SATURDAYS SCORES
Eastern Illinois 76, @Austin Peay 69
@Belmont 90, Tennessee Tech 66
Jacksonville State 77, @Tennessee State 76
Morehead State 79, @UT Martin 69
@Southeast Missouri 94, Eastern Kentucky 72
@Murray State 89, SIUE 62
EASTERN ILLINOIS 76, AUSTIN PEAY 69
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Eastern Illinois completed a weekend sweep of its trips to Murray State and Austin Peay as the Panthers picked up a 76-69 win over the Governors on Saturday night at the Dunn Center.
EIU improved to 9-16 overall, 6-12 in the OVC. APSU fell to 14-10 overall, 10-8 in the OVC.
Eastern Illinois trailed 33-30 at the half despite shooting 50 percent from the floor. Mack Smith would score 11 of his 22 points in the opening half going 3-of-3 on 3-pointers.
Austin Peay took advantage of 13 first half turnovers by EIU, converting those turnover into 12 points.
In the second half EIU took better care of the ball as EIU had only five second half turnovers while heating up to 60 percent shooting in the second half. The Panthers shot 55 percent for the game.
After trailing for most of the game, EIU took a 52-50 lead with 12:38 left in the game on a Sammy Friday IV lay-up in transition. Following a dunk by Elton Walker off a missed shot, EIU went on a 5-0 run with Jordan Skipper-Brown converting free throws and Henry Abraham draining a 3-pointer in the corner.
Skipper-Brown finished with a double-double for the second straight game finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds. He had nine of his points in the final 13 minutes.
Smith would connect on his fifth 3-pointer of the game at the 4:09 mark of the second half moving into a tie for 10th on the Ohio Valley Conference career 3-pointers made list. His bucket came after back-to-back jumpers by Terry Taylor that tied the game at 67-67 with 4:33 left in the game.
The Panthers would close the game on a 9-2 run with Smith’s 3-pointer, a lay-up by George Dixon and free throws by Smith and Marvin Johnson accounting for EIU’s points. Mike Peake had Austin Peay’s lone basket in the final stanza at the 2:25 mark. APSU was 1-for-8 from the floor to end the game.
Johnson joined Smith and Skipper-Brown in double figures for EIU with 12 points.
Taylor added to his career double-double total with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Peake had 14 points and Reginald Gee added 11 for the Governors.
BELMONT 90, TENNESSEE TECH 66
NASHVILLE - Junior Nick Muszynski scored 19 points as Belmont University men's basketball defeated Tennessee Tech, 90-66, Saturday.
The victory secured Belmont's 12th regular season conference championship in 16 years, and seventh in nine years of Ohio Valley Conference membership.
Belmont (24-1, 18-0 OVC) has won 21 consecutive games and 30 consecutive conference games.
Belmont and Gonzaga are the only programs in America to win 36 of their last 37 games.
Consecutive layins from freshman JaCobi Wood and a Muszynski conventional 3-point play gave Belmont a 22-13 lead midway through the first half.
All 13 players saw action in the first half as head coach Casey Alexander showcased the team's depth. Belmont limited Tennessee Tech to 34 percent shooting and one assist in the first half in leading 42-26 at halftime.
A 3-pointer from junior Luke Smith and consecutive Muszynski baskets made the score 62-36 with 13:40 left.
Sophomore Ben Sheppard scored four quick points in transition to give Belmont a 75-43 lead with 10:19 remaining. Junior Grayson Murphy flirted with a triple-double on consecutive Saturdays before Bruin reserves played much of the second half.
All told, Belmont shot 49 percent (34-of-69) from the field and scored 52 points in the paint. Wood had 15 points while Sheppard added 11 points and seven rebounds. Murphy had eight points, 10 rebounds and eight assists.
Damaria Franklin led Tennessee Tech (3-22, 3-15 OVC) with 18 points.
Belmont has won an NCAA-best 20 consecutive road/neutral games.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 77, TENNESSEE STATE 76
NASHVILLE - Jalen Finch's late-game heroics lifted the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a 77-76 win over Tennessee State on Saturday at the Gentry Center.
Trailing 76-75 with five seconds remaining on the clock, Kayne Henry inbounded to Finch from under his own basket. The junior then proceeded to go coast-to-coast, laying it up and in before time expired. Finch was fouled with 0.2 seconds remaining, but intentionally missed the and-one to prevent the Tigers (4-17, 3-15 OVC) from grabbing the rebound and secured the comeback victory for the Gamecocks (15-8, 11-6 OVC).
Finch becomes the first Gamecock to hit a last-second shot to win a game since Malcolm Drumwright hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at USC Upstate on Dec. 18, 2016. It's the second time this year JSU has stolen a win away from TSU in the final five seconds of a contest. Huffman hit a jumper with five seconds to play on Jan. 14 to help the Gamecocks to a 65-64 win over the Tigers at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The victory also served as a milestone-tying win for Harper. He tied former JSU head coach Mike LaPlante for most Division I wins in program history with 95.
Tennessee State controlled the first half and led 39-30 at the break. Jax State was held to 43.5 percent shooting (10-for-23) from the floor, while the Tigers shot nearly 60 percent (15-for-26) and nailed six 3-pointers. Finch and Pal were the Gamecocks' leading scorers in the first 20 minutes, totaling eight points each, while TSU's Mark Freeman scored 15 of his career-high 29 in the half.
The Tigers led by as many as 10 points with a little less than six minutes to play, but Jacksonville State steadily chipped away at the lead. Trailing 73-67 with two minutes to go, Finch hit a 3-pointer following a TSU turnover to cut the disadvantage to three. Adams tied the game with a 3-pointer with just 23 seconds remaining, and Pal hit a pair of free throws to give the Gamecocks their first lead of the second, 75-73.
