THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 55, Lindenwood 54
@Little Rock 88, UT Martin 74 (North Little Rock, Ark.)
@Southern Indiana 86, Southeast Missouri 81
@SIUE 64, Tennessee Tech 51
Morehead State 83, @Tennessee State 75
EASTERN ILLINOIS 55, LINDENWOOD 54
CHARLESTON, Ill. - It came down to the final shot of the game with a last second Lindenwood attempt rolling off the rim to give Eastern Illinois its third straight win with a 55-54 victory in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.
EIU improved to 5-9 overall, 1-0 in the OVC as the Panthers have won three straight for the first time since closing out the 2019-20 season with five straight wins. Lindenwood was playing its first-ever OVC conference contest falling to 5-9 overall, 0-1 in the OVC.
EIU led by six points 55-49 with 2:57 left in the contest on a pair of Dan Luers free throws. Lindenwood trimmed the lead down to one on a bucket by Jacob Tracey and 3-pointer by Kevin Caldwell Jr., the 3-pointer coming with 1:12 left in the game as the final points for either team.
Caldwell had one final 3-point attempt with five seconds left that missed and an offensive rebound put-back rolled off the rim as time expired and Luers pulled down the rebound.
EIU led by as many as 11 points late in the first half as a 3-pointer by Caleb Donaldson gave the Panthers a 26-15 lead with 4:59 left in the half. EIU held a 32-28 lead at the half.
In a match-up of the top two defensive teams in the OVC, both teams finished the game shooting under 40 percent from the field.
Kinyon Hodges led EIU with 15 points, the lone EIU player in double figures. Paul Bizimana provided a second half offensive spark finishing with nine.
Cam Burrell had a double-double to lead the Lions with 17 points, 11 rebounds.
LITTLE ROCK 88, UT MARTIN 74
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Behind double-doubles from Myron Gardner and DeAntoni Gordon and another strong performance from Jordan Jefferson, Little Rock raced out to a sizeable lead and held off a late UT Martin charge to take its Ohio Valley Conference debut, 88-74, at Simmons Bank Arena.
With the win, Little Rock improved to 5-9 on the year and won its conference opener for the fourth-straight season, the last three of which were in the Sun Belt Conference. The Trojans also improved to 5-0 all-time against UT Martin and 5-0 as well in home games this season, now spanning two different venues.
Gardner matched his season-high and was one off his career-best, finishing with 23 points with 10 rebounds and five assists. It was his third-straight double-double and sixth in the last seven games as he now has eight the year, the most in OVC play. Gardner was 4-of-9 from the floor but went to the free throw line 19 times, making 13 – the most in a game for the Trojans since Kamani Johnson made 14 against UT Arlington in 2020.
Gordon registered his third double-double of the year, finishing with 16 points, one off his career-best, and a career-high 12 rebounds while going 5-of-11 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the line. He also had a game and career-best four steals.
Jefferson continued his stellar play, scoring in double figures for the sixth-straight games with 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including 15 in the first half. His 19 points was the second-most in a game this season, coming off the heels of his career-high 30-point performance at Arkansas State.
Chris Walker added 11 points off the bench as the Trojans shot 48.3% for the game, making 28-of-58 shots. Little Rock was 7-of-16 from three point range and made a season-high 25 free throws, going 25-of-38 from the line.
Little Rock was outrebounded 41-40 on the night, despite holding a 24-16 edge in the first half, as 15 offensive boards for the Skyhawks led to an 18-10 advantage in second chance points. Little Rock's defense held UT Martin to just 35.9% shooting and 29.0% from three point range while forcing 15 Skyhawk turnovers, outscoring UT Martin 25-12 in points off turnovers.
Playing in its old home, Little Rock felt right at home early at Simmons Bank Arena, using an early 10-2 run to build a five-point cushion at 11-6. After UT Martin tied the game at 11-11, Little Rock would score 13 of the next 16, extending its lead to 10 at 24-14 with 8:04 remaining in the opening half.
