TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 81, Bethel (TN) 74
@Lindenwood 81, Avila University (MO) 64
@NC State 81,
UT Martin 67
TENNESSEE TECH 81, BETHEL 74
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - It took a second-half surge, but the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team walked out of the Hooper Eblen Center Tuesday evening with a hard-fought, 81-74 victory over in-state foe Bethel University.
The Wildcats (8-5) kicked off the evening on an absolute mission, seemingly making every shot they took on their way to a 46-40 halftime lead. The visitors from McKenzie shot a ridiculous 20-for-32 in the opening half, good for 62.5 percent efficiency with a particularly sharp 5-for-6 mark from downtown.
On the flip side, the Golden Eagles (4-7) turned in a pretty strong half of their own, firing 53.6 percent from the field and 7-for 14-from distance, keeping the contest in reach after battling back from a 13-point deficit midway through the opening stanza.
It didn't take long for the Tech squad to erase the deficit once the second half started, as senior guard Jayvis Harvey helped set the tone with a big triple to make it a one-possession ball game. Less than two minutes later, junior guard David Early buried a 3-pointer of his own that erased the Bethel lead for good and gave the Golden Eagles their first lead since 7-5 less than two minutes into the contest.
Bethel managed to square the score one final time with 14:26 to play, but a fast-break layup by sophomore guard Josiah Davis propelled the home purple and gold back into the lead for good. The Wildcats tried one more comeback bid, trimming a seven-point Tech advantage to just one point with 9:18 left on the clock
The Golden Eagles responded in kind, producing a 13-2 run to take a 79-67 lead and all but put the contest out of reach. A last-second, desperation trey from Bethel changed the final from a double-digit decision to a seven-point win, but Tech's defense held up in the second half overall, limiting the visitors to 28 points.
Harvey and Early delivered monster performances to lead the effort for the Cookeville crew on the night, combining for 50 of the team's 81 points. Early led the way with 26 points on 8-for-15 shooting, a 4-for-8 showing from deep, and a perfect 6-for-6 display from the charity stripe. He also chipped in five rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
Thanks to 9-of-14 efficiency from the field, Harvey dropped 24 points with a 6-for-9 explosion from beyond the arc. The Tech veteran also dished out a team-high six dimes and racked up three steals.
Davis joined the double-digit scoring squad, securing 11 points on 4-for-8 shooting with a monster, dunk that put a Wildcat on a poster. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe locked down team-highs of seven boards and four steals while contributing eight points and two blocks.
Senior guard Diante Wood added seven points, five rebounds, and four dimes to the mix in his first regular-season action in the Hoop this season. Sophomore big man David Craig sent back three Wildcat shot attempts to record a new career-high as well.
LINDENWOOD 81, AVILA UNIVERSITY 64
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood men's basketball (4-6, 0-0 OVC) picked up their fourth win of the season after defeating Avila University (2-6, 1-5 HAAC) by a final score of 81-64. The Lions shot 45.8% from the floor while making a season high 23 foul shots.
Keenon Cole scored a career-high 25 points in the win on 9-18 shooting while making six of seven from the foul line. Cole has now scored in double figures in 10 straight games and is the Lions' leading scorer averaging 17.5 ppg. He also grabbed a team high nine rebounds.
Darius Beane was also effective for the Lions' offense posting 17 points, giving him six consecutive games scoring in double figures. Beane shot 7-13 from the floor while picking up six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
The Eagles kept it close early on after hanging around by five or six points for most of the first half. Avila shot 4-11 from three in the first half while making 13-30 field goals in the first twenty minutes. Lindenwood went on a 9-3 run to end the half to give LU an 11 point lead (44-33).
Over the first couple of minutes of action to start the second half, Lindenwood extended their leading to 16 after four quick points from Jaylon McDaniel. McDaniel scored 12 points for Lindenwood on 4-8 shooting.
Avila got it as close as six points at the 56-50 mark after a pull-up jump shot by Jordan Majeed. Lindenwood pushed their lead back to 11 points after a layup by Cole with 11 minutes remaining.
Defensive pressure picked up for the Lions late in the game causing six turnovers in the final 10 minutes of action. Beane and Cole both made multiple late shots to close out the win for the Lions.
Colin Ruffin picked up eight points and six rebounds for Lindenwood while also creating two steals. Jeremiah Talton and Isaac Ondekane both contributed seven points in the win. LU out-rebounded Avila 40-29 on Tuesday.
NC STATE 81, UT MARTIN 67
RALEIGH, N.C. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team traded blows with NC State this evening, hanging tough throughout the contest before falling 81-67 at the perennial Atlantic Coast Conference contender.
The Skyhawks (6-5) led for over six minutes in the opening half and were within six points with 12:44 remaining. The Wolfpack then made five 3-pointers during a 6:20 stretch but UT Martin continued to battle, ending the contest on a 13-5 run. The Skyhawks held NC State to 35.3 percent (12-of-34) shooting in the final 20 minutes and were even with the host Wolfpack on the glass as each team snared 40 rebounds apiece.
Jacob Crews (3-for-5 from three-point range) and Jordan Sears (4-of-8 from beyond the three-point arc) compiled 20 points apiece for the Skyhawks while also hauling in seven rebounds each. KK Curry secured season-highs in points (14), rebounds (8) and assists (3) while David Kamwanga went off for career-bests in scoring (eight points), rebounding (10) and minutes played (25) in his second straight start.
NC State (7-2) saw DJ Horne score a game-high 22 points while Dennis Parker, Jr. (14 points, 10 rebounds) and DJ Burns, Jr. (10 points, 12 rebounds) both tallied double-doubles. Jayden Taylor added 13 points for the Wolfpack, an NCAA Tournament participant last season.
A layup from Sears on the game’s opening possession and a three-pointer from Justus Jackson gave the Skyhawks a 5-2 lead. A rare four-point play by Crews – his third trey of the first 7:35 of the contest – pushed UT Martin’s advantage out to 20-16.
The Wolfpack soon scored 10 unanswered points, eventually leading by 12 points until back-to-back layups from Kamwanga sliced the Skyhawk deficit to six points. NC State took a 46-35 lead into the halftime break after a 7-2 run.
Crews accounted for a game-high 14 points at the half while Taylor (11) and Horne (10) both scored in double figures in the first half.
Layups from Jackson and Sears helped UT Martin pull within seven points in the early stages of the second half. Kamwanga was responsible for four consecutive Skyhawk points to make the score 55-49 before the Wolfpack went on their extended run – scoring 21 of the next 26 points behind their aforementioned three-point success.
Sears scored eight of UT Martin’s last 12 points down the stretch as the Skyhawks battled until the final horn.