THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 83, Belmont 74
@Tennessee Tech 94, SIUE 76
@Southeast Missouri 85, Tennessee State 63
@Murray State 91, Eastern Illinois 51
Austin Peay 72, @UT Martin 57
MOREHEAD STATE 83, BELMONT 74
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Junior Skyelar Potter and second-year man Johni Broome scored 17 points each, while grad student Tray Hollowell had 15 - including his 1,000th career collegiate point, as Morehead State men's basketball held off Belmont 83-74 at Johnson Arena Thursday night.
The Eagles (13-5/5-0 OVC) won their 16th consecutive home game since December 2020, their OVC-best seventh straight overall game in 2021-22 and their third straight win in the series with Belmont. The Bruins slipped to 14-5 overall and 4-2 in the OVC.
In front of the largest home crowd of the season, the home team proceeded to build an 11-point halftime lead and boosted their advantage to as much as 19 (70-51) with 8:17 remaining before the visitors chipped away and cut it to only four with 54 seconds left. But free throws and a couple of transition dunks iced the win.
Hollowell, who scored 15 points tonight and hit three three-pointers, hit his second three-pointer at the 10:02 mark of the first to eclipse 1,000 career points. In four years at Wofford, he registered 799 points.
Meanwhile, Potter drained four of the Eagles' 11 three pointers to score his 17 points. In 28 minutes, Broome also corralled a career-high 18 rebounds (13 defensive boards) and blocked three shots, the 11th double-double of the year and 24th of his career.
In the back-court, point guard Ta'Lon Cooper was his usual solid self. The OVC leader in assists per game dished out eight assists and scored 14 points. Cooper drained a three-ball at the end of the shot clock with 1:50 left that pushed the Eagles' lead from five to eight during the critical final two minutes. Hollowell also hit four free throws in the final 50 seconds to preserve the lead.
The Eagles finished at 50 percent from three-point range (11-of-22) and 46 percent overall (28-of-61). The Eagles also won with a 16-for-20 free throw shooting efficiency.
Belmont was paced by Ben Sheppard by 18 points, while Nick Muszynski had 15. MSU out-rebounded the Bruins 43-34, now out-rebounding 33 teams in the last two seasons.
TENNESSEE TECH 94, SIUE 76
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The offense was cooking and the defense did its job Thursday evening, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team cruised to a 94-76 victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe SIUE, claiming victory in its first home contest in 34 days.
It marked back-to-back home wins for the Golden Eagles, whose most recent tilt in the Hooper Eblen Center came all the way back on Dec. 16, 2021, a 117-60 decision over Montreat College. The triumph also moved Tech's record against the Cougars in the Eblen Center to an impressive 6-1 all-time.
The purple and gold moved the basketball at an elite level on the night, dishing out 27 assists, the fourth time this season eclipsing the 25-dime mark. The passing effort led to a markedly efficient night shooting the basketball, with the home squad hitting 50.8 percent from the field, a whopping 56 percent from distance, and a very solid 82.4 percent from the charity stripe.
Both sides traded blows early in the contest, with SIUE taking a 19-18 lead with 12:11 to play in the first half. Following a media timeout, the Golden Eagle dug in their claws and went to work. The result was a 14-0 run for the Cookeville crew, one that resulted in a 32-19 advantage and an eventual 16-point lead at the break.
Pettway produced a season-high seven assists in the contest, adding eight points and a pair of steals while finishing a perfect 4-for-4 on the night. Clay tied his season-high production in scoring, dropping 20 points, five dimes, and four steals while shooting 7-for-12 with a 3-for-5 mark from downtown.
Returning freshman Kenny White Jr. led the scoring effort in the contest, dropping 23 points on 8-for-13 shooting and a 4-for-6 performance from beyond the arc. He added five rebounds and a pair of assists. Keishawn Davidson flirted with a double-double, producing 10 points with eight helpers and five rebounds without a turnover.
Daniel Ramsey contributed eight points and seven rebounds, as well as a thunderous, two-handed slam through traffic. Mamoudou Diarra posted eight points in limited action while Amadou Sylla contributed eight of his own off the bench.
Tech blocked five shots and collected 12 steals against the Cougars, forcing 17 turnovers that resulted in 23 points. The Golden Eagles also produced 20 points on fast-break opportunities.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 85, TENNESSEE STATE 63
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Nana Akenten scored a game-high 17 points and Southeast Missouri (7-11, 2-3) shot 57 percent from the field in a dominating 85-63 win over Tennessee State (7-11, 2-4) Thursday night at the Show Me Center.
Akenten came off the bench to score double figures in his third-straight game and averaged 16.5 points in two games against TSU this year.
SEMO heated up to shoot 57.1 percent from the field in the first half and buried five 3-pointers with three coming from Akenten.
Despite falling behind by nine (21-12) with 8:09 remaining, the Redhawks made it a two-possession game before closing the stanza with a vengeance. SEMO used a 12-0 run in the final 1:40 sparked by a pair of 3-pointers by Akenten and another by Nygal Russell to fuel that surge which put the Redhawks ahead, 41-34, at the break.
