SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 89, Belmont 82 (OT)
@Jacksonville State 75, Austin Peay 67
UT Martin 73, @Eastern Illinois 68
Southeast Missouri 69, @SIUE 63
@Eastern Kentucky 89, Tennessee State 84
@Tennessee Tech 71, Murray State 61
MOREHEAD STATE 89, BELMONT 82 (OT)
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Belmont's Grayson Murphy hit a three-pointer with three seconds left in regulation to force overtime, but Morehead State hit 13 of 14 free throws in the extra period as the Eagle men's basketball team ended the regular season with an 89-82 victory over the Bruins at Johnson Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles finished the regular season at 20-7 and 17-3 in the OVC, just a game behind Belmont (24-3/18-2 OVC). It marks just the eighth 20-win season in program history, while the 17 league triumphs are a school record. It also marned just the third-ever win for MSU over the Bruin program and head coach Preston Spradlin's first over Belmont.
After missing three free throws in the final 20 seconds of regulation that may have sealed the win, the Eagles only hit one field goal in overtime but canned the 13 free throws in the extra five minutes while seeing Belmont misfire on five three-pointers.
Freshman forward Johni Broome continued his case for OVC Freshman of the Year with a team-high 20 points while grabbing 12 rebounds, his 10th double-double and his seventh effort of 20 or more points. Junior guard Skyelar Potter also joined Broome in the double-double department with 18 points and a team-best 13 rebounds. It's the third tgame this year Broome and Potter have both notched double-doubles in the same game.
Junior guard DeVon Cooper registered 16 points, including a career-best 10-of-10 at the free throw line. Cooper drilled all six of his free throws in the final 1:05 of overtime. Senior James Baker, Jr., scored 15 points and had three blocked shots in his final home game, and sophomore guard Ta'lon Cooper was the fifth Eagle in double digits at 10.
Murphy flirted with his second triple-double of the year, both against MSU. He had a career-best 24 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.
JACKSONVILLE STATE 75, AUSTIN PEAY 67
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. - JACKSONVILLE - Brandon Huffman's third double-double of the season was what the Jacksonville State men's basketball team needed to sweep Austin Peay for the first time in school history, winning 75-67 Saturday at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Huffman led the Gamecocks (17-8, 13-6 OVC) with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the senior night contest. He helped Jax State shoot nearly 60 percent and score 36 points in the paint with his 7-for-8 clip from the field. On the other end of the court, the 6-foot-10 forward and the defense held the Governors (14-12, 10-10 OVC) to just 36.9 percent shooting.
Despite trailing for no more than two baskets for the first quarter of the game, the Gamecocks seemed to take control of the contest midway through the opening period. A second-chance layup from Jalen Finch followed by buckets from Kayne Henry and Juwan Perdue put Jax State up by eight at the 6:24 mark. Demaree King, who tallied nine points and played 28 minutes off the bench, hit a 3-pointer to extend JSU's lead to nine, 34-25, at the half.
The Gamecocks' run continued after the horn, going on to score 12 straight points two minutes deep into the second half, but the Govs stormed back and took a six-point lead just minutes later. Alec Woodard fueled a 14-point streak with a pair of treys to give Austin Peay its first lead since the 13-minute mark of the first half.
Without the help of a called timeout, Jacksonville State got back on track on the back of Huffman. The big guy scored six points in a three-minute span to push the Gamecocks ahead by one. Two made free throws from both Darian Adams and Perdue built the lead to four, and Amanze Ngumezi stomped out on the Govs' momentum with a dagger 3-pointer.
Taylor and Carlos Paez totaled 17 and 20 points, respectively, and combined to shoot 54 percent (13-for-24), while the rest of the APSU squad shot 27 percent (11-for-41) for the game.
Jacksonville State ended the night with Adams (12) and Ngumezi (11) in double figures scored. Kayne Henry missed a double-double by a rebound and a point.
Martin Roub received his first start of the season as Finch and the four seniors got the nod in the final home game of the season.
In addition to the regular-season sweep of APSU, it marks the first time Jacksonville State has swept all four games with the Govs and Murray State in the same season. It also ties the program record for JSU's winningest February in Division I history with a 7-2 record in the shortest month of the year.