The Trojans continued to extend its lead over the final eight minutes, including a 21-7 spurt over a five-minute spurt, including an 8-0 run spanning just over a minute, to build a 20-point advantage at 45-25. When the dust settled in the opening 20 minutes, Little Rock held a 46-29 lead heading into intermission.
Little Rock shot 50.0% from the floor in the first half, including 3-of-8 (37.5%) from three point range, as Gardner (16 points) and Jefferson (15) combined for 31 of the Trojans' 46 points. Gardner and Gordon each had six rebounds in the first half with Gordon dishing out three assists.
UT Martin found its scoring touch early in the second half, using a 6-2 run to cut the deficit to 12 at 48-36, then again at 50-38. But Little Rock responded with a 7-0 run of its own, pushing the lead back to 19 at 57-38 with just under 14 minutes remaining.
Little Rock then continued to frustrate UT Martin, slowly extending its lead to 25 at 72-47 with 8:56 to play, capped by a block from Walker on the defensive end and his own transition three to finish at the other end. The Trojans forced three Skyhawk turnovers during the run as Little Rock knocked down 7-of-10 to help extend the lead.
The Trojans pushed their lead to 27 at 78-51 with 6:08 remaining, only to see the Skyhawks reel off a 16-0 run over a three minute span, knocking down four threes during the run to cut the Little Rock lead to 11 at 78-67 with 2:59 to play.
But a three from Walker with two minutes remaining ended the scoring drought and helped settle the Trojans down as Little Rock clamped down defensively, extending the lead back to 18 at 85-67, securing their first victory as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference.
After a strong start to the second half, the Trojans shot 46.4% over the final 20 minutes while hitting 4-of-8 from three point range. All nine Trojans that saw playing time scored, contrasted with UT Martin, which saw five players score all but one of its 74 points, led by 24 from KJ Simon.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 86, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 81
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball senior forward Jacob Polakovich (Grand Rapids, Michigan) dominated and led the Screaming Eagles to an 86-81 victory over Southeast Missouri State University Thursday evening to open Ohio Valley Conference action at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Eagles, who are 6-0 at home this season, go to 8-6 overall and 1-0 in the OVC, while the Redhawks are 5-9, 0-1 OVC.
Polakovich overpowered SEMO in the lane tonight, posting 27 points and grabbing 26 rebounds in the victory. The senior, who also had a career-high five assists, was 11-of-18 from the field and five-of-nine from the stripe, while swiping 11 offensive and 15 defensive rebounds off the glass.
The 26 rebounds were one short of the USI single-game record (27 by Aaron Nelson versus Kentucky State University December 7, 2013) and is the first 20-20 game by an Eagle since Emmanuel Little had 29 points, 21 rebounds versus Missouri University of Science & Technology January 18, 2018.
The 20-20 outing also is the first in the OVC since Austin Peay State University's Terry Taylor (26 points and 23 rebounds versus Belmont University) and the University of Tennessee-Martin's Quintin Dove (26 points and 20 rebounds versus Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) posted those numbers in the 2019-20 season. Polakovich's 26 rebounds also is the most in an OVC contest since before the 2002-03 campaign.
USI and SEMO started slowly, combining for only 35 percent from the field (14-40), before the Eagles exploded on a 15-0 run to build a 19-point advantage, 39-20. Senior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio) sparked the surge with a steal and slam with 4:10 to play.
USI would go five-of-six from the field during the run, including three-of-four from beyond the arc, and was led by 10-point explosion by graduate forward Trevor Lakes (Lebanon, Ohio). Lakes scored all 10 of his first half points in the 2:24 surge.
Polakovich owned the glass during the first 20 minutes with 13 boards (five offensive, 8 defensive) and was only two points away from his fourth double-double of the season.
The Eagles flew out of the locker room to start the second half and extended the margin to a game-high 23 points, 52-29, when freshman guard Isaiah Swope (Newburgh, Indiana) connected on a three-pointer with 17:43 to play. SEMO would start to chip away at the USI lead from that point, cutting the margin to nine points, 61-52, with 10:37 remaining on a 23-9 run.