Tennessee State's Freeman hit a floater and was fouled with five seconds to play, tying the game at 75. His ensuing free throw put the Tigers up 76-75, but it was Finch's layup that followed to give Jacksonville State the come-from-behind win.
Adams finished the night with 19 points, and Finch followed closely behind with 18. Pal and Huffman each scored 10, and Henry rounded out double-digit scoring with 10 points.
MOREHEAD STATE 79, UT MARTIN 69
MARTIN, Tenn. - Fueled by their aggression to ignite a new success streak and a season-best accuracy from the land beyond the three-point arc, Morehead State men's basketball zipped past UT Martin 79-69 Saturday night at the Elam Center in snowy Martin, Tenn.
The win allowed the Eagles (17-7/14-3 OVC) to set a program record for road league victories with seven. MSU's 14 OVC wis are now just one behind the 2009-10 team for the program mark for conference wins.
Morehead State tied its season best from distance, hitting 10-of-20 from long range. Junior guard Skyelar Potter was a big reason for that, nailing 4-of-6 three-pointers and adding 6-of-7 free throws for a team-high 20 points, his third 20-point output.
Freshman Johni Broome registered 14 points, his 12th consecutive double-figure effort, while grabbing a team-best nine boards. He narrowly missed his ninth double-double. Senior forward James Baker and junior guard DeVon Cooper also contributed 13 points each. For Cooper it was his team-best 19th game in double figures.
Morehead State also tied a season-high with 21 assists. Sophomore guard Ta'lon Cooper paced the passing department by tying his season-best with seven, while junior guard KJ Hunt dished out five dimes.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 94, EASTERN KENTUCKY 72
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Southeast Missouri (9-14, 7-10) honored its seniors by demolishing Eastern Kentucky (18-6, 12-5) from start to finish in a 94-72 rout Saturday at the Show Me Center.
SEMO, which scored over 80 points in its second-straight win, established new season-highs in points, points in a half (50), field goal percentage (.583), assists (26) and 3-point field goal percentage (.560) and 3-point field goals made (14).
The Redhawks also enjoyed their largest halftime lead (50-24, +26) since 2013 when it led Austin Peay, 65-30, at the intermission on the road (Feb. 28).
SEMO played relentless defense the entire way and shot a blistering 62.1 percent from the field in the first half alone. The Redhawks drained seven 3-pointers for 21 of their first 50 points.
Ahead, 22-15, SEMO put together a 12-2 run to take a 17-point lead. Nana Akenten buried a 3-pointer during the stretch that ended when Eric Reed, Jr. nailed a 3-pointer, was fouled and converted a 4-point play to give the Redhawks a 34-17 lead with 5:48 in the first half.
Manny Patterson's two free throws pushed SEMO's lead over 20 points and the Redhawks later ended the half by scoring seven unanswered points to extend their lead to 50-24 at the intermission.
Eight of the nine Redhawks who played in the first half scored. Reed, Jr. and Harris each pitched in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively, in the opening stanza.
SEMO's largest lead of the night was 28 (83-55) on Akenten's 3-pointer with 5:07 left to play.
EKU led only once in the game 5:03 into the contest.
Ten of 11 Redhawks made their way into the scoring column as everyone had a hand in SEMO dealing EKU its largest loss of the season.
Chris Harris led the way with 18 points and knocked down four 3-pointers. Reed, Jr. followed with 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. Akenten drained a season-best five 3-pointers and finished with 15 points and six boards, while Nygal Russell chipped in 13 points off the bench.
DQ Nicholas contributed eight points, seven rebounds and seven assists, as well.
And, senior walk-on Evan Morrison sent the Show Me Center crowd into a frenzy when he buried a three with less than a minute to go. Morrison and graduate senior Nolan Taylor were recognized prior to tip-off. Taylor did not play due to a knee injury.
SEMO made 35-of-60 field goals and 14-of-25 treys. The Redhawks assisted on all but nine of their made field goals. SEMO outrebounded the Colonels, 47-28, for a +19 margin
MURRAY STATE 89, SIUE 62
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers (13-10) closed out the 23rd season of collegiate basketball at the CFSB Center Saturday with an 89-62 victory over the SIUE Cougars. The win in Murray, Ky., means the Racers are 10-8 heading into the final week of Ohio Valley Conference play with a chance to get the best seed possible for the OVC Tournament (March 3-6) in Evansville, Ind.
Tevin Brown hit seven 3-pointers and scored 29 points to lead for Racers in double-figure scoring. Justice Hill scored 14 points, while Devin Gilmore added 12 and Chico Carter, Jr., added 11.
The Racers began the game with a pair of threes from Brown for a 15-8 lead at the first media timeout. The Racers later hit the Cougars with a 13-0 run to take a 34-14 lead with 6:54 left. MSU led 46-21 at the halftime intermission and eventually built a 35-point lead as their largest of the game.
MSU shot 58 percent from the field on 31-of-53 and 50 percent from the 3-point line on 13-of-26. The 13 threes ties a season-high for the Racers as they also made 13 at home against Jacksonville State (Jan. 21). MSU has seven games this season with double-digit made 3-pointers.
With games next week at Jacksonville State and Tennessee Tech, the Racers are in a group of teams that will likely make up the fourth, fifth and sixth seeds when the OVC Tournament is played at the Ford Center. JSU is 11-6 and the Racers and Austin Peay are 10-8. Belmont is in first place at 18-0 and Morehead State sits in second at 14-3. Eastern Kentucky is in third place, one game ahead of JSU.