UT MARTIN 73, EASTERN ILLINOIS 68
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad erased a 13-point deficit today in an impressive 73-68 victory in the 2020-21 season finale at Lantz Arena.
The Skyhawks conclude the season with an 8-16 overall record and 6-14 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play under interim head coach Montez Robinson.
UT Martin snapped a five-game skid in Charleston this afternoon, winning for the first time in Lantz Arena since Feb. 19, 2015. The win also gave the Skyhawks a season sweep over the Panthers for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
Cameron Holden poured in a career-high 27 points and added a team-best eight rebounds while senior Hannes Polla registered a career-high 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting) and six rebounds in his final collegiate game for UT Martin.
Eman Sertovic (11 points, career-high four assists) and Jaron Williams (10 points) gave the Skyhawks four double-digit scorers for the first time the Belmont game on Jan. 2.
Eastern Illinois (9-18, 6-14 OVC) was forced into 19 turnovers and shot 12 percent (3-of-25) from three-point range – including an 0-for-11 effort in the second half. Jordan Skipper-Brown accounted for 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Marvin Johnson added 17 points.
Holden gave UT Martin its first lead of the game with a free throw nearly a minute into the contest before back-to-back straightaway mid-range jumpers by Polla extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 9-3 at the 16:07 mark.
After a steal and fast break dunk by Anthony Thomas padded UT Martin’s lead out to 20-11 with 12:36 remaining in the opening half, the Panthers went on a 19-0 run. Eastern Illinois took its biggest lead of the afternoon (40-27) with 3:17 to go before the halftime break.
The Skyhawks produced six unanswered points going into the locker room, as Holden provided all six of the aforementioned points. As a result, UT Martin whittled its deficit down to 40-33 at the intermission.
Holden had a game-high 17 points at the break while Johnson’s 11 points paced Eastern Illinois in the first 20 minutes.
The Skyhawks opened the second stanza on an 11-2 run as Williams generated five points before a Sertovic jumper gave UT Martin a 44-42 lead with 16:45 to go.
Williams buried back-to-back pull-up jumpers in the span of 44 seconds before Thomas swished a trifecta to push the Skyhawk advantage out to 55-47 at the 11:29 mark.
The Panthers got within three points (56-53) with 9:42 remaining but Polla stepped up with back-to-back buckets to help UT Martin make it a three-possession game.
The closest Eastern Illinois would get is three points as a layup with 19 seconds to go made the score 71-68. However, Sertovic calmly sank a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession, allowing the Skyhawks end their season on a high note.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69, SIUE 63
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Southeast Missouri (11-15, 9-11) clinched the seven seed in next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 69-63 win over SIU Edwardsville (9-16, 7-12) Saturday night at First Community Arena.
SEMO, which qualified for the OVC Tournament for the first time since it has been held in Evansville, Indiana, will begin postseason play against No. 2 Morehead State on Wednesday, Mar. 3. Tip is set for 9:30 p.m., CT at the Ford Center.
The Redhawks finished the regular-season strong with wins in four of their final five games. SEMO officially clinched its 16tth all-time OVC Tournament berth and first since 2017 when it beat Eastern Illinois on the road, 94-88, two days ago.
SEMO continued to build on its momentum with a strong first half.
The Redhawks heated up to make five of their first seven 3-pointers and shot 50 percent from long range en route to getting a 35-27 advantage at halftime.
Chris Harris made a jumper, was fouled and completed a 3-point play to give SEMO its largest lead of the half at 35-24 with 3:02 remaining.
SEMO took its biggest lead of the night when DQ Nicholas made a layup to make it a 47-31 game with 14:11 left. SIUE, however, answered with a 17-1 run to tie the game at 48-48.
Harris then scored five of the next eight points on two free throws and a 3-pointer. His trey gave the Redhawks a 56-51 lead with just under seven minutes to go.
Reed, Jr., who buried a 3-pointer moments before Harris' trifecta, converted a 3-point play to give SEMO a 59-51 advantage at the 6:16 mark.
