SATURDAY'S SCORES
@SIUE 78, Troy 72
@UNC Asheville 90,
UT Martin 83
@Butler 80,
Tennessee Tech 66
North Alabama 81,
@Morehead State 75
@Austin Peay 77,
Tennessee State 61
@Eastern Illinois 93, Blackburn College 43
@Kansas City 61,
Lindenwood 47
SIUE 78, TROY 72
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball ran its winning streak to six Saturday, downing Troy 78-72 at First Community Arena.
SIUE improved to 7-2. The six-game winning streak is the longest for SIUE since the 2005-06 season. The seven nonconference wins also are a program high since SIUE joined the Ohio Valley Conference.
Following the opening basket from Troy, SIUE ripped off the next nine points to lead 9-2 and they never trailed in the game again. The Cougars connected on 56 percent (14-25) of their shots in the first half and pushed the lead to as many as 12 following a three-pointer from Ray'Sean Taylor with 7:39 left before halftime.
Troy made a push at the start of the second half, forcing a pair of early turnovers before cutting the Cougars' lead to three. A three-pointer from Shamar Wright gave SIUE a 54-46 advantage when Troy reeled off eight straight points to tie the score following a three-point by the Trojans' Kieffer Punter.
A pair of free throws by Taylor gave SIUE a 65-58 lead with 6:39 to play, but Troy again made a push and got back within one at 65-64 at the five-minute mark, but that is as close as it would come.
For the game, SIUE knocked down 25-52 shots (48 percent) and drained 9-21 three-pointers. The nine threes are the second most in a game this year for the Cougars.
Taylor collected his first 20-point scoring effort of the year, and the 10th of his career with a game-high 21 points. He hit a pair of three-pointers and was 9-12 at the free throw line. He also led SIUE with eight rebounds.
Damarco Minor scored 17 points and was 7-13 from the field. He added four assists and three steals. Lamar Wright added three three-pointers and 14 points and Shamar Wright scored 13 points.
SIUE, which began the game among the top 35 in the NCAA in turnovers forced, forced 17 from Troy and turned them into 25 points.
Four Trojans scored in double figures led by Aamer Muhammad's 13 points. Punter added 11 points.
UNC ASHEVILLE 90, UT MARTIN 83
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - For the second time this season, the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team boasted five scorers in double figures but the Skyhawks fell by a 90-83 margin on the road at UNC Asheville.
KJ Simon put together his second straight high-scoring game, tossing in a game-best 20 points with team-highs of five rebounds, four assists and four steals in 31 minutes of action. It marked his 15th career game with at least 20 points, including one such performance from his sophomore season at Troy in 2019-20. The senior lefty from Orlando, Fla. owns 14 such games in 38 career games at UT Martin.
Simon was followed by KK Curry (season-best 15 points, team-high five rebounds), Jordan Sears (13 points on 5-for-6 shooting in 18 minutes), Parker Stewart (12 points) and Koby Jeffries (season-high 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting). The Skyhawks (4-5) connected on 50.8 percent (33-for-65) of their field goal attempts – including a 9-of-23 effort from three-point range (39.1 percent) – and outscored the host Bulldogs 23-11 in points off turnovers.
UNC Asheville (5-3) placed six players in double digits in the scoring column, led by Drew Pember’s 18 points (aided by a 12-for-12 effort from the free throw line), 11 rebounds, five blocks and four assists. Tajion Jones and Fletcher Abee each scored 17 points apiece while Nick McMullen (13 points), Trent Stephney (11 points, game-high six assists) and Jamon Battle (11 points) also pitched in notable scoring performances for the Bulldogs, who overcame 16 turnovers by shooting 87.5 percent (21-for-24) from the charity stripe.
After UNC Asheville scored the first four points of the game, UT Martin went on a 10-2 run. A steal and dunk by Curry opened the team’s scoring before four straight points from Simon capped off the run.
Moments later, Stewart buried a pair of three-pointers to make the score 22-18 in favor of the Skyhawks with 8:38 remaining before the halftime break.
Sears soon heated up as the sophomore guard out of Daytona Beach, Fla. piled up nine consecutive UT Martin points over a stretch of 2:32 – including trifectas on back-to-back trips down the floor.
Simon and Desmond Williams each knocked down triples in the final 3:26 of the opening half but the Bulldogs ended the stanza on a 13-3 run to take a 46-38 lead into the locker room.
Pacing the Skyhawks with a game-high 11 points in the first half was Sears while both Pember (11 points) and Jones (10) reached double figures for UNC Asheville in the first 20 minutes.
UT Martin scored six of the first seven points of the second half, starting with a Chris Nix 10-foot jumper on the Skyhawks’ opening possession. An up-and-under layup by Curry and a steal plus fast break layup by Jeffries with 18:31 remaining trimmed the Bulldog lead down to a single possession at 47-44.
UNC Asheville accounted for the next seven points of the contest to take a 54-44 lead coming out of the under-16 media timeout. UT Martin responded with a 9-2 run as a wide open dunk by Nix at the 13:08 mark once again pulled the Skyhawks within three points (56-53).
Old-fashioned three-point plays from Curry and Nix on back-to-back possessions evened the score at 61-all with 10:55 remaining in the contest. The Bulldogs scored the next five points but UT Martin continued to battle as Stewart swished a contested three-pointer at the 6:31 mark to shave UNC Asheville’s lead down to 74-71.
