THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Kentucky 74, Tennessee Tech 59
SIUE 79, @Belmont 69
@Murray State 89, UT Martin 76
@Tennessee State 84, Eastern Illinois 79
@Austin Peay 78, Southeast Missouri 63
Jacksonville State 76, @Morehead State 72
EASTERN KENTUCKY 74, TENNESSEE TECH 59
RICHMOND, Ky. - Behind 50 percent shooting from the field, including 12 three-pointers, the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 74-59 victory over Tennessee Tech University on Thursday at McBrayer Arena.
Tre King led the charge for the Colonels (4-10, 1-0 OVC) with 15 points on 7-of-11 shooting. He also had two blocks and two steals. Ty Taylor hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, five rebounds and two assists. Russhard Cruickshank also knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
A scorching start staked Eastern Kentucky to an early lead. EKU scored the first nine points of the game as Tech turned the ball over four times in the first two minutes. The Colonels had an 8-point advantage, 25-17, before going on a 21-6 run. King got it started with a jumper before Cruickshank hit two free throws and a 3-pointer to push the lead to 32-17.
When Taylor and Lachlan Anderson knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to stretch the lead to 40-23, the Colonels had made 15-of-23 (65 percent) attempts from the field, including 8-of-11 from 3-point range.
A steal and lay-up from Cruickshank and a jumper from King capped the run and put the home squad on top 46-23. Eastern led 49-30 at the break after shooting 56 percent for the half. The Colonels out-scored Tech 13-0 off turnovers in the first 20 minutes of play.
Tennessee Tech used a 10-3 run to draw within 10, 60-50, midway through the second half, however Eastern Kentucky came right back and out-scored the visitors 10-2 to go back in front by 18, 70-52. The Golden Eagles never challenged again.
EKU made 28-of-56 field goal attempts (50 percent), including 12-of-27 (44 percent) from behind the arc. TTU hit on 36 percent for the night, and just 4-of-12 at the free throw line.
Eastern turned 16 Golden Eagle turnovers into a 21-5 edge in points off turnovers.
Darius Allen led Tennessee Tech with 16 points. Jr. Clay added 11 points and eight rebounds.
SIUE 79, BELMONT 69
NASHVILLE - SIUE opened 2020 with its biggest win of the NCAA Division I era, stunning Ohio Valley Conference favorite Belmont 79-69 to open conference play at Curb Event Center.
SIUE used a dominant second half to score its first win in nine tries all-time against Belmont. Belmont was 55-3 all-time at home in OVC play before Thursday's loss to the Cougars.
The Cougars are 1-0 in OVC play and 4-10 overall. Belmont fell to 9-5 and 0-1 in the OVC.
Belmont led 30-28 at half and pushed the lead to 37-31 with 17:53 to play in the second half.
Zeke Moore hit consecutive three-pointers 30 seconds apart and then Shamar Wright followed with a triple of his own at 16:04 to move SIUE in front 40-37. The Cougars never trailed the rest of the way out.
SIUE shot 57.7 percent (15-26) for the second half while Building as much as a 14-point cushion. Belmont shaved the lead to four after a three-pointer by Nick Muszynski with 1:17 to play, but SIUE didn't relent. The Cougars connected on six of 10 free throw attempts down the stretch to outlast Belmont for the win.
The Cougars outrebounded the Bruins 46-35 and held a 20-14 edge on the boards in the second half.
Cam Williams collected his first career double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. He was one of five SIUE players in double figures. Moore led the way with 17 points, Tyresse Williford scored 14 points, Brandon Jackson scored 12 points and Kenyon Duling added 11 points.
Muszynski led Belmont with 15 points. Adam Kunkel scored 12, Grayson Murphy added 11 points and nine rebounds and Tyler Scanlon scored 10 points for Belmont.
MURRAY STATE 89, UT MARTIN 76
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers opened the 72nd season of Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball with an 89-76 victory over the visiting UT Martin Skyhawks at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
The Racers (8-5, 1-0 OVC) pushed their home win streak to 13 as they prepare to host Southeast Missouri Saturday in the second game of a doubleheader at 7 p.m.
MSU's best scoring game of the season against an NCAA D-I team saw the Racers hit 67 percent from the 3-point line on 10-of-15. It was their best shooting game since 2014 when they shot 73 percent against Bethel (TN).
Tevin Brown led the way with 23 points 4-of-6 from long range, while Anthony Smith scored a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds to go with three blocked shots. Jaiveon Eaves tied his career-high with 19 points and was perfect from the 3-point on 4-of-4. KJ Williams was the fourth Racer in double-figures with 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Racers dominated the boards against UTM and ended the game with a 43-31 advantage on the glass, which included an 11-9 edge in offensive rebounds.
With 8:00 left in the first half, Eaves hit back-to-back threes for a 31-19 Racer lead. With 4:54 left, Anthony Smith scored a 3-point play and the MSU lead was 17 at 39-22. MSU's lead at the halftime intermission was 48-33 with an amazing 7-of-10 effort from the 3-point line.
