TUESDAY'S SCORES
@#17 Tennessee 90,
UT Martin 62
@Ohio 92,
Belmont 80
@#22 Auburn 77,
Morehead State 54
Southeast Missouri 99, @Missouri State 94
@Murray State 109, Cumberland 77
@Northwestern 80,
Eastern Illinois 56
@#12 Memphis 89,
Tennessee Tech 65
@Austin Peay 86, UT Southern 79
@Alabama A&M 82,
Tennessee State 73
@Marquette 88,
SIUE 77
#17 TENNESSEE 90, UT MARTIN 62
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team matched the No. 17 ranked team in the nation blow-for-blow in the first 25-plus minutes tonight but a strong second half by the Tennessee Volunteers led to a 90-62 Skyhawk setback at Thompson-Boling Arena.
UT Martin led for 8:28 of clock time during the first half and was within single digits with 14:30 to go in a contest that featured five ties and 11 lead changes. The Skyhawks (44.8 percent) outshot Tennessee (42.9 percent) for the game but the Volunteers made 17 three-pointers on the way to the win.
KK Curry pieced together an outstanding debut for UT Martin, securing a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Cleveland, Tenn. native made seven of his 12 field goal tries, becoming the first Skyhawk to earn a double-double in his UT Martin debut since Terrence Parker (12 points, 10 rebounds at Marshall on Nov. 10, 2017).
Also reaching double figures in the scoring column for the Skyhawks was KJ Simon (14 points, six rebounds, three steals, two blocks) and David Didenko (11 points, 3-of-5 from three-point land).
Tennessee was led by 20 points apiece out of Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi. Olivier Nkamhoua tallied a double-double (11 points, 14 rebounds) while Justin Powell chipped in 13 points off the bench for the Volunteers.
Koby Jeffries helped UT Martin get off to a good start as he drove the lane for a basket on the opening possession of the game. Back-to-back jumpers from Curry and Simon guided the Skyhawks to a 10-7 lead nearly four minutes in.
Another jumper by Simon at the 12:36 mark extended UT Martin’s lead out to 20-16. The Skyhawks held on to the lead for another four minutes until an 8-1 Volunteer run flipped the lead in favor of Tennessee.
Didenko canned a trifecta to even the score at 26-all with just under seven minutes to go before the halftime break. The Volunteers went on a 14-4 run near the end of the first half before Simon knocked down a three-pointer to make the score 43-35 at the intermission.
Simon was responsible for a game-high 13 points and five rebounds in the opening half as UT Martin torched the nets for a 55.6 percent shooting performance (15-of-27) in the first 20 minutes. Chandler’s 12 points paced Tennessee.
Curry tossed in six straight Skyhawk points early in the second half as his jumper at the 14:30 mark pulled UT Martin back within single digits at 51-42.
The Volunteers quickly responded with a 7-0 run over a 2:09 but Henderson (three-pointer) and Curry (layup) scored on back-to-back trips down the floor to keep the Skyhawks within striking distance at 63-49 with 10:24 left to play.
Another extended run by Tennessee deflated UT Martin as the Volunteers reeled off 18 unanswered points – including four treys. A Henderson three-pointer at the 4:20 mark ended the Skyhawk drought but ultimately it was too late for UT Martin to mount a comeback.
OHIO 92, BELMONT 80
ATHENS, Ohio - Belmont University men's basketball dropped a 92-80 decision at defending MAC tournament championship Ohio Tuesday.
Ohio made five of its first six shots, including all four from 3-point distance, in building a 16-5 lead and energizing the partisan home crowd. Belmont responded and took a 27-25 on a 3-pointer from Grayson Murphy.
After momentum swung back and forth, Belmont created a turnover with under 20 seconds remaining in the first half and appeared to have an opportunity to tie or take the lead on the final possession. However, a designed halfcourt play went out of bounds, enabling Ben Vander Plas to make a fadeaway, banked 30-footer at the buzzer to give Ohio at 44-39 halftime lead.
