SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 82, Southeast Missouri 80
@Lindenwood 80, UT Martin 75
SIUE 84, @Little Rock 81
Tennessee State 65, @Eastern Illinois 61
Morehead State 71, @Southern Indiana 66 (OT)
TENNESSEE TECH 82, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 80
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The most thrilling finish to a Tennessee Tech men's basketball game in more than 10 years saw Brett Thompson play hero, as the junior guard hit a mid-range jumper at the buzzer to lift the Golden Eagles to an 82-80 victory over Southeast Missouri in the Hooper Eblen Center Saturday evening.
The purple and gold avenged a loss to the Redhawks (13-12, 8-4) from just two weeks ago, a double-overtime decision in Cape Girardeau, Mo. that saw the Golden Eagles (11-14, 7-5) overcome a 22-point, first-half deficit. SEMO pulled out the 84-77 win in the end, but this time around, it was Tech's turn to celebrate.
Saturday's contest followed a similar script to the first match-up, with the home squad jumping out to an 18-point lead in the opening stanza. The Golden Eagles used incredible efficiency from distance in to take a 47-36 lead into the break, hitting 10-of-17 3-point attempts while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.
Southeast Missouri flipped the momentum in the second half, shooting 50 percent while holding Tech to just 32 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes. The Redhawks took advantage of the situation, slowly whittling away at a 15-point deficit with just under 10 minutes to play.
Tech saw some struggles from the charity stripe down the stretch, hitting just 2-of-7 attempts in the final 2:35 while clinging to a nine-point lead. SEMO's Phillip Russell buried a triple to pull within six and Dylan Branson made it a four-point game with just over two minutes on the clock with a layup.
Golden Eagle graduate guard Ty Perry sunk his first of two freebies before Branson answered on the other end to turn it into a three-point game. After both sides traded 1-for-2 showings at the free-throw line, Russell drew a tough foul call from beyond 3-point range with five seconds to play.
The SEMO guard connected on all three free-throw attempts, tying the ball game at 80 points apiece. With a timeout in his pocket, Tech head coach John Pelphrey elected to trust his team to handle the situation at hand.
Thompson took the inbounds pass, raced down the court, stopped just outside the paint, and pulled up to bury the game-winner and send the Eblen Center crowd into a frenzy. It marked the first buzzer-beating, game-clinching bucket by a Golden Eagle since Kevin Murphy drilled a 3-pointer to defeat Austin Peay in the opening round of the 2010 OVC Tournament.
After getting out-rebounded heavily in the first contest with SEMO, Tech answered the call on Saturday with a 40-35 advantage. The Golden Eagles also dished out 19 assists to just 11 for the Redhawks.
Graduate forward Jaylen Sebree led the purple and gold with team-highs of 22 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 4-for-6 from distance. Thompson chipped in 16 points with four boards and four dimes on top of the game-winning bucket in his first start in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Perry joined the double-digit scoring effort, turning in 12 points with four rebounds. Diante Wood was a huge spark defensively, racking up a team-high three steals and grabbing eight boards while adding nine points and three dimes.
Off the bench, center Nolan Causwell contributed nine points and five rebounds while guard Erik Oliver put eight points on the scoreboard for the Golden Eagles. Jayvis Harvey tied for the team lead with a career-high five assists.
Russell led all scorers with 29 points and eight assists for the Redhawks. Chris Harris scored 21 with nine boards while Israel Barnes posted 13 points for the visitors.
LINDENWOOD 80, UT MARTIN 75
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood men's basketball team (9-16, 4-8 OVC) secured a wild come-from-behind victory over UT Martin (15-10, 7-5 OVC) on Saturday afternoon by a final score of 80-75 from Hyland Arena in St. Charles, Mo.
The Skyhawks shot the ball well to start the game, as their fast-paced offense build a 16-5 lead. UT Martin extended its lead by shooting the three-pointers with precision, making it 24-9 at the 11-minute mark. Jacob Tracey knocked down a long-range shot to spark a seven-point run late in the half.
Tommie Williams brought the deficit to six points inside one minute to play, but a three pointer and a half court heave put the Skyhawks up 44-32 to end the half. Williams posted eight points with one board and an assist in the first 20 minutes of play, while Tracey collected all nine of his points from behind the arc.
UT Martin went ahead by a score of 52-39 in the opening five minutes of the second frame. Lindenwood battled back, as a three-point bucket by Chris Childs at the 11:27 mark brought the Lions within five points. At the halfway point, Brandon Trimble hit a three pointer on the fast break to tie the game at 58-58 as the crowd erupted. Less than two minutes later, Keenon Cole set the crowd off by giving Lindenwood a 63-60 lead. Trimble knocked down another long-range shot, as Cam Burrell gave Lindenwood the 68-60 advantage with 7:26 to go in regulation.
The Skyhawks pulled within one point with less than two minutes to go in the game, but Williams made a tough bucket to extend the lead back to three points. Trimble hit a pair of free throws to give the Lions an 80-75, which they held on to for the win.
Williams came off the bench to post 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting. The Belleville, Ill. native pulled down five boards, dished out four assists, and committed just one turnover. Cole tallied 18 points with seven rebounds and four blocks on the defensive end. Trimble made clutch shots on Saturday, as he ended his afternoon with 16 points on 3-of-4 shooting from behind the arc. Tracey had a phenomenal all-around game, as he posted nine points with eight boards, dished out seven assists, and tallied one block with one steal.