Akenten connected on all three of his 3-point attempts and keyed the Redhawks with 12 first-half points in his first eight minutes off the bench. SEMO also forced 10 turnovers in the game's opening 20 minutes.
The Redhawks carried over their momentum in the second half, where it outscored the Tigers, 44-29.
SEMO led by double figures for the final 17:48 of the contest and forced seven more turnovers in one of its best defensive performances of the season. Nygal Russell's free throw gave the Redhawks their largest lead at 85-60 before SEMO came away with its biggest win in 18 games this season. SEMO made 31-of-54 field goals and outscored the Tigers, 42-18, inside the paint.
Akenten went 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-4 from downtown to lead three Redhawks in double figures. Phillip Russell followed with 15 points and a season-high seven assists, while Eric Reed, Jr. pitched in 14 points.
Manny Patterson, who missed SEMO's first matchup with TSU due to injury, contributed eight points and N. Russell had eight points and a game-high seven boards.
SEMO, which played for the first time in 12 days, extended its homecourt winning streak to five games. It is the Redhawks longest home winning streak in five years.
MURRAY STATE 91, EASTERN ILLINOIS 51
MURRAY, Ky. - The Murray State Racers moved to 6-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 91-51 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky. The win gave the Racers a six-game winning streak as they improved to 16-2.
Tevin Brown led the way with 16 points, while DaQuan Smith tied his season-high with 15 points. Carter Collins added 10 points and Trae Hannibal dished out a career-high 12 assists and was just two points and rebounds from a triple-double. KJ Williams and DJ Burns each grabbed 11 rebounds.
Smith hit three in a row from the 3-point line to give the Racers a 27-10 lead with 8:57 in the first half. He made two more just before the half and the Racers held a commanding lead of the under-manned Panthers 48-22.
MSU’s largest lead of the game came with 8:05 remaining of 43 points.
The Racers tied their season-high with 14 made 3-point baskets, matching what they did in road wins at Memphis (Dec. 10) and Belmont (Jan. 15). The Racers tallied 25 assists on their 35 field goals and only committed seven turnovers.
AUSTIN PEAY 72, UT MARTIN 57
MARTIN, Tenn. - The Austin Peay men’s basketball team captured its first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season on Thursday night with a 72-57 road win over UT Martin.
The Govs had just five players score on Thursday night with four of the five players scoring in double figures. Austin Peay was led by redshirt senior Tariq Silver who matched his career-high with 24 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field.
Silver was 3-of-7 from long distance and a stellar 9-of-11 from the free-throw line. The Clarksville native also had five rebounds to go along with a team-high six assists. It’s the tenth game this season Silver has scored in double figures and the 33rd for his career.
Behind Silver was freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field. Hutchins-Everett scored all 16 of his points in the second half as the freshman center tallied four rebounds in 22 minutes of action. Leading the Govs on the glass was senior Elton Walker with eight rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass. Walker also poured in 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 shooting from the charity stripe.
Rounding out the double-digit scoring was junior Alec Woodard with 11 points. Woodard was 4-of-6 from the field with one three-pointer and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free-throw line. Woodard ranked second on the team with seven rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals. Off the bench, fellow junior Cameron Copeland had nine points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field with five rebounds.
As a team, the Govs shot 50 percent from the field while going 5-of-21 from long distance. The Govs made the most of their opportunities at the free-throw line against the Skyhawks, going 15-of-20. Austin Peay registered 17 assists on 26 made field goals while outrebounding UT Martin, 41-33.
Defensively, Austin Peay forced 11 turnovers, scoring 15 points off of turnovers. The Govs held the Skyhawks to a .333 field goal percentage while registering four blocks and four steals.
Playing their first game in 12 days the Govs were sluggish to start, however, so was UT Martin as the two teams went a combined 0-of-6 from the field the first three minutes of the game. Both offenses slowly started to find their rhythm en route to being tied at four at the 15:49 mark of the first half. Silver was the catalyst for the Govs offense early, scoring five of the first seven APSU points, all of which came from the free-throw line.
Near the halfway point of the first half, the Skyhawks embarked on a 12-2 run to earn a 16-9 advantage with 10:31 remaining. From that point on it was all Austin Peay, rattling off 12 straight points to regain a 21-16 lead. The Govs made five straight field goals led by two three-pointers from Cameron Copeland. To end the first half, APSU made nine of its final 13 field goals to take a 33-28 lead into the locker room.
Coming out of the locker room, freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett took over, scoring the first six points for the Govs en route to a 39-34 lead at the 17-minute mark. Austin Peay extended its lead to double-digit at the 15:35 mark after a corner three from Silver, his third three-pointer of the night. UT Martin clawed its way back later in the second half, knocking down back-to-back threes to trim the APSU lead down to 46-42 with 13:37 left to play.
Midway through the second half, it was Silver who provided the offensive firepower for the Govs, scoring seven straight points to propel Austin Peay’s lead back to double-digits. APSU continued to stifle the Skyhawks late in the second half as UTM went 2-of-13 from the field while the Govs went 5-of-7 from the field. Down the stretch, the Govs continued to extend its lead, leading by as many as 18 before walking out of Martin, Tenn., with a 72-57 victory.