SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Purdue Fort Wayne 78,
Southeast Missouri 65
@North Florida 91,
Austin Peay 84
Troy 75,
@Tennessee Tech 72
@Butler 66,
Eastern Illinois 54
@ETSU 82,
Morehead State 75
Middle Tennessee 84,
@UT Martin 75
PURDUE FORT WAYNE 78, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 65
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Southeast Missouri (5-5) saw a two-game road winning streak end with a 78-65 loss to Horizon League member Purdue Fort Wayne (5-5) Saturday afternoon at Memorial Coliseum.
SEMO, which never led in the game, had three players with double figures in the scoring column. Phillip Russell scored 17 points, while Eric Reed, Jr. added 14 and Chris Harris chipped in 11.
The Redhawks started slow missing eight of their first 11 field goals and their first five 3-point attempts of the contest.
After Reed, Jr. knocked down SEMO's first 3-pointer to tie things up at 15-15, PFW responded with an 11-0 run to build a 26-15 advantage. The Redhawks went scoreless for a period of five minutes during the Mastodons' surge.
SEMO later trailed, 30-20, when Dylan Branson scored eight points in a quick 1:26 to get the Redhawks within four. Branson buried a pair of 3-pointers and made a layup to make it a 32-28 game with 1:33 remaining in the first half.
The Mastodons would score four of the final six points of the first half to pull ahead, 36-30, at the intermission.
SEMO struggled beyond the arc shooting just 21.4 percent on 3-of-14 threes in the opening 20 minutes of play. Branson's eight first-half points matched his entire season total through SEMO's first nine games this year.
Reed, Jr.'s free throw closed PFW's lead to 36-31 early in the second half, but that was as close as SEMO would get the rest of the way.
The Mastodons led by 18 (78-60) when Jarred Godfrey drove the lane for a layup with 1:30 to go.
SEMO ended up shooting 25 percent (5-of-20) from long range and 44.4 percent (24-of-54) from the floor.
Russell made 5-of-9 field goals and 6-of-7 free throws en route to his eighth double-digit scoring performance in 10 starts. He is the only Redhawk who has started every game this year.
Reed, Jr. returned to the starting lineup after missing Wednesday's matchup with Evansville due to illness. He hit 5-of-10 field goals and drained one 3-pointer.
PFW, which shot 55 percent (27-of-49), sunk nine 3-pointers and outscored SEMO, 27-15, from distance. The Mastodons outrebounded the Redhawks, 29-25, as well.
Jalon Pipkins led all PFW scorers with a game-high 24 points and Godfrey followed with 16.
SEMO dropped to 2-3 all-time in its series vs. PFW after making its first trip to Fort Wayne since 2003-04.
NORTH FLORIDA 91, AUSTIN PEAY 84
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Trailing by nine with under 30 seconds to play the Austin Peay men’s basketball team cut its deficit down to three with 10 seconds remaining before falling to North Florida, 91-84 on Saturday afternoon inside UNF Arena.
As a team, the Govs shot 52.4 percent from the field while going 11-of-27 from behind the three-point line. APSU had three score in double figures with two players scoring over 20 points. From the free-throw line, the Govs were 7-of-11 while registering 38 points in the paint.
APSU had three score in double figures with junior Cameron Copeland and freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett each notching 20-point performances. Copeland led the Govs with a season-high 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 from long distance. Copeland also had six rebounds to go along with a career-high six assists.
Hutchins-Everett earned his second 20-point performance of the season with 20 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the field. The Orange, N.J., native also had four rebounds with one assist in 28 minutes. The duo became the first pair of Govs to register 20 or more points in a game since Terry Taylor and Mike Peake did so against SIU Edwardsville back on Feb. 18, 2021.
Rounding out the double-digit scoring was senior Tariq Silver with 17 points. Silver notched his sixth straight double-digit performance, shooting 6-of-12 from the field with five three-pointers. The Clarksville native also had three assists and three steals.
Junior Carlos Paez had a season-high seven assists against the Ospreys to go along with seven points, two rebounds, and one steal. Paez was 2-of-5 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from the free-throw line. Off the bench, the Govs got a solid contribution from senior Corbin Merritt who posted a season-high seven points. Sophomore Noel Scott off the bench registered a career-high six rebounds with one assist and one steal in 18 minutes.
On their home court, the Ospreys got off to the fast start going 2-of-4 from long distance to take an 8-4 lead just three minutes into the game. The Govs were unphased, making four of their next five field goals to tie the game at eight with 16 minutes remaining. APSU ultimately embarked on a 13-3 run to grab a 17-11 lead at the 14-minute mark. The Govs run was highlighted by four points from Hutchins-Everett.
