Men's Basketball Recaps - December 12
SATURDAY'S SCORES
@IUPUI 69,
Tennessee State 66
@Eastern Kentucky 81, Transylvania 60
@Eastern Illinois 92, Western Illinois 88
Belmont 81, @Lipscomb 71
IUPUI 69, TENNESSEE STATE 66
INDIANAPOLIS - Four hours away from home, the Tigers took on its first nonconference opponent in IUPUI Saturday afternoon in an empty Indiana Farmers Coliseum. After forty minutes of action, Tennessee State men's basketball fell 69-66 and is now 0-2 on the year.
Shakem Johnson led the team with 17 points, eight rebounds, while sophomore point guard Mark Freeman led in assists and steals (3).
Nashville's own Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. scored the final three points for Big Blue with 49 seconds left on the clock to make it a one-possession game. IUPUI, who had gone 16-23 from the free throw line, received four more chances within the final minute of competitive action to win the night 69-66.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 81, TRANSYLVANIA 60
RICHMOND, Ky. - Newcomer Cheikh Faye hit four 3-pointers and scored a career-best 16 points as the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team beat visiting Transylvania University, 81-60, on Saturday at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels (5-1) scored 32 points off 26 Pioneer turnovers.
Faye added four rebounds and two steals. Jomaru Brown contributed 13 points and five steals for Eastern Kentucky. Wendell Green Jr. had 12 points while Curt Lewis finished with 11 points and five boards.
Zach Larimore scored a game-best 24 points for Transylvania (0-3). Michael Jefferson added 10 points and 12 rebounds.
A late first half 3-point barrage helped the Colonels turn a 3-point lead into a 9-point advantage at the break. Faye made three 3-pointers and had 11 points during EKU’s 16-8 run to end the half. Peyton Broughton also had a 3-pointer. Russhard Cruickshank’s jumper in the final seven seconds sent the home team to the locker room up by 11, 52-41.
Eastern shot 53 percent in the first half from the field, including hitting on 7-of-17 from long range (41 percent). The Colonels turned 17 first half Pioneer turnovers into a 24-5 advantage in points off turnovers.
EKU scored the first four points of the second half to stretch it to a 20-8 run and move ahead by 15, 56-41.
A long jumper from Faye pushed the margin to 16, 65-49, with 11:56 to play in the game. A lay-up and free throw from Green followed by a put back from Tre King made it a 19-point margin, 70-51, with 9:48 showing on the clock.
Four consecutive free throws, two from JacQuess Hobbs and two from Michael Moreno, gave the Colonels a 20-plus point lead, 76-55, with four and a half minutes remaining.
Eastern Kentucky shot 47 percent for the game from the field. The Pioneers made 38 percent of their shots.
EASTERN ILLNOIS 92, WESTERN ILLINOIS 88
CHARLESTON, Ill. - On a night Mack Smith tied the NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer made, it was free throws that allowed Eastern Illinois to hang on for a 92-88 win over Western Illinois.
The Panthers improved to 3-4 on the season beating the Leathernecks (1-4) in the Old Railsplitter Axe rivalry game played at First Mid Court at Lantz Arena.
Mack Smith scored the first points of the game for the Panthers knocking down a 3-pointer for the 88th consecutive game as he tied former Illinois standout Cory Bradford’s record that has stood since 2001. Smith finished with 13 points, one of six EIU players in double figures, and will have a chance to set the record on Dec. 21 when EIU opens Ohio Valley Conference play at SIUE.
EIU led 45-32 at the half and opened the second half with a 9-1 run to lead by 21 points.
That lead slowly evaporated as the WIU guard Justin Brookens had the hot hand for the Leathernecks scoring a game-high 37 points, 28 coming in the second half.
EIU would break a WIU press in the final two minutes with Jordan Skipper-Brown sending home a dunk to make it 86-79. After a miss by WIU on the next possession, EIU would be fouled and sent to the free throw line.
The Panthers would miss the front end of one-and-one opportunities three straight times as WIU was able to inch closer in the contest. Three free throws by Brookens would cut the EIU lead to 86-82 with 1:12 to play. Brookens would convert an old-fashion three-point play with 43 seconds left to cut the Panthers lead to one.
EIU would then sink six straight free throws to ice the contest as Skipper-Brown made the first pair with 34 seconds left as he finished with ten points including a block on a WIU possession with less than ten seconds remaining. Josiah Wallace would sink the final four free throws in the final 21 seconds to finish with 22 points. EIU was 17-of-29 on free throws for the game.
Marvin Johnson posted a double-double for EIU with 11 points and 11 rebounds while adding six assists. Sammy Friday IV had 16 points and Kashawn Charles added 11.
Ramean Hinton had 16 points and eight rebounds for Western Illinois as the Leathernecks finished with a 46-37 advantage on the glass.
Both teams connected for 52 percent from the field in the second half with WIU hitting 7-of-12 on 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes.
BELMONT 81, LIPSCOMB 71
NASHVILLE - Behind balanced scoring and a strong finish, Belmont University men's basketball defeated Lipscomb, 81-71, Saturday night.
Playing without OVC Defensive Player of the Year and the nation's top rebounding point guard, Grayson Murphy, Belmont was undeterred. The Bruins scored 14 of the first 18 points in leading wire-to-wire for the second consecutive game.
A fast offensive start from junior Caleb Hollander powered Belmont to a 29-15 lead midway through the first half. But the behind the inside play of Ahsan Asadullah, Lipscomb closed within 47-38 at halftime.
Timely shooting and lightning-quick scoring off Lipscomb turnovers enabled Belmont to maintain a double-figure lead. Yet a Parker Hazen 3-pointer and an Asadullah basket capped a 12-2 Lipscomb run to close the Bruin lead to 60-58 with 11:49 remaining.
Determined drives from freshman JaCobi Wood and sophomore Ben Sheppard extended the margin back to six. Consecutive 3-pointers from junior Luke Smith helped Belmont maintain a working margin, which stretched to 72-63 with 5:30 left on two Sheppard free throws.
After Asadullah scored to get the Bisons within 74-71, junior Nick Muszynski answered with a right-handed hook to push the lead to five points with 2:39 left.
Following an exchange of defensive stops, Smith stole a Lipscomb outlet pass, raced into the frontcourt and found Sheppard for an explosive layin to make the score 78-71 with 1:39 remaining. Belmont added three free throws in the final 57 seconds as the Bruins held Lipscomb scoreless the final 3:04.
All told, Belmont shot 51 percent (32-for-63) from the field - including 11-for-26 from 3-point distance. Belmont handed out 19 assists and scored 18 points off 12 Lipscomb turnovers.
Smith led five Bruins in double figures with 19 points and a season-high five steals. Hollander had 15 points and seven rebounds while Muszynski added 14 points and eight rebounds. Wood contributed 11 points and eight assists. Sheppard had 10.
Asadullah led Lipscomb (2-5) with 29 points.
Belmont has won 16 of the last 18 meetings in the series, which dates back to 1953.