SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 64, Western Illinois 50
@Little Rock 66, Southeast Missouri 61
Tennessee State 64, @Eastern Illinois 60
@SIUE 74, Tennessee Tech 57
@UT Martin 76, Lindenwood 67
MOREHEAD STATE 64, WESTERN ILLINOIS 50
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State Men's Basketball graduate transfers Jordan Lathon and Kalil Thomas both reached the 1,000 career point mark in their collegiate tenures, and head coach Preston Spradlin tied former coaching great Wayne Martin for third place in career wins at MSU as the Eagles won a 64-50 defensive battle over OVC newcomer Western Illinois Saturday at Johnson Arena.
Lathon needed eight points entering the game and finished with 14, while Thomas was just four shy and wound up scoring 12. Spradlin's 130th coaching win at MSU moved him into the tie with Martin (1978-79 through 1986-87) for third place in wins while leading an Eagle men's basketball program.
Riley Minix's double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds, his OVC-best ninth, led the Eagles (16-5, 7-1 OVC) who won their 16th straight home game and edged the Leathernecks (13-8, 6-2 OVC) out of a first place tie midway through the OVC race.
The Morehead State defense held Western Illinois shooters to only 29 percent from the field, including 29 percent from three-point range. The Eagles also kept the OVC's top three-point sharpshooter, Ryan Myers, to 3-of-17 shooting in the game.
Myers still led WIU with 11 points, while the OVC's top board man, Drew Cisse, grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds for the visitors from Macomb, Ill.
After jumping out to a 12-7 advantage, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 12:52 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Lathon, to increase its lead to 20-7. The Eagles then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 28-20 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 26 of its 28 points close to the basket.
Morehead State kept its near double-digit lead intact before going on a 9-0 run to grow the lead to 64-48 with 1:37 to go in the contest.
LITTLE ROCK 66, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 61
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Little Rock Men's Basketball team won their third-straight Ohio Valley Conference match-up on Saturday with a 66-61 victory over Southeast Missouri. Four Trojans scored in double-figures with KK Robinson and Jamir Chaplin leading the team with 13 points each.
Robinson went 4-of-12 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line while leading the team in assists with five and steals with four. Chaplin went 6-of-10 from the field and also contributed three assists and two steals.
Makhel Mitchell recorded a season-high 12 points and a season-high seven rebounds, while DeAntoni Gordon scored 11 points and brought down five boards. Bradley Douglas knocked down nine points, while Jaylen Crocker-Johnson scored eight points and led the team in rebounds with ten.
SEMO opened the first half with a layup, before a jumper by Chaplin tied the score. The Trojans took their first lead of the half at the 16:04 mark on a layup by Crocker-Johnson.
Over the next two minutes, the Redhawks outscored Little Rock 6-4 with two-three points to tie the score at ten.
A layup by Douglas sparked an 8-2 run by the Trojans, before SEMO answered with a three-pointer with 9:48 remaining in the half to bring the score to 18-15.
After a jumper by Mitchell and a free throw by Robinson, the Redhawks scored five-straight points to cut the Trojan lead to 21-20. With 4:35 left in the half, SEMO regained the lead on a three-pointer.
Both teams scored points, before Mitchell knocked down four-straight to give the Trojans the 30-29 advantage.
The Redhawks scored the final four points of the half, including a last second layup, to go into the half with the 33-30 lead.
The Trojans opened the second half on a 10-2 run including six points from Robinson to regain a 40-35 advantage.
With 15:43 on the clock, SEMO scored seven-straight points to take back the 42-40 lead.
Both teams knocked down points, before a jumper by Mitchell at the 9:16 mark sparked a 11-0 run for the 56-50 lead for the Trojans.
After SEMO scored six-straight, a turnover followed by a jumper by Mitchell gave Little Rock the 58-56 lead.
Both teams exchanged leads, before two clutch free throws by Mitchell with 12.4 seconds remaining followed by a made free throw by Douglas sealed the 66-61 win.
TENNESSEE STATE 64, EASTERN ILLINOIS 60
CHARLESTON, Ill. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team held Eastern Illinois to just 12.5 percent from deep in a 2-for-16 shooting performance on the way to a 64-60 victory over the Panthers on the road Saturday.
The Tigers (12-9, 5-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Christian Brown, who had 17 points and two steals. Justin Williams added 16 points and Kinyon Hodges chipped in as well with 12 points and eight rebounds.
Tennessee State did a fantastic job disrupting Eastern Illinois shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Jason Jitoboh's four rejections led the way individually for the Tigers.
Tennessee State started out the scoring by going on a 5-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Hodges, to take an early lead with 18:34 left in the first half. The Tigers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 28-26.
Eastern Illinois kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 54-51 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run to seize a 56-54 lead with 3:26 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 64-60 win.