After SIUE pulled within three (61-58) with 3:49 on the clock, Darrious Agnew scored three big points to stretch SEMO's lead to six.
SIUE managed to cut SEMO's lead to three, but the Redhawks made three free throws in the last 13 seconds to polish off their win.
Harris scored 16 points to lead three Redhawks in double figures. Nicholas and Nana Akenten followed with 11 points apiece. Akenten also had 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
In Brad Korn's first year as SEMO's head coach, the Redhawks finished with nine conference wins, a +6 improvement in the win column from a year ago. This year marks the 10th time SEMO posted nine or more league wins during their 30 seasons in the OVC.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 89, TENNESSEE STATE 84
RICHMOND, Ky. - Eastern Kentucky University’s men’s basketball team was tied with Tennessee State University with less than seven minutes to play, but the Colonels put the game away with a 13-5 run to secure an 89-84 victory, their 21st of the season.
Eastern Kentucky (21-6, 15-5) will begin play at the 2021 Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday in Evansville. The third seeded Colonels will play No. 6 seed Austin Peay at 10:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on ESPN+.
Wendell Green Jr. finished with a game-best 23 points to go along with five rebounds, five assists and one steal. He made 5-of-11 from the field, but connected on 12-of-13 from the free throw line. Curt Lewis added 20 points.
Monty Johal’s jumper for Tennessee State (4-19, 3-17 OVC) tied the game 71-71 with 6:22 left to play. The basket also completed a TSU comeback from 14 points down early in the second half.
EKU’s game-securing run began with a lay-up on the other end from Lewis. King’s jumper in the paint put the home team up four 75-71. The Tigers closed within one, 75-74, on two free throws from Josh Linder with 4:52 showing on the clock.
Eastern scored nine of the next 11 points to cap the 13-5 run. A jumper and free throw from Green made it 82-76. Two more from the charity stripe by Green with 2:08 to go finished it off and put the Colonels in front 84-76.
EKU made 5-of-6 at the line to close out the game.
Tennessee State shot 53 percent for the game, compared to 44 percent for Eastern Kentucky, but the Colonels finished 27-of-28 at the free throw line and out-scored TSU by 13 at the stripe.
Mark Freeman had a team-high 21 for the Tigers. Johal finished with 17 points.
Eastern scored seven of the first eight points of the second half to stretch an eight-point halftime lead to 14, 50-36. Tennessee State got back into the game by answering with a 13-3 run to close the gap to four, 53-49, with 16:02 left in the game.
TENNESSEE TECH 71, MURRAY STATE 61
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It was the most special kind of Senior Night in the Hooper Eblen Center for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Saturday evening. The kind that ended in victory. The kind that set the program up with great momentum heading into a big offseason for the team.
The Golden Eagles (5-22, 5-15), claimed their second-straight win by simply out-playing longtime, Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State (13-12, 10-10), snapping a six-game skid to the Racers with a 71-61 victory.
Two nights after defeating Austin Peay in a thriller, Tech turned in another fantastic performance from the moment the ball was tipped. The Golden Eagles led for a whopping 37-and-a-half minutes in the tilt, using defense to create offense and making timely and clutch shots down the stretch.
The purple and gold kept the Racers out of rhythm all night, forcing 17 turnovers and holding the league's most efficient offense to 44 percent shooting from the floor. Tech held its own on the boards as well, matching Murray State's production on the glass, 36-36. The Golden Eagles took advantage of the visitor's miscues on the night, outpacing the Racers on points off turnovers, 25-8 and on fast breaks, 19-6.
After dropping a career-high 31 points against Austin Peay on Thursday, point guard Jr. Clay again lit up the Eblen Center, scoring a team-high 20 points with six more assists. He paved the way for the offense in the first half, scoring 18 points alone while hitting each of his first four tries from deep.
With his four makes from downtown, Clay became the first Golden Eagle in program history to rank in the top-20 in scoring, top-10 in assists, top-10 in steals and top-10 in 3-point field goals on the career charts. He also moved into a tie for 12th in program history in double-figure scoring games, recording the 70th of his career.