TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Purdue Fort Wayne 65,
Austin Peay 60
@Chattanooga 69,
Tennessee Tech 62
@Tennessee State 111, Fisk 56
Murray State 77, @Illinois State 65
PURDUE FORT WAYNE 65, AUSTIN PEAY 60
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - After freshman Drew Calderon knocked down a three-pointer with 1:47 remaining to tie the game at 58, the Austin Peay men’s basketball team scored just two points down the stretch to drop a tight contest to Purdue Fort Wayne 65-60 on Tuesday night.
The Govs trailed by six with five minutes remaining before Calderon came off the bench and went on a personal 6-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the Mastodons deficit down to two. After Purdue Fort Wayne made 1-of-2 from the free-throw line, Calderon came in clutch on the next Govs possession with two offensive rebounds and a three-pointer to tie the game at 58 with 1:47 remaining.
On the ensuing possession, an offensive rebound from the Mastodons led to a dunk and a foul that gave Purdue Fort Wayne a three-point lead. With one-minute remaining, Austin Peay turned the ball over on its next possession that led to a corner three from Purdue Fort Wayne to widen its lead to seven with under 30 seconds to play. Junior Carlos Paez scored the final bucket for the Govs with one second left in a 65-60 loss on the road.
Offensively the Govs had three score in double figures led by redshirt senior Tariq Silver with 15. Silver was 6-of-14 from the field and 3-of-7 from long distance to go along with three rebounds and three assists. The Clarksville native scored 10 of his team-high 15 points in the first half.
For the second straight game, redshirt freshman Caleb Stone-Carrawell scored in double figures with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field with three from long distance. Stone-Carrawell also pulled in three rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.
Off the bench freshman Drew Calderon scored a career-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from behind the three-point line. Calderon scored nine of his 12 points during the final four minutes of play. Reigning OVC Co-Freshman of the Week Elijah Hutchins-Everett scored four points and while tallying a career-high 12 rebounds, five coming on the offensive glass.
Rounding out the scoring for the Govs was senior Elton Walker with seven points followed by redshirt senior Corbin Merritt with three and DJ Peavy, Cameron Copeland and Carlos Paez with two. As a team the Govs shot 38.3 percent from the field and knocked down 12 three-pointers. Austin Peay outrebounded Purdue Fort Wayne, 37-32, holding a 13-9 advantage on the offensive glass.
It was a slow start for both teams in the first half as both teams went a combined 2-for-12 from the field through the first five minutes of action. The game was tied at seven with 14:50 left in the first half after a driving lay-up from Stone-Carrawell. The Concord, N.C., native had five of APSU’s first seven points.
Midway through the first half, Austin Peay went scoreless from the field for over three minutes as the Mastodons pulled out in front and gained a 12-10 advantage. With 5:03 left remaining in the first half the Govs went on a quick 5-0 run after a transition three from Stone-Carrawell to tie the game at 20. Down the stretch the Govs went just 1-of-4 from the field as Purdue Fort Wayne ended on a 5-0 run to take a 29-25 lead into the locker room.
The Govs got off to a fast start to begin the second half, making four of their first five field goals to trim the Mastodons lead down to four at the 15:16 mark. Austin Peay regained the lead with 11:36 to go after an 11-2 run over a five-minute span. The 11-2 run was highlighted by a Stone-Carrawell fast break lay-up and a transition three from Silver.
Each team traded baskets during the halfway point of the second half before Merritt knocked down his lone three-pointer of the night from the top of the key to tie the game at 49 with 7:08 to play. Purdue Fort Wayne responded with a quick 6-0 run to earn a 55-49 lead with less than five minutes remaining. The Govs tied the game four minutes later thanks to Calderon’s four three-pointer of the night.
With the game tied at 58 with 1:47 remaining, Austin Peay was outscored 7-2 down the stretch as Purdue Fort Wayne secured the 65-60 victory.
CHATTANOOGA 69, TENNESSEE TECH 62
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A hard-fought battle from beginning to end went in favor of the home team Tuesday evening, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell to in-state rival Chattanooga at McKenzie Arena, 69-62.
A defensive war from the opening tip, both sides traded blows over the opening stanza, with the Golden Eagles riding a relatively hot start to open as large as a six-point advantage halfway through the first 20 minutes of action. The Moc defense tightened its hold to close out the period, limiting the purple and gold to 43.3 percent shooting for the half.
