WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Southeast Missouri 75, Evansville 73
@SIUE 80, Purdue Fort Wayne 59
@Western Carolina 74,
Tennessee Tech 69 (OT)
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 75, EVANSVILLE 73
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Phillip Russell scored a career-high 24 points and Nygal Russell pulled down a career-best 15 rebounds to lead Southeast Missouri (5-4) to an exciting 75-73 win over Evansville (4-8) Wednesday night at the Show Me Center.
SEMO beat an NCAA Division I opponent at home for the first time this season and did so without its leading scorer in Eric Reed, Jr. who was inactive due to illness.
Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that went wire-to-wire with eight ties and 16 lead changes.
Knotted at 58-58 with nine minutes remaining, SEMO used a 7-0 run to get ahead, 65-58. P. Russell started the surge with a layup and Nana Akenten followed with a 3-pointer before DQ Nicholas added two free throws.
SEMO again led by seven (67-60) following a layup by Chris Harris, but UE managed to pull to within two when Evan Kuhlman buried a 3-pointer with just over a minute (1:03) to go.
Jawaun Newton kept the Purple Aces within striking distance by knocking down two free throws to make it a 75-73 game with eight seconds on the clock.
Russell was later fouled and went to the free throw line for a 1-and-1 with three seconds. He missed the front end and Shamar Givance pulled down the rebound. Givance then launched a 3-pointer from the right side that went off the rim as time expired.
After both teams went scoreless for the first three minutes of the game, UE used back-to-back 3-pointers by Blaise Beauchamp to take an 18-13 lead at the 11:07 mark in the first half.
The Purple Aces led by five on two more occasions before P. Russell nailed a 3-pointer giving SEMO a 27-25 edge with 4:53 left.
Russell again knocked down a 3-pointer, this time stretching SEMO's lead to 36-32 before the Redhawks headed to the intermission ahead, 40-38.
SEMO, which shot 56 percent from the field in the first half, finished at 51.9 percent (28-of-54) for the night. The Redhawks outrebounded UE, 37-31, and assisted 15 of their made field goals.
Russell went 10-of-16 from the floor and hit a pair of 3-pointers. He also had four rebounds, four assists and two steals in 35 minutes. N. Russell had 11 of his career-best 15 boards in the first half alone to go along with seven points and three assists.
Meanwhile, Nicholas matched a season-best 17 points and had three assists. Additionally, Harris contributed 12 points and four dishes.
SEMO made a near-perfect 12-of-13 free throws and buried its first 12 attempts of the night.
Givance Newton and Noah Frederking each had 15 points to pace UE, which shot 29.7 percent (11-of-37) from 3-point range.
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SIUE 80, PURDUE FORT WAYNE 59
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE picked up its fourth win of the season in dominating fashion, defeating Purdue Fort Wayne 80-59 Wednesday night at First Community Arena.
The Cougars raced out to a 9-0 lead and never looked back in improving to 4-6 overall and 2-0 at home this season. Purdue Fort Wayne fell to 4-5 and 0-3 on the road.
Collectively, SIUE enjoyed its best offensive night, scoring a season-high 80 points while knocking down a season-best 52 percent of its shots. The Cougars connected on 33 baskets, also a season best. SIUE moved the ball to the tune of 21 assists, which is second most in a game this season. The Cougars pounded the Mastodons inside, racking up 40 points in the paint.
"We came out with such a good attitude of sharing the ball today," SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "I thought we jumped on them early. DeeJuan made a couple threes, but it was because the ball was moving. They implemented what we asked them to do, and they did a really good job of that."
Ray'Sean Taylor's career-best 25 paced four Cougars in double figures. Taylor was 12-23 from the field and pulled down eight rebounds while adding six assists.
Shaun Doss, Jr. scored 14 points, DeeJuan Pruitt added 11 points, five rebounds and four assists. Courtney Carter scored 12 points and hauled in a career-high 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. Carter added four assists and didn't commit a turnover.
"We came into the game with a scout plan that was on point," Pruitt said. "Our goals were to just rebound, play good defensively and push the ball in transition and just play together."
SIUE outrebounded Purdue Fort Wayne 45-28, including pulling in 13 offensive rebounds and scoring 14 second chance points.
The Cougars shot 60 percent (18-30) from the floor in the first half and held a 46-29 lead at the break.
The Mastodons made a push to start the second half, scoring the first nine points in the period to trim the Cougars' advantage back to eight.
Doss then scored the next seven straight points, and nine of the game's next 11 points to push SIUE's lead out to 16 points.
"They made a little run because they're a well-coached team and they're a very good team," Barone said. "And in that little stretch, Shaun Doss did a great job. I was proud of our defensive effort, and I was proud of how we shared the ball tonight."
It was 62-48 SIUE following a steal and a basket for Purdue Fort Wayne with 9:26 left when the Cougars made another 9-0 run to lead by 23 (71-48) with 6:05 left. Taylor gave the Cougars their largest lead at 76-52 with an offensive rebound and a two-hand dunk at 4:35.
SIUE held Purdue Fort Wayne to just 28.8 percent (17-59) from the field. Deonte Billups scored 18 points off the bench to lead the Mastodons.
WESTERN CAROLINA 74, TENNESSEE TECH 69 (OT)
CULLOWHEE, N.C. - It was near déjà vu for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Wednesday evening in Cullowhee, N.C. as the Golden Eagles dropped a heartbreaking, overtime decision to Western Carolina, 74-69, almost a year to the day of last season's overtime loss to the Catamounts in the Ramsey Center.
Both sides struggled to get much going offensively in the first half of the contest, slugging it out to the tune of a 25-23 score at the break in favor of the home squad. Neither team shot better than 28 percent in the opening 20 minutes.
Each team took its turn building a healthy advantage on the night, with the Catamounts boasting their largest lead of nine points in the first half. Tech fought back and in the second half, on the heels of 44 percent shooting, jumped out to as much as an eight-point lead.
Western Carolina fought back, using a solid showing beyond the charity stripe to stay in the game, despite an inferior improvement in shooting from the floor than the Golden Eagles. The Cookeville crew looked to be in good shape down the stretch, leading by five with just over 30 seconds to play.
After WCU cut the lead to three on the layup, Tech missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw that gave possession back to the home team with just over 20 seconds on the clock. The Catamounts raced down the court and hit a triple, tying the game with 18 seconds to play.
Tech got two looks at the basket in the closing seconds, but neither shot found pay dirt and the contest went to overtime. Hitting free throws down the stretch, Western Carolina held on late to beat Tech in the extra, five-minute period.
Junior guard Jr. Clay led the Golden Eagles in scoring for the second game in a row, posting 15 points with a team and season-high eight rebounds. Kenny White Jr. produced his top game of the season, chipping in a career-high 14 points on 50 percent shooting, as well as seven boards.
Also in double figures for the Tech squad was Keishawn Davidson with 10 on 50 percent shooting from the floor and beyond the arc and Daniel Ramsey with 10 on 5-for-9 efficiency from the field and five boards.