Belmont took three leads early in the second half, and freshman Will Richard made two free throws to tie the score at 58 with 12:38 left. From there, Ohio rode the play of Mark Sears and Jason Carter on a decision 18-4 run. A Ben Roderick 3-pointer made the score 76-62 with 6:11 remaining.
Ohio made 16 3-point field goals, with seven different players making at least one.
Ben Sheppard scored a career-high 25 points, while Nick Muszynski had 18 points and six assists. Murphy had eight points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Sears scored a career-high 27 points.
#22 AUBURN 77, MOREHEAD STATE 54
AUBURN, Ala. - A 22-2 run by host Auburn was just too much to overcome for the Morehead State men's basketball team in its season opener in Alabama Tuesday. The Eagles made a run at the end of the half to get it to a 20-point deficit and had a solid 12-minute period outscoring the hosts by double-digits, but in the end Auburn finished off the game with a 77-54 victory.
Morehead State was led by freshman forward Johni Broome with 12 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds. The Eagles, as they did 24 times in the 2020-21 season, out-rebounded their opponent. Morehead State won the board battle over the Tigers, 39-35. Junior guard Jaylen Sebree corralled a career-high 10 rebounds.
The home team sped out to an 11-0 advantage as its defense held the Eagles without a made field goal for first 9:20 of the game. The Tigers led 38-9 with 4:40 left in the opening period, but a trio of three-pointers from Tray Hollowell, Drew Thelwell and Skyelar Potter sparked a 15-6 run to end the first 20 minutes trailing 44-24.
From the 4:48 mark of the first half to the 8:47 mark of the second, the Eagles actually outscored their SEC foes 34-19. But, Auburn used a 10-0 flurry coming out of a media timeout to put the game effectively out of reach. Fourteen was as close as MSU trimmed its deficit to.
Sophomore guard Ta'lon Cooper also reached double figures for the Eagles with 11 points.
MSU ended the night shooting 37 percent (22-of-59) but improved to 41 percent efficiency in the second half. The Tigers hurt the Eagles to tune of 17 mistakes to just six for Auburn. The home squad turned that into a 19-6 points off mistakes cushion.
Wendell Green, Jr., led all players with 19 points for Auburn.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 99, MISSOURI STATE 94
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Eric Reed, Jr. scored 21 points and made a huge 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to lead Southeast Missouri (1-0) to a 99-94 victory over Missouri State (0-1) Tuesday night in a slugfest at JQH Arena.
In a game with a championship type feel, in-state foes SEMO and MSU went back-and-forth in a matchup that featured 11 ties, nine lead changes and 69 free throws attempted.
MSU, although never leading for the final 15:34 of the game, was either tied or within one or two points several times during that stretch. After Manny Patterson grabbed the rebound off a Reed, Jr. miss, Patterson scored, was fouled and converted a 3-point play to give SEMO an 88-82 lead with 4:41 to go.
Nana Akenten later knocked down a 3-pointer to put the Redhawks ahead by eight again, this time at 95-87 with 1:49 on the clock.
The Bears answered Akenten's three with a 7-1 run and closed SEMO's lead to 96-96 on a 3-pointer by Demarcus Sharp with 42 seconds left.
On SEMO's ensuing possession, Akenten dished to Reed, Jr. who drained a 3-pointer from the right side with 11 seconds remaining before DQ Nicholas stole the ball from Sharp to bury the Bears for good.
The Redhawks started strong out of the gate and shot 53 percent in the first half.
Deadlocked at 29-29, Sikeston native Parker Long came off the bench and drained a 3-pointer to ignite a 10-2 run. Long added another basket before Reed, Jr. scored and Chris Harris knocked down a free throw to stretch SEMO's lead to 39-31 at the 4:45 mark.
After MSU cut the Redhawks lead in half, Nygal Russell and Harris each made a jumper to regain another eight-point lead before SEMO headed entered the intermission ahead, 45-41.
Reed, Jr. led five SEMO players in double figures shooting 6-of-13 from the field and a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line. He added a pair of 3-pointers and had two steals, as well.
Harris followed with 19 points, Russell had 14, Akenten added 13 and Patterson contributed 11 to round out that group. Patterson scored all 11 of his points in the second half and, like Reed, Jr., made a flawless 7-of-7 free throws.
