SATURDAY'S SCORES
@McNeese 91,
UT Martin 80
@Eastern Illinois 112, UHSP 50
Bowling Green 54,
@Southern Indiana 52
@Tennessee State 69, Austin Peay 65
@Idaho State 76,
Lindenwood 70
MCNEESE 91, UT MARTIN 80
LAKE CHARLES, La. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team equaled a school record for three-point field goals made against a NCAA Division I opponent this afternoon but ultimately fell by a 91-80 margin at McNeese.
The Skyhawks connected for 16 three-pointers on a 43.2 percent clip, coming up just one shy of the all-time program record of 17 set last season against Bethel. UT Martin accomplished that feat against one of the nation's best defenses as the Cowboys entered the contest ranking eighth in NCAA Division I men's basketball in scoring defense (58.8 points allowed per game).
Jacob Crews topped the Skyhawks (5-4) in scoring for the fourth time this season, tossing in 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting (including four treys). The Hilliard, Fla. native additionally grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and handed out a career-best three assists.
Justus Jackson scored 17 points – thanks in large part to a 5-for-7 effort from three-point range – while distributing a career-high six assists with four rebounds in 26 minutes for UT Martin. Jordan Sears (nine points), Issa Muhammad (eight points, co-game-high nine rebounds), KK Curry (eight points) and Sebastian Mendoza (eight points) almost reached double figures in the scoring column for the Skyhawks.
Receiving votes in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, McNeese (7-2) was led by Shahada Wells' 25 points while Christian Shumate also contributed 22 points. Omar Cooper and DJ Richards added 11 and 10 points, respectively, for a Cowboy squad who committed just four turnovers.
McNeese began the game on an 8-2 run before Desmond Williams drained a three-pointer to pull UT Martin back within one possession at the 14:23 mark of the first half. An 8-0 Cowboy run followed as McNeese went back ahead by double digits.
Jackson and Crews both knocked down three-pointers in a 79-second span to help the Skyhawks get back within nine points (29-20) with seven minutes to go in the opening half. Nine unanswered Cowboy points led to a 38-20 UT Martin deficit but Sears swished back-to-back treys before the under-4 minute media timeout.
Jalen Myers and Sears added a three-pointer each while Muhammad (two free throws) and Curry (steal and fast break layup) helped shave the Skyhawk deficit to 49-36 at the intermission.
Crews (10 points) and Shumate (16) guided their respective squads in scoring in the first 20 minutes.
Layups from Curry and Koby Jeffries opened the scoring in the second half as those buckets allowed UT Martin to get back within single digits (49-40). McNeese then used another 8-0 surge to lead 57-40 with 16:34 to go.
The duo of Crews and Mendoza combined to score the Skyhawks' next 11 points before a Jackson three-ball midway through the second half trimmed UT Martin's deficit to 65-56.
After the Cowboys went back on top by 15 points, Jackson nailed a trio of three-pointers as the junior guard from Surprise, Ariz. reeled off 11 consecutive Skyhawk points. However, UT Martin could not get any closer than nine points for the remainder of the contest.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 112, UHSP 50
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men's basketball jumped out with a 17-0 run over the first four and half minutes of action and the Panthers never looked back rolling to a 112-50 win over University of Health Science and Pharmacy in St. Louis (UHSP) on Saturday afternoon at Groniger Arena.
EIU had all 14 players in uniform score at least one basket with five players finishing in double figures to improve the Panthers to 4-5 on the season. UHSP, an NAIA program, is 1-7.
Kooper Jacobi scored seven of the first 17 points for the Panthers finishing as the team's leading scorer on the afternoon with 14 points.
Jermaine Hamlin (12 points), Tiger Booker (11 points) and Nakyel Shelton (10 points) all joined Jacobi in double figures from the starting line-up as the Panthers shot 60 percent in the opening half and 56.8 percent for the game.
Kyan Arrandale would break the Panthers opening run with a 3-pointer with 15:11 to play in the opening half. It was one of seven 3-pointers the Eutectics would make in the game. Dwight Newsome was 3-of-4 finishing with 13 points to lead UHSP. Jas Suvalija had three 3-pointers and scored nine points.
EIU led 60-28 at the half allowing every player in uniform extended time on the floor with all 14 players logging six and half or more minutes of action.
Isaiah Griffin was the leading scorer for EIU off the bench with 12 points. Lazar Grbovic just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds. Booker added six steals in the win.
BOWLING GREEN 54, SOUTHERN INDIANA 52
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball ran out of time and lost to Bowling Green State University, 54-52, Saturday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles slide to 2-7 after today's action, while the Falcons are 5-3 this season.