Tech's defense kept the team in the game early, providing a 32-21 lead at the break while holding the Southern Conference preseason favorites to just 35.5 percent shooting. In the second half, the script was flipped, as the Golden Eagles struggled to find their rhythm to the tune of a 37.5 percent effort from the floor.
On the flip side, Chattanooga connected on 50 percent of its tries from the floor, putting four players in double figures for the contest and taking as large as an 11-point lead with four minutes to go.
Playing in front of a generous cheering section of his own, Chattanooga native Jr. Clay scored six quick points for the purple and gold following the final media break, cutting the deficit to just six with a little under three minutes to play. The two sides traded buckets, with key free throws giving the Mocs the edge.
Returning sophomore guard Keishawn Davidson buried his fourth triple of the game on as many attempts with 21 seconds to go in the ball game, bringing the Golden Eagles as close as they'd get down the stretch at 67-62. Two more late free throws by UTC provided the final score.
Clay paced the Tech effort with a season-high 15 points and dished out four assists as well. He also hit a 3-pointer for the 40th-consecutive game in his career, the second-longest streak in program history. Davidson was right behind with 14 points and four helpers of his own. He also corralled seven rebounds while sinking all four of his attempts from downtown.
Junior big man Amadou Sylla made all five of his attempts from the floor on the night on his way to 10 points, playing scrappy defense all game. Kenny White Jr. produced eight points while Diante Wood chipped in seven with five rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Mamoudou Diarra rejected a career-high three shots in the contest while hauling in a team-high eight rebounds.
TENNESSEE STATE 111, FISK 56
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team reached the century mark against Fisk in the home opener, defeating the Bulldogs, 111-56.
In the first half, the Tigers gained an early five-point lead over Fisk as Nashville native, Kenny Cooper, sparked the action with a three-pointer on the game's first attempt. After back-to-back long-range jumpers from Carlos Marshall Jr. and an "and-one" from Christian Brown, TSU extended the lead to double-digits, 14-3. With 14:13 remaining in the half, Tennessee State went on 16-0 scoring stretch to increase the lead to 22 points.
The Tigers penetrated the basket throughout the half and reached the bonus mid-way through the opening stanza. At the end of the half, three Tigers registered at least nine points (Marshall Jr., Brown and Dedric Boyd). Kassim Nicholson, UAB transfer, grabbed a game-high five rebounds in the first 20 minutes of action. Tennessee State owned the free-throw line as they went 14-of-18 from the charity stripe while Fisk converted on 4-of-5.
TSU opened the second half with a 17-3 scoring run, extending the lead to 75-29, while Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. tallied seven points. Nicholson recorded nine points in the second half, totaling 14 points for the game. The Tigers continued to dominate the glass, as they secured 19 more rebounds than Fisk. TSU reached the century mark with 5:48 remaining in the game.
TSU had five players with at least 11 points, UGA transfer Christian Brown logged a game-high 18 points as he shot 6-for-7 from the field
MURRAY STATE 77, ILLINOIS STATE 65
NORMAL, Ill. - The Murray Racers built a 16-point halftime lead and held on for a 77-65 victory Tuesday night over the Illinois State Redbirds at Redbird Arena in Bloomington.
The win for the Racers (3-0) propels them into the Naples Invitational Thanksgiving week in Florida.
Tevin Brown scored 19 points, while Justice Hill tied his career-high with 17 points. KJ Williams added 13 points and Trae Hannibal added 10 points off the bench as the Racers shot 47 percent from the field on 33-of-70 shots.
The Racers were off and running to a 7-0 start and later put together an 11-4 run on a 3-pointer by Hill and a Jordan Skipper-Brown dunk for a 20-10 lead with 11:15 in the half. Hannibal scooted down the lane at the buzzer to give the Racers a 41-25 lead at halftime, their 10-0 run gave them their largest lead of the game.
After ISU trimmed the lead to eight points at the start of the second half, Hill's three with 11:40 left kept the Racers in front 56-46. The Racers played well in the half court in late game sets and ran out the clock on their third-straight win to start the season.
The Racers had a big day defensively in limiting the Redbirds to 43 percent shooting and winning the rebound battle 42-29. MSU had 16 offensive rebounds and held ISU to seven.