At the midway point of the first half, the Govs jumped out to a double-digit lead after Silver knocked down a straight-away three. Austin Peay led 27-17 at the midway point after holding North Florida scoreless for over three minutes. The Ospreys clawed their way back, knocking down back-to-back threes as part of a 13-2 run to earn a 30-29 advantage with 6:15 remaining.
The two teams went back and forth late in the first half as both offenses found their rhythm. APSU and UNF each went 5-of-6 from the field during a three-minute stretch as the Govs and Ospreys were tied at 40 with one-minute remaining. During the final minute of play, North Florida went on a 5-0 run to take a 45-40 lead into the locker room.
To begin the second half the two teams traded baskets early before the Ospreys went 3-of-4 from the field to take a 59-52 lead with 12:34 remaining. After a pair of UNF free throws, the Ospreys had a nine-point lead before Silver knocked down his fourth three of the game to trim the lead down to 61-55. The three sparked the Govs offense as Silver knocked down a corner three moments later to trim the UNF lead down to two at the halfway point.
However, UNF responded in front of the raucous home crowd, embarking on an 8-0 run with back-to-back three-pointers to gain a double-digit lead with 7:28 left to play. Leading by double digits, Cameron Copeland looked to bring the Govs back, knocking down two clutch threes to trim the Govs deficit down to five. After a UNF three, Paez hit his lone three of the game to make the score 77-72 with 3:40 remaining.
It was a back and forth contest down the stretch as APSU and UNF traded baskets. With under 30 seconds to play the Ospreys led 87-78 as the Austin Peay offense went cold, going just 1-of-5 from the field. Despite trailing, the Govs can never be counted out as Copeland knocked down two deep three-pointers to trim the UNF deficit down to three with under 10 seconds to play.
In the final 10 seconds, the Govs looked to trap the Ospreys in the frontcourt and nearly forced the turnover before UNF broke the full-court press. North Florida iced the game at the free-throw line as the Govs fell 91-84 inside UNF Arena.
TROY 75, TENNESSEE TECH 72
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was another tough battle down to the wire for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles saw their last-second, half-court heave fall short at tying the game in a 75-72 loss to Troy in the Hooper Eblen Center.
A back-and-forth war for most of the night, the first-ever meeting between Tech and Troy saw a whopping 21 lead changes and 11 ties. Notched at 62 with just under six minutes to play, the Trojans used a 9-1 run over the next four minutes to take an eight-point lead.
The Golden Eagles fought back, using their own 9-2 run to cut the deficit to just a single point after a put-back layup from Shandon Goldman with 2.7 seconds to play. After a pair of Troy free throws, the purple and gold got a look at a buzzer-beating heave to tie the game, but the attempt fell short.
The Golden Eagles showed several signs of positivity on the night, forcing 18 turnovers and shooting better from the field in the second half and game overall.
Returning sophomore guard Keishawn Davidson produced a spectacular showing, dropping a game-high 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting and a 5-for-5 performance at the charity stripe. He added four assists with no turnovers. Graduate transfer John Pettway chipped in a season-high 17 points on 8-for-9 efficiency, adding a team-high eight rebounds and season-high four steals.
Jr. Clay joined the pair of guards in double figures, scoring 10 points with five assists. Diante Wood also dished out five helpers, tying his career-high mark. Shandon Goldman collected eight points and five rebounds while Daniel Ramsey finished the day with seven points and five boards.
BUTLER 66, EASTERN ILLINOIS 54
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Eastern Illinois made a quick run late in the first half to cut a double-digit Butler lead to 20-16. The Bulldogs were able to keep the Panthers at a distance finishing with a 66-54 win on Saturday afternoon at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
EIU fell to 2-9 on the season. Butler improved to 7-3.
The Bulldogs took advantage of some cold Panthers shooting as they pulled out to a 20-5 lead. EIU would cut the lead down to 20-16 going on an 11-0 run with newcomers Paul Bizimana and Dan Luers both picking up a pair of baskets in the run.
Jair Bolden ended the EIU run with 3:31 left in the half and Butler quickly pushed the lead out to nine points on a three point play by Aaron Thompson. Thompson finished with a double-double for Butler with 14 points and ten assists.
Butler led 32-21 at the half closing with a 7-0 run. The Bulldogs then opened the second half with a 7-0 run to lead 39-21 with 18:26 left in the game.
Luers had a 3-pointer at the 17:26 mark to end the Butler run. Luers was one of three EIU players in double figures finishing with 11 points. His basket with 9:31 left in the game cut the Butler lead back to single digits at 47-38.
Bryce Golden answered with the first of two 3-pointers as the Bulldogs jumped back out to a 55-38 advantage. Golden led all scorers with 20 points.
CJ Lane scored 12 points off the bench for EIU finishing with 12 points. Bizimana scored 10.