As a team, Lindenwood shot 50.9 percent from the floor, including 10-of-21 from three-point range. The Lions dished out 17 assists, and collected six blocks.
SIUE 84, LITTLE ROCK 81
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Ray'Sean Taylor has had big moments wearing the Cougar uniform. Tonight, he added another big one to his resume.
Tied at 81 with 2.1 seconds remaining in the contest, Taylor knocked down a shot from beyond half-court at the buzzer. After official review, the call on the floor stood, giving SIUE an 84-81 victory over Little Rock on Saturday night at Jack Stephens Center.
SIUE improves to 16-9 overall and 7-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play. Little Rock falls to 7-18 and 3-9.
The Cougars led by as many as 15 with 16:19 to play in the second half. The Trojans erased their deficit, bringing the game to within five points with just over five minutes to go. The Cougars took the following four points on a pair of Terrance Thompson free throws and a fast break dunk by Shamar Wright.
Little Rock followed up with a three pointer 18 seconds later, cutting the Cougar's lead back to six. With 3:10 to play, Shamar Wright gave the Cougars possession on a steal, leading to a media timeout.
An SIUE turnover gave the Trojans possession with 2:02 to play, where Little Rock's C.J. White hit a jumper in the paint after grabbing an offensive rebound a second prior. Demarco Minor responded 29 seconds later with a jumper of his own in the paint to bring SIUE's lead back to six.
With 1:30 to go, D.J. Smith of Little Rock converted on a layup opportunity to bring the game back to four. At 79-75 with 38 seconds to play, Little Rock's White knocked down another second chance point inside the paint. SIUE shaved 24 seconds off the clock where Taylor secured a driving layup. The Trojans used a 60 second timeout with seven seconds to play.
Little Rock converted a layup a second later, bringing the score to 81-79 with six seconds to go. Lamar Wright drew a foul on the inbound pass, sending him to the line with three seconds to go. Wright missed both shots at the line and Little Rock's White grabbed a defensive rebound. Shamar Wright fouled White, sending Little Rock to the line. White went 2-2, forcing the Cougars to take a 60 second timeout to draw up a last second opportunity to prevent overtime. Taylor sealed the game following the timeout.
SIUE shot 56 percent (32-57) and 47 percent (10-21) from long range, marking the second time the Cougars hit 10 from deep this season.
Four Cougars scored in double-figures, led by Taylor's 21. He was 8-15 from the field and 4-7 from three-point territory. He also led SIUE with six rebounds.
Minor collected 20, going 10-14 and 2-3 from deep. He contributed three boards and a team-high three assists. DeeJuan Pruitt added 13 while Shamar Wright scored 12 while blocking two shots each.
Terrance Thompson finished the game with seven points and five rebounds.
Little Rock's scoring was led by Gordon's 21. He was 9-18 and 2-2 from deep.
TENNESSEE STATE 65, EASTERN ILLINOIS 61
CHARLESTON, Ill. -
The Tennessee State men's basketball team held Eastern Illinois to just 18.2 percent from deep in a 2-for-11 shooting performance on the way to a 65-61 victory over the Panthers on the road Saturday.
The Tigers (14-11, 6-6) had two players score in double figures, led by Zion Griffin, who had 23 points and three steals. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. added 11 points and six rebounds and Jr. Clay added eight points, nine assists and two steals.
Tennessee State took advantage of excellent ball movement in Saturday's game, piling up 16 assists on 22 made field goals. Clay's nine assists led the distribution list for the Tigers.
Tennessee State did a great job disrupting Eastern Illinois shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Zool Kueth led the way individually for the Tigers with two rejections.
After playing to an 11-11 tie, Tennessee State went on a 6-0 run with 11:07 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Griffin, to take a 17-11 lead. The Tigers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 28-25 advantage. Tennessee State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 28 points.
Eastern Illinois proceeded to take a 57-53 lead before Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run to seize a 61-57 lead with 19 seconds to go in the contest. The Tigers held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 65-61 win.
MOREHEAD STATE 71, SOUTHERN INDIANA 66 (OT)
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Morehead State men's basketball team dug deep and edged past the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 71-66 in overtime on the road Saturday.
The Eagles (16-9, 9-3 OVC), who played their first extra-period game this season, had four players score in double figures, led by Mark Freeman, who had 16 points and four assists. Kalil Thomas added 14 points and six rebounds and Drew Thelwell chipped in as well with 12 points and two steals. He was 8-for-8 at the free throw lone, including two tosses at the end of the overtime to ice the win. Branden Maughmer came through with 10 points as well.
With the win and a loss by Southeast Missouri, the Eagles jumped into sole possession of the first place in the OVC race.
After falling behind 29-27, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 2:08 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from LJ Bryan, to take a 35-29 lead, a score that would hold until halftime. Morehead State took advantage of five offensive rebounds to score seven second chance points out of 35 total in the period
Southern Indiana proceeded to take a 54-48 lead before Morehead State went on a 9-0 run, finished off by Thomas' three, to seize a 57-54 lead with 1:01 to go in the contest. The Screaming Eagles then fought back to even things up at 59-59 and send the game to overtime with a three-pointer from the corner at the final regulation horn went off.
Southern Indiana then snagged a 66-65 advantage with 25 seconds left in the first overtime before Morehead State responded by going on a 6-0 run to seize a 71-66 lead with three seconds to go in the period, a score which would hold for the rest of the game.