USI pushed the lead back to double-digits for the next nine minutes before SEMO made one last push. The Redhawks would get as close as five points, 83-78, with 24 second to play before Swope and Lakes added a trio of free throws to shut the door on an 86-81 victory.
In the scoring column, Polakovich's 27 points were followed by Swope's 18 points and Lakes' 11 points. Swope was four-of-12 from the field, including a three-pointer, and nine-of-11 from the stripe, while dishing a season-high nine assists.
SIUE 64, TENNESSEE TECH 51
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - Shamar Wright's 18 points led three SIUE players in double figures as the Cougars opened Ohio Valley Conference play with a 64-51 win over Tennessee Tech Thursday at First Community Arena.
SIUE has won three straight and nine of its last 11 games to improve to 10-4 overall. The 10-4 starts is the best for SIUE at the Division I level. It is the earlies SIUE has won 10 games since the 2004-05 team won its 10th game December 19.
Wright scored 18 points on 8-11 shooting. He knocked down both of his three-point attempts and added five rebounds, three steals and four blocks, which tied his career high. Wright scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half.
Ray'Sean Taylor scored 14 points and grabbed eight rebounds. DeeJuan Pruitt scored 13 points and hauled in a game-high nine rebounds. It was the second straight game he has come within a rebound of a double-double. Terrance Thompson added eight points and four rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
SIUE used a 12-0 first-half run to lead 26-15 with just under six minutes to play before halftime. The Cougars pushed the lead to 13 before taking a 10-point (36-26) cushion into halftime.
Tennessee Tech responded after the half with an 8-0 start to the period to cut the lead back to 36-34. An immediate 9-0 run by SIUE put the Cougars back up double digits at 45-34.
Tennessee Tech never got closer than nine the rest of the way out and the Cougars pushed their lead to as many as 17 after two free throws from Taylor with 1:55 to play.
Neither team shot better than 40 percent from the field. SIUE connected on 25-63 (39.7 percent) of its shots, but finished with a significant rebounding edge at 42-33. The Cougars hauled in 16 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second-chance points.
SIUE forced the Golden Eagles into 14 turnovers and used them to score 16 points.
Jayvis Harvey scored 14 points to pace Tennessee Tech. Ty Perry scored 14 points and Jaylen Sebree added 11 points.
MOREHEAD STATE 83, TENNESSEE STATE 75
NASHVILLE - Mark Freeman erupted for a career-high 30 points against his former team, and Drew Thelwell hit a dagger 3-pointer with 53 seconds left in the game to put Morehead State ahead 78-71, and the Eagles secured an 83-75 OVC opening win against the Tennessee State Tigers on the road Thursday.
The Eagles (8-6, 1-0 OVC) had three players score in double figures, led by Freeman (he played at TSU for two seasons), who also had four assists. Freeman tied his career high that he had set against Morehead State while at TSU two seasons ago. Jake Wolfe added 14 points (to tie his season high), and Thelwell chipped in as well with 13 points.
Morehead State utilized fantastic ball movement in Thursday's game, piling up 15 assists on 29 made field goals. Freeman's four assists were the most for the Eagles and Wolfe also contributed with three assists of his own.
After jumping out to a 29-23 advantage, Morehead State went on a 9-0 run with 6:15 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Thelwell, to increase its lead to 38-23. The Eagles then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 40-33 advantage. Morehead State took advantage of five offensive rebounds to score 10 second chance points out of 40 total in the period
Tennessee State proceeded to take a 45-44 lead before Morehead State went on an 8-0 run, finished off by Thelwell's three, to seize a 52-45 lead with 12:51 to go in the contest. The game was tied 66-66 with just more than four minutes remaining, but the Eagles kept expanding the margin and held on the rest of the way for the 83-75 win.
Morehead State shot well from three-point range in the half, hitting seven shots from deep to score 21 of its 43 points.