2019 OVC Men's Basketball Championship Recaps - First Round

3/6/2019 9:22:47 AM

#4 MOREHEAD STATE 72, #8 SIUE 68
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Led by a career high 22 points from sophomore Malek Green, Morehead State men's basketball advanced in the 2019 Ohio Valley Conference with a 72-68 victory SIU Edwardsville Wednesday at the Ford Center.

The Eagles, the fifth seed, improved to 13-19. SIUE's Cougars, the eighth seed, ended its season at 10-21.

The Eagles needed every point by Green, who was 10-od-12 from the field. After building a 37-24 halftime lead, MSU saw the Cougars battle back and take the lead before the Eagles were 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final 19 seconds to stave off the SIUE comeback bid.

Green also pulled down eight rebounds to tie for team high honors with sophomore James Baker, who also had 13 points and four blocked shots. Junior guard Jordan Walker scored 14, while senior guard A.J. Hicks dished out nine assists and had zero turnovers.

Brandon Jackson led the SIUE squad with 17 points and nine boards.

Morehead State registered 22 assists, just two short of the season high of 24 set versus UT Martin at home.

SIUE hit seven of its first eight second-half shots and eventually erased the Eagles lead, taking a 56-55 cushion with 8:08 left. However, sophomore De'von Cooper's jumper in the paint with 5:23 remaining gave his team a 59-57 lead it never gave up.

The Eagles got true free throws from Walker, Cooper and Green in the final 19 seconds as SIUE kept nailing shots on its end to force the Eagles to hit free tosses.

MSU ended up shooting 49 percent (28-of-57) for the night.

#7 UT MARTIN 78, #6 EASTERN ILLINOIS 71
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Senior center Jailen Gill powered his way through for a double-double this evening as the No. 7 seed University of Tennessee at Martin chalked up a 78-71 victory over No. 6 Eastern Illinois in the Ohio Valley Conference Men’s Basketball Championships at the Ford Center.

Gill set the tone for the Skyhawks with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his fifth career double-double in a UT Martin uniform. The Kansas City, Mo. native went 8-for-10 from the field, snared seven offensive rebounds and blocked two shots for the Skyhawks, who took the lead for good with 7:42 to go.

Derek Hawthorne, Jr. equaled a team-high with 17 points to go along with six rebounds off the bench for UT Martin, who improves to 12-18 on the season. Craig Randall II (14 points), Quintin Dove (10) and Delfincko Bogan (10) also scored in double-figures to help the Skyhawks outscore the Panthers by a 42-33 margin in the final 20 minutes.

Eastern Illinois (14-18) was led by Josiah Wallace’s 26 points as the Panthers led for over 26 minutes of clock time. Rade Kukobat and Ben Harvey each scored 11 points apiece while Mack Smith tossed in 10 points but Eastern Illinois was forced into 16 turnovers on the evening.

A Dove layup just 14 seconds into the game provided the Skyhawks with their first lead of the game. However, the Panthers scored 11 of the next 13 points and maintained that advantage until a Randall mid-range jumper tilted the score in favor of UT Martin at 17-16. Eastern Illinois then went on an 11-2 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 27-19. The Skyhawks would close out the half on an 8-2 surge of their own, as five consecutive points by Gill and a Kevin Little three-pointer resulted in a 38-36 halftime deficit for the Skyhawks. Wallace (13 points) and Dove (eight) led each side in scoring at the intermission.

Gill accounted for UT Martin’s first six points of the second half before Hawthorne tossed in six straight points for the Skyhawks. Two ties followed before a Randall trifecta at the 9:34 mark lifted UT Martin to a 56-54 lead. After Eastern Illinois knotted the score at 56-all, a pair of Dove free throws and a thunderous dunk by Gill nudged the lead out to two possessions. The Panthers would trim their deficit to 65-64 with 2:44 remaining but a Preston Parks floater and yet another Gill dunk provided some separation. Hawthorne, Bogan, Little and Parks then sealed the win with seven free throws in the final 43 seconds.