As a team, SEMO finished at 57.1 percent (32-of-56) from the field and made just under 80 percent (79.4, 27-of-34) of its free throws. The Redhawks went 21-of-26 at the free throw line in the second half alone. Additionally, SEMO outrebounded MSU, 33-30.
Gaige Prim and Donovan Clay topped MSU with 28 and 20 points, respectively. Prim also had a game-high 15 rebounds for his first double-double of the season.
The Bears shot 51.7 percent (31-of-60) and lost for the first time under Head Coach Dana Ford when shooting 50 percent or better. Prior to tonight, the Bears were 26-0 in such games with Ford at the helm.
For the first time in its NCAA Division I era, SEMO won back-to-back season-openers outside of Cape Girardeau. Tonight's 99 points mark the Redhawks most in a season-opener since they turned Division I in 1991-92. Prior to tonight, the most points SEMO scored in a season-opener was 120 vs. Missouri Baptist on Nov. 19, 1990.
MURRAY STATE 109, CUMBERLAND 77
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State men's basketball team ran past the Cumberland Phoenix to start their 97th season of collegiate basketball in a 109-77 victory at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.
The 1-0 Racers are back in action Saturday (Nov. 13) on MSU Hall of Fame Day when they host the Bellarmine Knights at 7 p.m.
KJ Williams hit his first seven shots of the game and finished with a career high on 32 points on a night when he was 12-of-13 from the field including 5-of-6 from the 3-point line. The Racer big man hit 3-of-4 from the free throw line, grabbed five rebounds and only made one turnover in 22:35 of playing time. Williams bested his former career game of 28 points last February at SIUE.
The rest of the scoring from MSU included 21 points from Tevin Brown on 4-of-8 from the 3-point line and 12 points from Justice Hill as he also had a game-high eight assists.
The game started with the Racers jumping on top 32-19 in the first 11 minutes of the game. By the time they made it to halftime, Williams had 22 points scored and the Racers had a 55-45 lead.
The Racers shot 63 percent from the field (38-of-60) which included hitting 13-of-26 from the 3-point line for 50 percent. MSU won the battle of the boards 43-24 and ripped down 10 rebounds on the offensive glass. MSU dished out 24 assists and held their turnover total to nine.
NORTHWESTERN 80, EASTERN ILLINOIS 56
EVANSTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois opened with a 7-2 run on Tuesday night before Northwestern was able to take advantage of several short runs to beat EIU 80-56 in the 2021-22 season opener from Welsh-Ryan Arena.
EIU had four points and two rebounds in the early minutes from transfer Jermaine Hamlin as he finished with ten points, seven rebounds and five blocks to lead the Panthers.
Northwestern would go on a 12-0 run midway through the first half as they pulled out to a 21-12 lead eventually leading 40-29 at the half. Boo Buie scored ten of his game high 17 points in the opening half for the Wildcats.
The Wildcats used an 8-0 run to open the second half as they pulled out to a 50-33 lead with 16:48 remaining in the contest.
EIU held its own against the Big Ten member in most categories as the Wildcats edged EIU 40-38 on the glass. Rodolfo Bolis led EIU with eight rebounds while Hamlin pulled down seven. Bolis would add eight points in his collegiate debut.
The difference in the game was in the handling of the basketball as EIU had 19 turnovers leading to 23 Northwestern points off turnovers. The Wildcats finished with 16 steals with Buie and Robbie Beran each picking up five.
Pete Nance and Ty Berry each added 13 points as Northwestern had three double figure scorers.
Kejuan Clements had seven assists posting a line of five points and six rebounds.
#12 MEMPHIS 89, TENNESSEE TECH 65
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A pair of early runs in the first and second half of the 2021-22 season opener proved too much for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to overcome Tuesday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell on the road at No. 12 Memphis, 89-65.
The defending National Invitation Tournament champion Tigers opened the contest on a 13-0 run, using a hot start from the floor and a slow beginning from the purple and gold to burst out of the gate. Memphis sunk nine of its first 11 tries from the field, setting the tone early.
