MONDAY'S SCORES
@Little Rock 80, Murray State 66
@Western Illinois 92, Eureka 56
@SIUE 99, Central Christian 56
@Evansville 98,
UT Martin 74
LITTLE ROCK 80, MURRAY STATE 66
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock men's basketball team won their second-straight contest on Monday with a 80-66 victory over Murray State at The Jack Stephens Center. The Trojans were led by KK Robinson who recorded a double-double with 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds.
Robinson shot 5-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line as well as knocking down a three-pointer. DeAntoni Gordon contributed 15 points and seven rebounds, while Bradley Douglas score 14 points, including four three-pointers, and led the team in assists with five. Cougar Downing scored 12 points in the win, and Jamir Chaplin brought down seven boards and led the team in blocks with a career-high four.
Murray State forced a team-high 20 turnovers by Little Rock and scored 21 points off of the turnovers for the game. The Racers had a team low for the Trojan opponents with only seven turnovers.
The Trojans held the lead for the entire contest including starting the first half on a 6-0 run off a jump shot by Gordon. Little Rock extended their largest lead to 16 points at the 9:02 mark in the second half.
Little Rock used 22 points from the bench as well as 14 points from second chance opportunities in the win.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 92, EUREKA 56
MACOMB, Ill. - Coming off a long layoff, the Western Illinois men's basketball team closed out the home portion of the nonconference schedule on Monday in winning fashion, topping Eureka 92-56.
The Leathernecks have not played since a 68-59 win last Saturday at Green Bay but ended the 2023 home portion of the schedule with the win. The team now heads to Central Arkansas for a game on Wednesday before starting Ohio Valley Conference play on December 31.
The Leathernecks (6-6) led for the bulk of the game and never trailed by more than a point. It was a balanced attack as 13 players scored for the Leathernecks.
Drew Cisse (14 points, 11 rebounds) and Shay Davis (14 points) led the way while James Dent Jr. scored 12 points and Ryan Myers added 11 points.
Western Illinois looked a little rusty coming out of the gates as Eureka kept the game close the first 10 minutes. But a 25-12 over the final 11 minutes of the first half gave the Leathernecks a 34-19 lead at intermission.
In the second half, it was all Leathernecks as Western Illinois shot 60 percent from the field after the break. For the game, the Leathernecks shot 50.8 percent from the field, making 32-of-63 shots. Western Illinois also dominated the glass and interior, outrebounding Eureka 59-31 and outscoring the Red Devils 46-28 in the paint.
SIUE 99, CENTRAL CHRISTIAN 56
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball opened on a 9-0 run and never looked back, rolling to a 99-56 win over Central Christian College of the Bible Monday night at First Community Arena.
The Cougars ran their home record to 5-0 and improved to 7-5 overall with the win.
SIUE led 15-2 at the first media timeout and extended the advantage to 19-2 before the Saints got on the board again.
The Cougars built the lead to 54-24 at halftime, the largest lead at the break SIUE has had this year.
Following halftime, SIUE pushed its lead to 40 quickly and maintained the cushion. No starter played 22 minutes, and all 14 players saw at least six minutes on the floor. The Cougars' bench recorded a season-high 51 points.
Sharmar Wright scored 16 points to lead four SIUE players in double figures. Ethan Yancy (11) and Dorion Staples (10) each recorded career highs in scoring and Lamar Wright pitched in 10 points.
Arnas Sakenis tied his career high with eight points. Quani Rudd (four) and Adeola Suen (five) each recorded career highs in scoring.
SIUE was 41-75 (55 percent) from the floor, racking up season highs in both makes and attempts. The Cougars dominated the paint, outscoring CCCB 64-24 from inside. SIUE dished out a season-best 22 assists while turning the ball over just seven times, and only twice in the second half. The Cougars also forced 20 turnovers from the Saints, resulting in 29 points.
Four players hauled in five rebounds and the Cougars won the battle of the boards 45-38.
Four players scored in double figures for CCCB led by Raheem Brizendine's 15 points.
EVANSVILLE 98, UT MARTIN 74
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - In a back-and-forth battle that featured 10 lead changes and four tie scores, the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad came up just short in a 98-91 decision at Evansville this evening.
The Skyhawks (6-6) led by four points at the halftime break and held a seven-point advantage with 13:30 remaining but the Purple Aces used an 11-0 run to take a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. UT Martin was able to shave its deficit to three points late but Evansville was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 25 seconds.
Jordan Sears scored 20 of his game-high 26 points in the second half, adding a team-high four assists with six rebounds and three steals in 29 minutes of action. Jacob Crews notched his fourth double-double of the season with 25 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while Justus Jackson (15 points, team-high four assists) became the third Skyhawk starter to score in double figures. UT Martin also received a big boost out of Kenny White, Jr., who was responsible for 15 points in 21 minutes off the bench in his Skyhawk debut.
The Purple Aces (9-2) had five players score in double digits, led by Kenny Strawbridge’s 21 points. Yacine Toumi (15 points), Ben Humrichous (15), Tanner Cuff (14) and Chuck Bailey III (12) also aided Evansville, who shot 56.3 percent (18-for-32) in the second half and doubled up the Skyhawks (24-12) from the charity stripe for the contest.
After the Purple Aces scored the first five points of the game, Sears got the Skyhawks on the scoreboard with a strong take to the hoop at the 18:23 mark. A straightaway three-pointer from Jackson soon ignited a 9-0 UT Martin run as Crews went off for the final six points of the surge.
A 7-0 Evansville run followed and the Purple Aces eventually led by a 27-21 margin with 11 minutes to go in the first half before the Skyhawks reeled off 11 unanswered points. Jackson (three), Desmond Williams (three), Crews (three) and White (two) each contributed points during the surge which flipped a six-point deficit into a five-point UT Martin lead.
Two more ties and two lead changes followed before the Skyhawks maintained a 44-40 advantage at the half.
Crews’ 13 points led all scorers at the break while White and Jackson each had 10 points for UT Martin, who shot an even 50 percent (18-of-36) while committing just four turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Evansville was guided by Strawbridge (12 points) and Humrichous (11) as the team was limited to 37.5 percent shooting (15-for-40) from the field.
The Purple Aces began the second half on a 7-0 run before back-to-back layups from David Kamwanga stalled the momentum. Sears then took over, scoring 10 of the Skyhawks’ next 12 points to give UT Martin a 60-53 lead with 14:15 left to play.
However, Evansville eventually went on a 17-2 run. Following a Sebastian Mendoza reverse layup at the 11:25 mark that kept the Skyhawks on top by a 66-65 margin, UT Martin did not make another field goal until a Crews floater with 6:02 to go.
The Skyhawks had one more surge in them, cutting their deficit to a single possession late. Sears canned a pair of treys before a Jackson old-fashioned three-point play and Crews trifecta made the score 89-85 with a minute left. Sears came away with a steal and knocked down a pair of free throws to pull UT Martin within three points (92-89) with 25 seconds to go. However, time ran out on the Skyhawks’ valiant comeback attempt.