended UT Martin’s advantage out to six points but the Tigers wouldn’t quit – evening the score at 80-80 less than a minute later. On the ensuing possession, Bogan twisted and turned for a nifty old-fashioned three-point play. Randall (short jumper in the lane) and Little (two free throws) followed with big plays before Parks sealed the game from the charity stripe.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 97, SIUE 72
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team claimed the season sweep over Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a 97-72 win Saturday night at the Vadalabene Center.
Seniors Jason Burnell and Christian Cunningham each recorded double-doubles and were two of five Gamecocks to score in double-figures. Burnell tied his career-best with 30 points and 13 rebounds for his team-leading 15th double-double of the year, while Cunningham had 11 points and 10 rebounds for his 20th-career double.
Along with Burnell and Cunningham, Ty Hudson, Detrick Mostella and De'Torrion Ware finished with 11, 11 and 15 points, respectively.
Jacksonville State led the Cougars (10-20, 6-12 OVC) 50-20 at the end of the first half following a tough defensive showing through the first 20 minutes. JSU held SIUE to just 23.3 percent shooting, allowing just seven of 30 shots to fall. Edwardsville committed seven turnovers, including one steal each from Jamall Gregory and Hudson. Cunningham tallied two blocks, as well.
On the offensive end, Burnell led the Gamecocks with 21 points at the break. He was just two rebounds shy of his double-double when the clock hit zero at the end of the opening period.
The 30-point halftime advantage was the largest of the season for JSU, and widest since leading 38-24 over SIUE in the season's first meeting Jan. 12 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Edwardsville made up some ground in the second, cutting the JSU lead to 25 with the help of seven 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes. The Cougars had just one trey the entire first half. David McFarland and Tyresse Williford were each 3-for-4 from 3-point range in the half.
Jacksonville State took care of business, however, totaling 47 points to keep SIUE 25 points away. Ware had a half-best 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting with all four goals coming from long range. That 12 went with three from the first to give him 15 for the game.
MOREHEAD STATE 78, EASTERN KENTUCKY 77
RICHMOND, Ky. - As it always is, the battle between Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky in men's hoops was fierce on Saturday night, but sophomore Malek Green hit a pair of free throws with 20 seconds left, and the Eagle defense forced a missed shot at the buzzer as the Eagles defeated the Colonels, 78-77.
Morehead State finished the regular season at 8-10 in the OVC and 12-19 overall. EKU closes its campaign at 13-18 and 6-12 in the league.
After EKU's Jomaru Brown, who had 31 points, hit a jumper with 1:19 left, it gave the hosts a 77-74 lead. Twenty-five seconds later, sophomore James Baker drained a two-pointer to pull the Eagles to within 77-76.
EKU's senior big-man, Nick Mayo, missed a triple at the 25-second mark, and Green secured the rebound. He was fouled by Brown and hit both charity tosses to account for the final margin.
Mayo missed another jumper as time wound down, and senior guard A.J. Hicks grabbed the board. He did miss both ensuing free throws, and EKU had one last chance. Mayo's potential game-winner clanked off the backboard though.
Hicks led the Eagles with 21 points and four assists. Sophomore De'von Cooper pitched in 12, while Green scored 10 and corralled eight boards. Junior Djimon Henson was big too, with 11 points off the bench.
The Eagles nailed 10 three-pointers and out-rebounded the Colonels 38-28. MSU also connected on a solid 14-of-18 from the free throw line.
MSU shot 49 percent (27-of-55) tonight, including 53 percent in the first half when they went to the break leading 41-40.
BELMONT 84, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 66
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Behind 27 points from senior Kevin McClain, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Southeast Missouri, 84-66, Saturday night.
With the victory, Belmont earned its 10 regular season conference title in the last 14 seasons - a standard of achievement rivaled nationally only by Gonzaga and Kansas.
It marks the Bruins' fifth regular season conference title in seven seasons of Ohio Valley Conference membership.
Senior All-America candidate Dylan Windler added 22 points and 11 rebounds for his 33rd career double-double.
Freshman Nick Muszynski helped Belmont score 12 of the final 18 points of the first half and lead 45-28 at halftime.
Southeast Missouri got within 64-52 with 8:23 remaining on a Ledarrius Brewer basket, but a Michael Benkert (Greenwood, Ind.) 3-pointer and four Belmont free throws pushed the margin back to 19.
Muszynski had 10 points and three blocked shots, while freshman Grayson Murphy (F) flirted with a triple-double before posting seven points, nine rebounds and 10 assists.
Belmont (25-4, 16-2 OVC) handed out 20 assists on 30 made field goals and forced 16 Southeast Missouri turnovers.
Mark Laros led Southeast Missouri (10-21, 5-13 OVC) with 12 points.
MURRAY STATE 94, AUSTIN PEAY 83
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers wrapped up the regular season by winning a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship with a 94-83 victory over the Austin Peay Governors on Senior Day at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
On a night when Shaq Buchanan and Brion Sanchious were honored before their final game at the CFSB Center, a record crowd of 9,012 showed up and urged the Racers to their ninth-straight win. The Racers (25-4) close the OVC campaign 16-2, the same record they had a year ago when they were solo champs. The Racers share the title with Belmont who defeated Southeast Missouri 84-66.
Ja Morant flirted with a triple-double on 27 points, six rebounds and 13 assists. Shaq Buchanan posted 19 points, while Darnell Cowart scored 15 points. Devin Gilmore came off the bench to add 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting.
In the first half, it was Gilmore providing a spark when Cowart got into some foul trouble. Gilmore had a four-minute segment in which he scored eight points, a pair of rebounds and blocked shots that erased an early APSU lead to tie the game 28-28 with 7:20 left in the half.
The Racers trailed 46-42 at the half.
The second half, the Racers took the lead for good on a jumper by Buchanan to make it 61-60 with 13:28 left. With 8:45 remaining, Buchanan had his own 7-0 run on four free throws and a 3-pointer and the Racers led 72-66. Jaiveon Eaves his a three to keep the Racers in the lead by seven points with 7:20 left.
Still, it was a three-point game when Morant hit a pair of free throws for an 84-79 lead with 2:20 left. But the Racers finished the game strong and pushed to their largest lead of the game in the final seconds, which led them to a final of 94-83.