SIUE 74, TENNESSEE TECH 57
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball led wire to wire Saturday afternoon on its way to a 74-57 conference victory against Tennessee Tech at First Community Arena.
The Cougars have won four of their last five to improve to 12-9 overall and 5-3 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Cougars remain dominant at home improving to 9-1 inside First Community Arena. Tennessee Tech dropped its third game in a row and fell to 7-14 this season and 2-6 in OVC play.
SIUE was led by Shamar Wright and twin brother Lamar Wright who both turned in their first double doubles of the year. Shamar Wright contributed 13 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Lamar Wright scored 10 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the field and recorded 10 rebounds. It was the first time in their careers the Wright twins recorded double-doubles on the same day.
The Cougars opened the game on a quick 10-2 run which was halted by a 30-second timeout taken by Tennessee Tech. SIUE grew the lead to 15 on a 2pt jump shot by Lamar Wright midway through the first half.
The Cougars biggest lead of the half came on an 11-0 run over five minutes which resulted in a 26 point lead at the halftime break.
The second half featured the same dominance by SIUE as they grew the lead to game high 27 on a layup made by Desmond Polk with 6:48 left in the game. Tennessee Tech went on a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to 15 on a Josiah Davis Layup with 1:41 but couldn't get any closer.
SIUE shot 50 percent (32-64) from the field and 3 percent (7-20) from three point territory. The Cougars held Tennessee Tech to 39 percent (22-56) from the field and 32 percent (7-22) from the three point arc.
Ray'Sean Taylor led the Cougars in scoring with 18 points eight rebounds and dished out six assists. Taylor also went 4-9 from three-point range. Desmond Polk contributed 14 points going 6-8 from the field and 2-3 from three-point range.
SIUE had five players who scored in double figures including Demarco Minor who had 12 points and three rebounds while adding four assists.
Tennessee Tech was led by Sophomore guard Josiah Davis. Davis recorded 18 points on 8-12 shooting and went 2-3 from the free throw line.
UT MARTIN 76, LINDENWOOD 67
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team registered its third straight home victory this afternoon, leading for nearly 37 minutes of clock time in a 76-67 triumph over Lindenwood.
The Skyhawks (12-9, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference) led by as many as 15 points in the first half as four UT Martin players scored in double figures. Jacob Crews (20 points on 6-of-9 shooting) dialed up his 10th game with at least 20 points this season while Issa Muhammad put together a monster performance of 14 points, 17 rebounds, a career-high five blocks and three assists. It marked the first Skyhawk double-double with at least five blocks since KJ Simon (21 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks) against Southern Indiana on Jan. 28, 2023.
The backcourt tandem of Jordan Sears (16 points, six rebounds) and Desmond Williams (11 points) additionally provided some scoring punch for UT Martin. Koby Jeffries also tallied nine points with season-highs of five rebounds and three assists for the Skyhawks, who shot an even 50 percent (12-of-24) from three-point range and won the rebounding battle by a 45-33 margin.
The Lions (7-14, 1-7 OVC) also saw four players score in double figures, led by Keenon Cole’s 15 points. Darius Beane (14), Jaylon McDaniel (11) and Jeremiah Talton (11) also helped guide Lindenwood, who shot 37.7 percent (26-for-69) from the floor.
The Lions scored the first four points of the contest but the Skyhawks charged back with a 7-2 run with five of those points coming from Sears. At one point, four consecutive UT Martin buckets came from downtown before an old-fashioned three-point play out of Crews at the 11:14 mark – giving the junior from Hilliard, Fla. nine points in the game and the Skyhawks a 19-10 advantage.
Jeffries then reeled off five straight UT Martin points and Jalen Myers followed with the next five Skyhawk points, pushing the lead out to 29-16 with 6:16 remaining in the opening half.
After a pair of Jeffries free throws made the score 33-18 in favor of UT Martin, Lindenwood went on a 14-6 run to close out the first half – trimming the Skyhawk lead to 39-32. Crews (nine points) and McDaniel (eight) led their respective squads in scoring in the first 20 minutes.
The Lions got within five points with 16:31 to go but Williams answered with a big trifecta on UT Martin’s ensuing possession. A little over a minute later, a three-pointer by Sears nudged the Skyhawk lead back out to double digits at 52-42.
Lindenwood kept battling and once again made it a five-point contest with 13 minutes left to play. UT Martin responded with a 7-0 run as Crews accounted for the final five points of the spurt.
A powerful dunk from Muhammad at the 9:23 mark gave the Skyhawks a 13-point advantage (64-51). The Lions would not get any closer than six points for the remainder of the game as Muhammad buried a pair of clutch free throws with 53 seconds remaining to prevent Lindenwood from the chance to make it a one-possession game.