SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Miami (Ohio) 80,
Little Rock 67
Southeast Missouri 63, Boston 52 (Milwaukee, Wis.)
Alabama State 67,
Eastern Illinois 58 (Athens, Ohio)
Southern Indiana 69, @Bowling Green 57
@Marshall 83,
Morehead State 59
SIUE 64, @Kansas City 54
MIAMI (OHIO) 80, LITTLE ROCK 67
MIAMI, Ohio - Miami (Ohio) used a three-point barrage to race out to an early lead, then used the long ball to stave off a Little Rock second half rally, handing the Trojans the 80-67 loss at Millett Hall Saturday afternoon.
Miami hit a season-high 14 three pointers against the Trojans as 14 of its 24 made field goals came from beyond the arc. The RedHawks hit 50.0% for the game and 42.4% from three point range after making seven of their first 12.
For the game, Little Rock shot 46.3%, aided by making 13-of-21 (61.9%) in the second half, but the Trojans continued to struggle from beyond the arc, making just six of 22 attempts (27.3%), including 1-of-10 in the first half.
Three Trojans finished in double figures, led by 18 from D.J. Smith, who was 8-of-16 from the floor with four assists. Nigel John had a season-high 17 points, shooting 7-of-10 with five rebounds, while Myron Gardner added 12 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists.
Isaiah Palermo and Chris Walker each added seven points for the Trojans with Walker pulling down a team-high eight rebounds. DeAntoni Gordon and CJ White each finished with three points to round out the scoring for the Trojans.
Rebounds were nearly even with Miami holding a 28-27 advantage while the Trojans held a 28-18 edge in points in the paint. Little Rock committed 11 turnovers but the three point shooting of the RedHawks kept the Trojans at bay all afternoon.
Miami came out red-hot in the opening minutes, making all seven of its first seven shots, including 5-for-5 from three-point range for Billy Smith as the RedHawks raced out to the early 23-8 lead. Miami extended its lead to 16 at 28-12 at the midway point of the opening half as the Trojans continued to struggle from the floor, shooting just 6-of-15 through the first 10 minutes.
Little Rock was able to chip away at the lead, pulling to within 10 at 30-20 with 5:05 remaining, thanks to four-straight points from Gardner as he, Smith and John combined for the first 20 points of the game for the Trojans.
But Miami closed out the first half on a 13-7 run, extending its halftime lead back to 16 at 43-27. The RedHawks shot 64.0% from the floor in the opening half, including 9-of-17 from three point range, while Little Rock was just 12-of-33 (36.4%) from the floor, making one of 10 three point attempts.
Smith led the way with 10 points for the Trojans in the opening 20 minutes with John adding eight and Gardner posting six points with four rebounds.
The Miami three-point barrage continued early in the second half as all three of their first baskets were beyond the arc, extending the lead to 17 at 52-35 with 17:25 to play. But Little Rock began finding its touch both offensively and defensively, using an 11-0 run off a key of stops to get to within six at 52-46 with 14 minutes remaining in regulation.
But Miami continued to use the three point shot to keep the Trojans at bay, pushing its lead back to 16 off a 10-0 run with a pair of threes, leading 62-46 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Little Rock was able to pull to within 11 in the waning minutes with reserves on the floor, but once again, the deficit proved too much as the Trojans fall to 2-5 on the year.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 63, BOSTON 52
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Phillip Russell scored a game-high 21 points to lead Southeast Missouri (5-1) to a 63-52 win over Boston University (4-2) Saturday afternoon in the opening game of the Cream City Classic.
Russell, who scored double figures for the sixth time this season, helped give SEMO its first 5-1 start since 1999-2000.
SEMO, which did not have a field goal in the final 3:54 of the contest, made seven free throws in the last 1:08 to seal the victory.
After Jonas Harper's layup narrowed the Redhawks lead to 56-52, Chris Harris hit two free throws at the 1:08 mark to make it a two-possession game.