ETSU 82, MOREHEAD STATE 75
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. - Another double-double from second-year big man Johni Broome, plus a career-high from junior guard Jake Wolfe weren't quite enough to offset a season-high three-point attack from its foe and a large points-off-turnovers differential as Morehead State men's basketball dropped a hard-fought 82-75 decision at Freedom Hall to ETSU Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles saw their four-game success streak halted and sit at 6-4 now, while ETSU improved to 7-3. The Eagles hit 10 three-pointers of their own and led by as much as 11 in the first. MSU only had 14 turnovers but the Bucs turned that into a 25-2 advantage in points off mistakes to be the difference.
Broome collected his fifth double-double of the year and 18th of his career with game highs of 24 points (also a season high) and 13 rebounds while also setting a career high in the passing department with five assists.
Wolfe knocked down a trio of triples and scored a career-best 13 points. Grad transfer Tray Hollowell, who had played against ETSU many times while at Wofford, fired up in the second half as well and finished with four three-balls and 14 points to tie his MSU career high.
But, ETSU saw Jordan King and David Sloan each nail four three-pointers each, while Ladarrious Brewer, a Southeast Missouri, transfer scored the Bucs' first 10 points and had 20 for the game.
MSU held an 11-point first half lead midway through the period and led by seven late in the first half, but a couple of late turnovers led to points for the hosts and the Eagles led 41-39 at the half. It was the first game this season and just the second since the start of 2020-21 that the Eagles fell when holding a halftime advantage.
ETSU managed to pull away late to lead by as much as 10 with 2:14 left in the game before Hollowell and Wolfe knocked in three-pointers. MSU cut it back to within 80-75 and had the ball after forcing a mistake, but MSU missed a three-ball.
Morehead State out-rebounded the Bucs 40-35 and shot 44 percent (26-of-59) for the contest.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE 84, UT MARTIN 75
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team shaved a double-digit deficit down to just three points with three minutes to go against Middle Tennessee but the Skyhawks could not get over the hump in an 84-75 setback at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Trailing by a 74-63 margin with 4:25 remaining, UT Martin cranked up the heat defensively to pull within a single possession. KK Curry came away with a pair of steals and turned those into a pair of fast break layups, capping off an 8-0 run in the span of 85 seconds. With the Skyhawks within striking distance at 74-71, the Blue Raiders scored 10 of the next 12 points to sneak out with a win.
KJ Simon tied a career-high with 21 points this evening for the Skyhawks (3-7), adding five rebounds, a career-best five steals and two assists. Curry was plagued by foul trouble throughout the night but still finished with 18 points, six rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 26 minutes of play. Koby Jeffries rounded out UT Martin’s double-digit scorers with a career-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting while Bernie Andre hauled in a game-best eight rebounds.
Middle Tennessee (8-2) was led by Eli Lawrence’s 21 points while Donovan Sims (15 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and DeAndre Dishman (15 points, three steals) also guided the Blue Raiders offensively. Seventeen of Middle Tennessee’s 27 made free throws came over the final 20 minutes.
UT Martin came out hot from three-point range as Jeffries, Simon and Darius Simmons each swished triples to give the Skyhawks a 15-10 advantage a little over four minutes into the contest.
The Blue Raiders went on a 12-3 run to take their first lead of the night before a pair of Andre free throws at the 11:04 mark tilted the score back in favor of UT Martin at 18-17.
After Middle Tennessee posted a 12-4 run, a Mikel Henderson floater in the lane cut the Skyhawk deficit to 31-29 at the 5:14 mark of the opening half. The Blue Raiders pushed their lead back out to eight less than three minutes later but a Jeffries free throw, Henderson three-pointer and David Didenko turnaround jumpshot in the paint helped UT Martin close the gap to 43-39 at the break.
Jeffries and Sims shared the lead with a game-high 11 points for their respective squads in the first half. Both teams shot an event 50 percent (13-of-26 for the Skyhawks, 14-for-28 for Middle Tennessee) in the opening 20 minutes.
Jeffries sank a free throw 15 seconds into the second half but the Blue Raiders responded with 10 unanswered points over a stretch of 1:38.
Simon knocked down back-to-back three-pointers while Curry (old-fashioned three-point play, driving layup) accounted for UT Martin’s next five points to make the score 53-51 with a little under 15 minutes to go.
Middle Tennessee then went on a 7-0 run and eventually took its aforementioned 11-point lead with 4:25 remaining.
The Skyhawks made their push, starting with a Simon pull-up jumper before the final media timeout. Curry then converted a second-chance layup and laid in the aforementioned layups to put the finishing touches on a mini 6-0 run by himself.
The Blue Raiders were responsible for an old-fashioned three-point play but a steal and swooping layup by Simon made the score 77-73 with 1:39 to go. However, Middle Tennessee accumulated the next seven points of the game on the way to the victory.