The home team shot 13-of-26 from downtown and 59.3 percent from the field, combining its strong offense with an effective defense. Memphis blocked 11 Golden Eagles shots in the contest while forcing 15 turnovers.
The Golden Eagles fought and clawed their way back in the first half, turning a 16-point deficit into just eight in less than a minute as the opening stanza wound down. The Tigers hit a triple at the buzzer to make it a 52-41 lead at the break.
The Tigers used another double-figure run to kick off the second half, scoring 10 straight and using their length and size to keep Tech at bay the rest of the way. The purple and gold cut the deficit to 14 points with just over six minutes to play, but the Memphis defense held the visitors to just 1-of-10 and two points down the stretch.
As a team, the Golden Eagles forced 17 Memphis turnovers, racking up 10 steals as a unit. The Tech offense was held to 38.7 percent shooting from the floor and 27.3 percent from downtown, with a tough second half of 30.3 percent from the field and 20.0 percent from deep.
Cincinnati transfer Mamoudou Diarra paced the purple and gold in his debut with the Cookeville crew, scoring 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting in just under 17 minutes of action. The Bamako, Mali native hit 2-of-3 attempts from 3-point range and sunk all three of his free throw attempts.
Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference pick Jr. Clay just missed a double-double, producing nine points with a game-high eight assists. Both returning freshman Kenny White Jr. and newcomer Diante Wood each added eight points and four rebounds off the bench. Ten different Golden Eagles scored at least four points in the contest.
AUSTIN PEAY 86, UT SOUTHERN 79
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - In the season opener on Tuesday night inside the Winfield Dunn Center, the Austin Peay men’s basketball team pulled away late to secure an 86-79 victory over UT Southern. The win marked the first career victory for first-year head coach Nate James.
James becomes the first Austin Peay head coach to win his debut since Howard Jackson did so to kick-off the 1983-84 season. With the win the Govs begin the season 1-0 for the fourth straight year while also starting the season 1-0 at home for the sixth consecutive year.
In the 86-79 victory the Govs had four score in double figures led by redshirt senior Tariq Silver with 20 points. Silver was 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from long distance. The Clarksville, Tenn., native collected his fifth career 20-point game as Silver scored 16 points in the second half alone.
Behind Silver was junior Cameron Copeland with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field. Copeland also tallied six rebounds to go along with three assists and one block. The Douglasville, Ga., native was just 1-of-5 from long distance but a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line.
Rounding out the double-digit scoring was freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 17 points and junior Carlos Paez with 12. To go along with his career-high 17 points, Hutchins-Everett also led the Govs with eight rebounds, four of which came on the offensive glass. Paez in 32 minutes of action was 3-of-8 from the field with all three field goals coming from long distance.
As a team the Govs shot exactly 50 percent from the field while shooting 39.1 percent from long distance. Austin Peay was at the free-throw line early and often, going 19-of-26 (.731) from the charity stripe. APSU outrebounded UT Southern, 31-29 with the Govs holding a 10-7 advantage on the offensive glass.
Defensively the Govs forced 14 turnovers in the season opener, scoring 18 points off of UT Southern mistakes. Both teams scored 32 points in the paint while Austin Peay had 17 fast break points to UT Southern’s 14. The Firehawks as a team shot 54.4 percent from the field and knocked down a staggering 13 three-pointers.
The Govs got off to a fast start thanks in large part to Silver who recorded back-to-back steals resulting in fast break lay-ups. Along with Silver, sharpshooter Paez knocked down the first of his three three-pointers on the night to give APSU a 7-0 lead just two minutes into the game.
Despite the early onslaught, UT Southern responded back with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to earn an 11-9 advantage at the 15-minute mark. The two teams then traded baskets over the next six minutes as neither team led by more than three through the halfway point of the first half. The Govs capitalized on a three-pointer from Hutchins-Everett to propel back in front, 21-18 with nine minutes to go.
Late in the first half, Copeland embarked on a personal 5-0 run as the Govs made three straight field goals to take a 34-29 lead with 2:55 remaining. However, UT Southern continued to claw its way back down the stretch and cut the Govs lead down to four with a minute left. To end the first half, Austin Peay connected on four of its final six field goals and had a 40-36 lead heading into the locker room.