The Bulldogs answered with an 8-0 run and eventually led by 14 points with 90 ticks left on the clock. The Skyhawks closed out the game on a 9-2 run but ultimately time ran out on UT Martin’s comeback attempt.
BUTLER 80, TENNESSEE TECH 66
INDIANAPOLIS - A late run by Butler left the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team on the wrong end of an 80-66 decision at Hinkle Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (3-6) fell to the Bulldogs in an otherwise close battle in the historic venue in Indianapolis.
It was a game of runs throughout the day, with Butler turning in the first one of the tilt with a 14-0 run after the purple and gold collected its last lead of the game at 6-5. The Bulldogs led 22-8 before the Golden Eagles flipped the script, ripping off a 14-3 charge to pull back within three with just over six minutes in the first half.
Butler quickly pushed its advantage back to double digits with nine straight points over the next three minutes, but Tech once again had a response. Using an 11-4 run, the Cookeville crew closed the gap to four at the break.
In the second half, the Bulldogs tried several times to push back out front by double figures, but Tech kept them at arms reach, whittling down the deficit little by little. With 8:28 to play, the purple and gold trimmed the margin to its smallest point of the second stanza, closing to within one at 60-59.
A made triple and subsequent timeout gave Butler the necessary time to regroup, particularly on defense. The Bulldogs limited the Golden Eagles to just seven points the rest of the way while tallying 20 of their own for the deceptive 14-point win.
Two members of the purple and gold delivered career performances to help with the effort, paced by junior guard Jayvis Harvey. The Durham, N.C. native finished 7-for-10 from the field on his way to a career-high 16 points. Junior center Nolan Causwell produced a career-best 12 points with five rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes off the bench.
Graduate guard Ty Perry rounded the group of Golden Eagles in double figures, securing 14 points along the way. Fellow graduate transfer Jaylen Sebree led Tech with six rebounds while junior guard Erik Oliver dished out a team-best five dimes.
NORTH ALABAMA 81, MOREHEAD STATE 75
MOREHEAD, Ky. - The Morehead State men's basketball team got a 30-point showing from the bench, but fell 81-75 to the North Alabama Lions at home Saturday as the Lions outscored the Eagles 56-34 in the final 20 minutes.
UNA (5-4) scored 56 total points in the paint and had 54 of its 56 total second-half points inside the paint.
The Eagles (4-5) had two players score in double figures, led by Mark Freeman, who had 18 points and five assists. LJ Bryan added 12 points and nine rebounds from the bench and Drew Thelwell added nine points. Freeman hit three treys for the Eagles in the contest.
UNA's KJ Johnson hit 12 free throws and led all scorers with 22 points as the Lions finished with four double-digit scorers.
After jumping out to a 24-19 advantage, Morehead State went on a 9-0 run with 5:44 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Bryan, to increase its lead to 33-19. The Eagles then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 41-25 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 41 points close to the basket.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 5-0 run to grow the lead to 62-55 with 7:28 to go in the contest. North Alabama then asserted control, outscoring the Eagles 26-13 the rest of the way to hand Morehead State the 81-75 loss.
AUSTIN PEAY 77, TENNESSEE STATE 61
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - -Jr. Clay, Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., and David Acosta combined to score 47 of Tennessee State's 61 total points, but men's basketball fell to the Austin Peay Governors 77-61 on the road Saturday afternoon.
The Tigers (4-4) had three players score in double figures, led by Clay, who had 16 points, five assists, and three steals. Fitzgerald Jr. tacked on 16 points and Acosta chipped in as well with 15 points from the bench.
How It Happened
After falling behind 20-12, Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run with 10:08 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Fitzgerald Jr., to tie the game at 20. The Tigers then proceeded to grab a 36-30 lead heading into halftime. Tennessee State did most of its first-half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 36 points close to the basket.
Austin Peay then erased the Tennessee State lead in the game's final quarter for a 77-61 comeback victory. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 14 of its 25 points in the lane.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 93, BLACKBURN COLLEGE 43
CHARLESTON, Ill. - – Eastern Illinois used balanced scoring and consistent shooting on Saturday night as the Panthers rolled past Blackburn College, 93-43, in the first meeting between the two Illinois based schools in more than a century.
EIU had four players score in double figures on the night led by Caleb Donaldson with 16 points as he was 7-of-8 from the floor passing our five assists.
The Panthers jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the game only to see Blackburn tie the contest at 8-8 with a Troy Cole Jr., 3-pointer with 16:04 left in the opening half.
EIU responded with a 16-0 run over the next seven minutes to put the game out of reach. Kinyon Hodges scored five of his 11 points for the game off the bench in the Panthers run. EIU led 45-21 at the half.
Kyle Thomas added 13 points and Sincere Malone 12 points to round out the EIU double figure scorers as the Panthers connected for 55 percent in the game.
Thomas and Nick Ellington both had six rebounds to lead EIU as they won the battle on the glass by a 46-31 margin.
Izayah Talmadge led the Beavers with eight points as they shot 25 percent from the floor in the game.
KANSAS CITY 61, LINDENWOOD 47
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Recap coming soon.