UTM got as close as six points with 11:13 left in the game, but the Racers answered with a 6-0 run to go back in front 65-53 with 9:36 left. The Skyhawks never got any closer.
TENNESSEE STATE 84, EASTERN ILLINOIS 79
NASHVILLE (AP) - Wesley Harris had 17 points and 10 rebounds to lift Tennessee State to an 84-79 win over Eastern Illinois in an Ohio Valley Conference opener on Thursday night.
Michael Littlejohn had 18 points for Tennessee State (9-5, 1-0), which earned its sixth straight home victory. Carlos Marshall Jr. added 14 points. Shakem Johnson had 10 points for the Tigers.
Josiah Wallace scored a career-high 32 points for the Panthers (7-6, 0-1). Marvin Johnson added 16 points. Mack Smith had 13 points.
AUSTIN PEAY 78, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 63
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - The Austin Peay State University men's basketball team started 1-0 in OVC play for the third year in a row with Thursday's 78-63 win against Southeast Missouri.
For the second game in a row, the Govs trotted out the same starting lineup; normally, that's not notable but where Austin Peay and its recent injury troubles are concerned, being able to run with the same five that started at Georgia amounts to stabilization and continuity. Right away the Govs set the pace, building an early 12-5 lead; while Southeast Missouri (4-10, 0-1 OVC) would get back within a bucket around the 12-minute mark, Austin Peay's frenetic pace had the Redhawks on their heels defensively, as the Govs attacked time and again in 3-on-2 and 2-on-1 situations at their end of the court.
When the Govs settled into their half-court offense, it was clear Southeast Missouri's chief objective was stop Terry Taylor on the block at all costs. And give the Redhawks that much–they were successful in the first half, limiting Taylor to eight points on a pair of threes and a pair of free-throws. But doubling Taylor has consequences, which manifested Thursday night in 17 first-half points by Jordyn Adams and some wide-open shots for Govs on the perimeter as Taylor expertly passed out of the double-team.
At the 8:04 mark in the first half, the Govs led by five following a Sage Tolbert layup; when the buzzer sounded, Austin Peay (7-7, 1-0) took a 41-24 lead into the locker room thanks to a half-closing 14-2 run, with 10 points coming from Adams. Twenty minutes in, the Govs were firmly in control.
A conundrum for Austin Peay in the second half this season has been opponent shooting; Southeast Missouri became another in a long list of Austin Peay opponents to go white-hot from the floor in the second half, with the Redhawks posting a 59.3 percent (16-for-27) mark from the floor over the final 20 minutes. Fortunately, the Governors big lead and 48.1 percent (13-for-27) showing from the field helped Austin Peay more than keep pace with the Redhawks over the final 20 minutes.
Taylor found more room to work in the second half; he equaled Adams with a game-high 22 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for his season's fifth double-double. Freshman Carlos Paez joined the high-scoring duo in double figures with 13 points.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 76, MOREHEAD STATE 72
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Crucial free throws down the stretch and a career performance from Martin Roub lifted the Jacksonville State men's basketball team 76-72 over Morehead State on Thursday.
The Gamecocks (6-8, 1-0 OVC) opened up Ohio Valley Conference play at Ellis T. Johnson Arena by claiming its six-straight win over the Eagles (6-8, 0-1 OVC). Ray Harper improved to 6-1 against the league foe and 5-0 in OVC openers as JSU's head coach.
Trailing by one with just 45 seconds remaining, Roub grabbed an offensive rebound, hit the basket and was fouled. The junior hit the ensuing free throw to give JSU a 72-70 advantage with 29 ticks to go.
Junior Derrick Cook and senior Ty Hudson were each fouled by the Eagle defense to stop the clock and regain possession, but the plan backfired as both hit each of the four free throws to put the game out of reach.
Roub set a new career-best for points scored in a single game with 21. The 6-foot-10 forward's only basket within the arc was the put-back with under one minute to play, while he was 6-for-10 from long range.
Jacksonville State led 39-34 at the half thanks to the hot hand of Roub and a stiff defense. Roub opened the game by hitting two 3-pointers in the first four minutes, and the Jacksonville State defense held the Eagles to 37 percent shooting.
Morehead State stormed back in the second and quickly tied the game 39-39 less than two minutes into the period. The Eagles went ahead by as much as four on a Djimon Henson 3-pointer, but the Gamecocks found a groove to take their largest lead of the night at 65-53 with 7:47 remaining on the clock.
MSU wasn't done yet, though, as the home team jumped on a 13-2 run to pull within one. Tyzhaun Claude, who paced the Eagles with 19 points Thursday, hit a layup to shorten JSU's lead to 69-68. James Baker then tipped in a basket to give Morehead State a 70-69 advantage, but that's when Roub came through with the and-one basket to turn the momentum and help seal the game for the Gamecocks.
Cook and Hudson each finished with 13 points for JSU, while Jacara Cross followed closely behind with 12 of his own. Cross was just two boards shy of his first double-double of the year.
Jacksonville State is now 10-7 in OVC openers and 13-12 all-time in conference openers. The Gamecocks improved to 6-4 when opening league play on the road.