THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 84, UT Martin 66
SIUE 78, @Lindenwood 59
Little Rock 77, @Southern Indiana 75
@Tennessee State 85, Tennessee Tech 53
MOREHEAD STATE 84, UT MARTIN 66
MOREHEAD, Ky. - - Riley Minix totaled 26 points, Jordan Lathon added 22 and Eddie Ricks III came off the bench for 15, and the Morehead State men's basketball team defeated the UT Martin Skyhawks 84-66 at home Thursday.
The triumph marked the 15th consecutive win over the Skyhawks (10-9, 3-3 OVC) in games played at MSU. UTM has not defeated the Eagles on their home court since 2005. MSU has now won 15 straight home games overall since last season.
The Eagles (14-5, 5-1 OVC) had three players score in double figures, led by Minix, who also had a team-high six assists. Lathon also tacked on nine rebounds and two blocks.
Morehead State shared the ball well in Thursday's game, racking up 18 assists on 33 made field goals. Drew Thelwell also chipped in with six assists of his own.
Jordan Sears led the Skyhawks with 18 points, while KK Curry was close behind with 16. The Eagles limited Jacob Crews (averaging 18 ppg) to just eight.
After jumping out to a 24-20 advantage, Morehead State went on a 20-0 run with 7:53 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Minix, to increase its lead to 44-20. The Eagles then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 49-26 advantage. Morehead State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down eight shots to account for 24 of its 49 points.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Lathon's layup, to grow the lead to 61-37 with 14:08 to go in the contest. The Skyhawks narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Eagles still cruised the rest of the way for the 84-66 win. Morehead State took care of business in the paint, recording 22 of its 35 points in the lane.
SIUE 78, LINDENWOOD 59
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - SIUE men's basketball established a new Division I school record, raining down 15 three-pointers Thursday in a 78-59 win on the road at Lindenwood.
The Cougars have won three straight games and improved to 11-8 overall and 4-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. Lindenwood fell to 7-11 overall and 1-4 in the league.
Seven different players connected from long-range and SIUE finished one shy of the overall school record for triples. The Cougars were 15-30 from long range, including 9-15 in the first half. The 15 three-pointers were the most in a game since December of 2013 when they went 15-23 against Robert Morris of Springfield.
Lindenwood led 9-8 before the Cougars went on a 13-0 run to take the lead for good. SIUE led 40-24 at the break. The Cougars pushed their lead to as many as 25 when a Jordan Pickett jumper made it 74-49 with 3:07 to play in the game.
In all three players scored in double figures, with Damarco Minor leading the way with 17 points. He was 6-12 overall and 4-5 from three-point territory. Lamar Wright scored 15 points and grabbed a season-high eight rebounds to lead the Cougars. Ray'Sean Taylor scored 12 points and 4-7 from three-point range. Taylor moved into 10th place on SIUE's career scoring list and now has 1,115 career points.
Eddiean Tirado knocked down three three-pointers and finished with nine points in 17 minutes off the bench. Shamar Wright and Desmond Polk each scored seven points.
The Cougars limited Lindenwood to just 36 percent from the field and 3-15 from three-point range. Kennan Cole and Darius Beane, who average a combined 32 points, scored 14 and nine, respectively.
LITTLE ROCK 77, SOUTHERN INDIANA 75
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Recap coming soon.
TENNESSEE STATE 85, TENNESSEE TECH 53
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team shot 57.1 percent from deep on the way to an 85-53 win over the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at home Thursday.
The Tigers (10-9, 3-3) had six players score in double figures, led by Christian Brown, who had 14 points. Jaylen Jones tacked on 14 points off of the bench and Ej Bellinger chipped in as well with 13 points from the bench.
Tennessee State utilized fantastic ball movement in Thursday's game, piling up 17 assists on 31 made field goals. Kinyon Hodges' six assists paced the Tigers.
Tennessee State's defense held Tennessee Tech to only 5.9 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 36.8 percent from the field.
Tennessee State started out the scoring by going on a 10-0 run, culminating in a three from Jones, to take an early lead with 15:25 left in the first half. The Tigers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 36-30 advantage. Tennessee State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 36 points.
Tennessee State started tacking on points in the second half almost immediately, going on a 16-0 run, finished off by Justin Williams' jumper, to grow the lead to 52-30 with 15:27 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 85-53 win. Tennessee State capitalized on seven Tennessee Tech turnovers in the period, collecting 15 points off those turnovers.