SATURDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 71, @Tennessee State 64
Tennessee Tech 76, @UT Martin 70
Murray State 82, @Belmont 60
MOREHEAD STATE 71, TENNESSEE STATE 64
NASHVILLE - Morehead State men's basketball fought through some adversity and a second-half push by Tennessee State Saturday at the Gentry Center, but the Eagles persevered for their sixth straight win, 71-64.
MSU improved to 12-5 overall and 4-0 in the OVC, while TSU fell to 6-10 and 1-3 in league games.
With leading scorer Johni Broome in foul trouble much of the game, junior Jaylon Hall stepped up to score 14 points, hitting all three three-pointers. Broome played 20 minutes before fouling out, but still scored 13 points. Point guard Ta'Lon Cooper nearly had a double-double with 10 points and eight assists.
Grad student Tray Hollowell hit a trio of three-pointers and scored nine points, now with 996 career collegiate points.
MSU shot 60 percent in the first half and led 41-31 as Skyelar Potter hit a three-pointer as the first-half buzzer sounded. TSU managed to use its transition and inside game to outscore MSU 33-30 in the second. MSU wound up still hitting 50 percent (25-of-50) for the day, while TSU hit 50 percent in the first half and 49 percent for the game.
Morehead State led by as much as 11 in the final half before seeing the Tigers cut it all the way down to 61-60 with 4:02 remaining. But the Eagles nailed eight free throws in the final four minutes to seal the win.
The Eagles also hit eight three-pointers and out-rebounded TSU 31-25.
TENNESSEE TECH 76, UT MARTIN 70
MARTIN, Tenn. - A strong, second-half effort lifted the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to its first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the year and first win on the road this season Thursday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles rallied from a double-digit deficit to down in-state rival UT Martin, 76-70 in the Elam Center.
The purple and gold secured its first win away from the Hooper Eblen Center since Feb. 20, 2020, using a total team effort to move to 1-1 in league play.
The Skyhawks were formidable in the first half, taking as large as a 12-point advantage in the opening stanza behind strong work on the glass. UT Martin shot 44.4 percent from the floor in the first half, taking a 42-36 advantage into the locker room.
UT Martin nearly took a nine-point lead into the break, but veteran guard Jr. Clay buried a triple as time expired to make it a two-possession game. The shot seemed to reinvigorate the Tech squad, as the Golden Eagles came out on a mission in the second half, taking the lead within the first six minutes of the second stanza.
The two sides battled back and forth the rest of the way, with Tech never letting the Skyhawks take more than a five-point advantage. The purple and gold hit enough free throws down the stretch to ice the game, but it was the rebounding in the second half that really proved the difference-maker. Tech outworked UT Martin to the tune of a 27-15 advantage over the final 20 minutes, including a whopping difference of 11-3 on the offensive glass.
Big man Amadou Sylla produced at a season-high effort, posting his first double-double of the year with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The Bamako, Mali native hauled in six boards on the offensive glass alone and rejected three shots on the day. Pettway added seven points, six rebounds, and two steals off the bench.
White Jr. scored each of his team-leading 13 points in the second half, shooting 5-for-9 from the floor. The returning freshman racked up a career-high four steals while snagging four rebounds as well.
Clay tallied 10 points with four rebounds and two steals in the game while Keishawn Davidson chipped in eight points and two dimes. Dane Quest tied his career-high with nine points off the bench while Shandon Goldman scored eight.
MURRAY STATE 82, BELMONT 60
NASHVILLE - The Murray State Racers stayed undefeated in Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday with an 82-60 victory over the Belmont Bruins at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee. The win moved MSU (14-2) to 4-0 in conference play and stopped the Bruins' 19-game home win streak and gave them their first loss in conference play (13-4, 3-1)..
Justice Hill scored a career-high 36 points on 10-of-19 shooting from field including 8-of-11 from the 3-point line. When he added 8-of-11 from the free throw line, it marked the highest scoring game in the 2021-22 OVC season. Tevin Brown scored 18 points and with four made threes, is three from breaking the Murray State career record. Having his playing time limited to under 18 minutes because of foul trouble, KJ Williams still managed to score 13 points.
The Racers' first half box score should probably be framed. It's not often a Murray State team hits 11-of-14 from the 3-point line for 78 percent in a half. In total, MSU hit 16-of-24 from the field for a 68 percent clip. It all combined to give MSU a 48-35 lead at the halftime intermission. Hill was 6-of-6 from the 3-point line and posted 25 points in the first 20 minutes of action.
The expected Belmont push was only able to trim one point from the MSU halftime lead to 12 points with 13:41 remaining. When Williams made a dunk on a fast break, the Racers had outscored the Bruins 18-12 in the first eight minutes of the second half to grab their largest lead of the day of 19 points at 66-47 with 11:39 remaining. Hill was on his way to career night with 10:39 left, he made his eighth 3-pointer to reach 36 points.
The Racers ended the game shooting 51 percent from the field on 26-of-51, while holding the Bruins to 41 percent on 24-of-59. From the 3-point line, the Racers were 14-of-25 for 56 percent, while Belmont hit 28 percent on 5-of-23. MSU's 14 threes matches their season-high that they hit at Memphis (Dec. 10). The Racers limited their turnovers to eight.