It was all Firehawks to begin the second half as UT Southern embarked on an 11-2 run and made four of its first five field goals to take a 48-45 lead with 16:06 remaining. UT Southern earned its largest lead of the night with 14:47 remaining as the Firehawks made five straight field goals to hold a 55-48 advantage.
The turning point of the game came when Tariq Silver stepped on to the floor nearing the halfway point of the second half. Trailing by seven, Silver rattled off 11 straight points with back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to give the Govs a 59-57 lead with 12 minutes remaining. UT Southern rallied with a coast-to-coast lay-up to regain the lead before Paez knocked down a wide open three to push the Govs back in front at the halfway point.
The two teams went back and forth late in the second half before the Govs went on a 5-0 run highlighted by an acrobatic and-one from Copeland to earn a 67-65 advantage. Austin Peay found its rhythm offensively and connected on four straight field goals to pull ahead 76-70 with 3:10 remaining.
Late in the game UT Southern continued to fight and trimmed the APSU lead down to four with a minute left. That was as close as the Firehawks got down the stretch as the Govs made six of their final eight field goals and three of their final four from the free-throw line to secure an 86-79 victory.
ALABAMA A&M 82, TENNESSE STATE 73
NORMAL, Ala. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team dropped the season opener against Alabama A&M, 82-73, at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
In the first half TSU took the lead early on as Kenny Cooper, graduate transfer from WKU, scored his first point as a Tiger at the free throw line. Christian Brown, a transfer from Georgia, cashed in with a three-point basket to give Tennessee State a four-point lead. Alabama A&M bounced back with a 13-0 run, as they found scoring from five different players. The Tigers chipped away with four straight three-point field goals, two apiece from Kassim Nicholson and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., to cut the lead to 21-18. TSU re-claimed the lead at the 6:56 mark on a layup from Purdue transfer, Emmanuel Dowuona. The Bulldogs' leading scorer from 2020, Jalen Johnson, tallied three of the final five baskets to give A&M a lead at halftime.
Tennessee State began the second half with consecutive buckets, a layup from Cooper and a three-pointer from Marshall Jr., to cut the lead to one possession. The two programs went on a "see-saw", exchanging baskets and the lead, during the mid-point of the half. Jalen Dupree, a transfer from Samford, recorded five of his seven points on succeeding possessions. With 9:32 remaining, Fitzgerald Jr. extended the Tigers' lead to 61-57 on an acrobatic layup, which forced an A&M timeout. Following the timeout, Alabama A&M went on a 11-4 scoring run in large part to Garrett Hicks' two three-pointers. With 5:44 remaining, the Bulldogs took a 70-69 lead. At that point, TSU went on a scoring drought and registered four points in the final 5:44.
MARQUETTE 88, SIUE 77
MILWAUKEE - Five players scored in double figures Tuesday and SIUE men's basketball stood tall on opening night with an 88-77 loss on the road at Marquette.
Following back-to-back three-pointer to open the game for Marquette, SIUE responded with a 13-point run to which carried the Cougars through the first media timeout. Marquette worked its way back to tie the score at 17-17. The Cougars connected on 62 percent of their shots and trailed 39-38 at the break.
The Cougars tied the game at 44 early in the second half before Marquette regained the lead for good. SIUE kept the deficit to single digits until the final minute when Marquette sealed the game with made free throws.
The Golden Eagles fended off the Cougars by taking advantage of 24 SIUE turnovers to the tune of 26 points.
Ray'Sean Taylor led SIUE with 16 points in his first official game as a Cougar. He added five rebounds and two assists. Shaun Doss, Jr. added 13 points in his SIUE debut and five rebounds. Carlos Curtis and Shamar Wright each scored 11 points and DeeJuan Pruitt turned in 10 points and six rebounds in his first game as a Cougar.
SIUE shot 47 percent for the game and finished with 15 assists.
Darryl Morsell led four Marquette players in double figures with 21 points. Justin Lewis turned in a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cougars outrebounded Marquette 42-38.