The Eagles and the Falcons traded buckets and leads through the first eight minutes of the game, until Bowling Green used an 8-0 run to take a 15-9 lead with 8:41 left.
A pair of buckets by sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) sparked a 10-4 run by the Eagles to knot the game 19-19 with 3:41 left in the half. The USI run would extend to 19-6 as the Eagles took a 28-21 lead into halftime after junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) and junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) hit back-to-back three-pointers in the final minute of the half.
Hernandez led the USI charge to the halftime lead with seven points, five coming during the late first half the run. Campion, Mielke, and sophomore forward Kiyron Powell (Evansville, Indiana) had six points each to follow Hernandez in the scoring column. Powell also led the Eagles defensively with three first half blocks.
In the second half, USI and Bowling Green came out sluggish on the offensive ends with both teams combining for one-of-11 from the field. The Falcons' offense would spark with a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 34-33, with 10:59 to play in the game.
After trading leads over the next three minutes, Bowling Green took the lead for good with 7:59 to play, 38-37, and built a six-point lead with 2:20 remaining, 51-45. USI tried to rally, cutting the deficit to one point at 51-50 on a free throw by Powell and 53-52 on a pair of charity shots by Campion, but could not get a game tying shot off in the final second before falling 54-52.
Hernandez had a chance to send the game into overtime, hitting a shot from the left corner, but time had expired.
For the game, Hernandez led USI with 15 points in the game. Powell, who recorded his first USI double-double with a team-best 10 rebounds, and Mielke followed Hernandez in the scoring column with 11 points each.
TENNESSEE STATE 69, AUSTIN PEAY 65
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team went into halftime trailing Austin Peay 42-32, but fought back from the deficit to beat the Governors 69-65 at home Saturday.
The Tigers (6-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., who had 18 points. Christian Brown tacked on 17 points off of the bench and Jaylen Jones chipped in as well with 12 points and four assists.
Ej Bellinger pulled down three offensive rebounds to pace the Tennessee State offense which grabbed 13 boards and turned them into 13 second-chance points.
Tennessee State forced 17 Austin Peay turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Saturday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 21 points on the other end of the floor. Kinyon Hodges led the way individually with two steals.
Tennessee State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 42-32 heading into halftime.
After intermission, Tennessee State kept the Governors from increasing their lead before going on a 7-0 run, finished by Brown's layup, to shrink the deficit to 46-43 with 14:28 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept the rally going and took the lead for good on Brown's jumper with 00:17 left for a 69-65 comeback victory. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 22 of its 37 points in the lane.
IDAHO STATE 76, LINDENWOOD 70
POCATELLO, Idaho - Lindenwood men's basketball (3-5, 0-0 OVC) falls on the road to Idaho State (4-4, 0-0 BSC) by a final score of 76-70. The Lions shot 47.2% from the field, but were held to just 3-12 shooting from three-point range.
Darius Beane had the Lions' best performance shooting 6-9 from the field on his way to 19 points. Beane also was 7-11 from the foul line in the loss. Lindenwood shot 17-25 (68.0%) at the charity stripe.
Back and forth it went early on in Pocatello as both teams battled. Beane scored five of the Lions' first nine points as they held a one point advantage heading into the first media timeout. Idaho State would stretch the lead to seven (14-21) after two free throws from Maleek Arington.
Keenon Cole's layup at the 5:29 mark cut the Bengals' lead to four. Cole continued his streak of eight straight games in double figures with 14 points on 5-14 shooting. He also grabbed a team high seven rebounds.
Jeremiah Talton hit a three-pointer to close out the first half and put Lindenwood down two points heading into the locker room. The Lions shot 12-26 (46.2%) in the first half while being limited to the one three-pointer by Talton.
Idaho State scored the first five points to start the second half to go up 38-31. With just under 14 minutes to play, Trent Johnson had a cutting dunk to put the Bengals up 10 points. Jaylon McDaniel responded with a layup after a timeout.
Talton hit his second three-pointer with 11 minutes remaining to cut the lead to four. Talton scored in double digits for the third time this season with 12 points while also grabbing seven rebounds, tied with Cole for the team lead.
Kiree Huie came up big for Idaho State late in the game putting them back up ten with seven minutes remaining. Huie had a game high 20 points while also pulling down nine rebounds for the Bengals.
Lindenwood's comeback got as close as three points after a Beane jumper with 21 seconds remaining but it was not enough for the Lions as they fall to 3-5 before returning home to Hyland Arena for two games.
Nathan Johnson Jr. scored a season high 10 points for Lindenwood while shooting 4-5 from the field. Idaho State also out-rebounded Lindenwood 36-32 while also leading in assists 11-4.