BU missed a 3-pointer on its ensuing possession and Russell was then fouled. He went to the line and knocked down both of his free throws to push SEMO's lead to 60-52 with 42 seconds on the clock.
Harris split two free throws before Dylan Branson followed with a pair of free throws of his own to put the Redhawks fifth victory on ice.
BU pulled to within three points twice with under eight minutes to go, but Russell answered with baskets. He made a jumper right after the Terriers were behind 43-40 and nailed a 3-pointer after BU trailed 45-42.
SEMO trailed 10-7 when it used a 15-0 run to take a double-digit lead in the first half. The Redhawks kept BU scoreless for over seven minutes and the Terriers missed 16 of 18 field goals while SEMO stretched its lead to 22-10.
Russell buried a 3-pointer to tie the game before Wisconsin native Adam Larson added a three of his own on SEMO's next possession. A Josh Mitchell layup increased the Redhawks margin to 10 before Aquan Smart's fast break layup closed out the jaunt with 7:35 left to play.
After going without a point for over five minutes, SEMO came out of its cold spell when Chris Harris drained a 3-pointer to put the Redhawks ahead, 28-18, at the half.
SEMO held BU to only 18 first-half points as the Terriers shot just 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from the field. It was a season low first half point total by any opponent against the Redhawks this year. SEMO posted its fourth halftime lead in six games.
Russell shot 6-of-15 from the field, made four 3-pointers and hit a near-perfect 5-of-5 free throws en route to the eighth 20-point game of his career. He also dished out six assists.
Harris followed with 12 points and added five free throws and seven rebounds, while Kobe Clark led the Redhawks with 12 boards, his third double-digit rebound game of 2022-23.
SEMO outrebounded BU, 43-32, and held a +5 advantage (16-11) at the charity stripe.
Eight of the nine Redhawks who played made their way into the scoring column.
ALABAMA STATE 67, EASTERN ILLINOIS 58
ATHENS, Ohio - Alabama State had an answer for each of Eastern Illinois runs in the second half as the Hornets held off the Panthers in the second game of the Bobcat Battle in Athens, Ohio.
ASU led 36-29 at the half, holding on for a 67-58 win.
In the opening half it was the play of Amarr Knox and Alex Anderson that paced the Hornets as they combined for 24 of the 36 first half ASU points. Knox finished with 18 points after coming into the game averaging just 1.2 points per game.
In the second half EIU fed the ball on its first couple of possessions to Caleb Donaldson as he scored six early points to help the Panthers erase the halftime deficit and close to within two points at 39-37 with 16:25 left in the game. Donaldson would finish with 12 points, one of two Panthers in double figures.
TJ Madlock answered the first EIU run with a jumper from the corner as the Hornets pushed the lead back out to nine points with 12:44 left in the game.
After EIU closed to within two points again with a 7-0 run capped by a pair of Nick Ellington free throws, it was Ronald McCoy with a 3-pointer to answer the Panthers run as EIU never closed to within one possession for the remainder of the game.
Ellington just missed a double-double with eight points and ten rebounds. Kinyon Hodges had 12 points for EIU as the Panthers fell to 1-6 on the season.
Anderson finished with 15 points for ASU as they won their first game of the year moving to 1-6.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 69, BOWLING GREEN 57
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) and junior guard Gary Solomon (Detroit, Michigan) combined for 44 points to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 69-57 victory at Bowling Green State University Saturday afternoon at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio. The Screaming Eagles, who posted their first Division I road win, are 3-3 after tonight's action, while the Falcons fall to 2-4.
Simmons posted a team-high 23 points on nine-of-16 from the field, four-of-nine from beyond the arc, and one-of-two from the stripe. Solomon, who scored USI's first eight points of the second half, posted his 21 points on eight-of-14 from the field, including a three-point bomb, and four-of-four from the stripe.
Bowling Green had control early, building a six-point lead, 14-8, after six minutes were gone in the game. USI proceeded to go on a 14-7 run to get its first lead of the game, 22-21, at the 8:36 mark of the first half.
The Eagles and the Falcons would trade buckets and leads until a 9-3 run gave USI a 37-31 advantage. Bowling Green got the final three points on free throws as USI took a 37-34 margin into the break. There were eight lead changes and four ties during the first 20 minutes.
The final 20 minutes saw Solomon and the Eagles take command of the contest in first three minutes. Solomon scored all eight points of an 8-2 run to give USI a 45-36 lead. The lead quick expanded to double-digits, 48-38, when Simmons hit for a three-pointer with 16:53 to play.
USI continued to build on the lead, expanding it to as many as 14 points, 69-55, with 1:53 to play before the Falcons got the final bucket for the 69-57 Eagles' victory.
As a team, the Eagles forced 16 Falcon turnovers, making 11 steals, and blocked five shots. USI and Bowling Green were tied, 39-39, in the rebounding battle.
MARSHALL 83, MOREHEAD STATE 59
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Morehead State men's basketball team came up short in an 83-59 loss to the Marshall Thundering Herd on the road Saturday.
The Eagles (3-4) had two players score in double figures, led by Alex Gross, who had 16 points and eight rebounds. Mark Freeman tacked on 16 points and Branden Maughmer added nine points.
Led by Gross' five offensive rebounds, Morehead State did a solid job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 15 boards that resulted in 20 second-chance points.
The Morehead State defense caused its share of mistakes in Saturday's game, forcing 13 Marshall turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 15 points on the offensive end of the floor.
The second half spelled the difference as the 'Herd were only up by one (44-43) with 16 minutes to play but proceeded to outscore the Eagles 39-16 down thr stretch.
After falling behind 25-13, Morehead State went on a 7-0 run with 6:20 left in the first half to narrow its deficit to 25-20. Marshall answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Eagles down 37-31 entering halftime.
Marshall kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 44-36 advantage before Morehead State went on a 7-0 run, finished off by Freeman's three, to shrink the deficit to 44-43 with 16:03 to go in the contest. Marshall responded and outscored the Eagles the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 83-59. Morehead State took care of business in the paint, recording 14 of its 28 points in the lane.
SIUE 64, KANSAS CITY 54
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Strong rebounding and stout defense helped SIUE men's basketball run its winning streak to four games Saturday with a 64-54 road win at Kansas City.
The Cougars improved to 5-2-its best start to a season in the Division I era. The four consecutive wins also is a first in the Division I era.
Kansas City slipped to 3-6.
Offense was tough to come by for both teams. SIUE shot just 32 percent (19-59) for the game. Kansas City connected on 31 percent (21-67) of its shots.
The Cougars hauled in a season-high 47 rebounds and outrebounded the Roos 47-41. Kansas City entered the game as one of the top rebounding teams in the country. SIUE limited Kansas City to 13 offensive rebounds.
SIUE grabbed nine steals and forced 15 turnovers to generate 21 points.
SIUE twice built leads of eight points, once in the first half and once in the second half only to watch Kansas City come back both times.
Shamar Wright knocked down a three-pointer with 5:08 to play to give the Cougars' their first double-digit lead at 55-45 with 5:08 to play. Kansas City scored the next eight points to cut the lead to 55-53 with 2:36 left. SIUE finished the game on a 9-1 run and limited the Roos to just a single free throw over the final 2:30. The Cougars hit four of their final six free throws to seal the win.
SIUE was 18 for 21 at the free throw line for the game, marking the third time this season the team has connected on at least 80 percent of its free throws.
Shamar Wright led SIUE with 16 points. He added eight rebounds and three steals.
Damarco Minor scored 13 points. DeeJuan Pruitt scored seven points and hauled in 10 rebounds-his third double-digit rebounding effort this season.
Jonathan Kurtas grabbed nine boards and added eight points and a block.