TUESDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 76, West Georgia 73
SIUE 77,, @Indiana State 72
@Arkansas State 80,
Little Rock 63
TENNESSEE TECH 76, WEST GEORGIA 73
COOKEVILLET, Tenn. - A dominant first half proved just enough for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to lock down a 76-73 win over visiting West Georgia Tuesday night, as the Golden Eagles held off a feisty Wolves squad down the stretch in the Hooper Eblen Center.
The purple and gold (2-1) had the offense humming early on the night, scoring right out of the gate and never allowing West Georgia (0-3) to take a lead. The Wolves hung around for the opening six minutes before the Golden Eagles soared way out front over a span of just over seven minutes.
After the visitors cut the Tech lead to three, the Cookeville crew responded with a dominant 21-4 run over that span, eventually pushing its advantage out to 21 points with a little more than three minutes to play in the first half. Heading into the locker room, the purple and gold boasted a 45-30 lead.
Over the opening 20 minutes of the evening, the Golden Eagles shot 56.3 percent from the floor and buried 7-of-18 tried from distance. Tech also crashed the glass to a 19-16 advantage while holding the Wolves to just 36.4 percent shooting.
The two sides traded blows to begin the second half, with UWG cutting the deficit to 10 before Tech pushed it back out to 17. With just a little over 10 minutes to play, the purple and gold hit a jumper to take a 13-point lead, but things got a little hairy from that point.
The offense for both sides dried up immediately, with more than five minutes passing before either side could find the bottom of the net. For the Golden Eagles, that drought continued for another two minutes, with the Cookeville crew finally finding paydirt with three minutes to play.
The basket moved Tech's lead to eight, proving just enough to hold down the stretch. Free-throw difficulties from the purple and gold kept the Wolves' hopes alive, as the visitors cut the lead to just three with two seconds on the clock.
West Georgia had one last prayer at the end, securing a missed free throw by the Golden Eagles on the front end of a 1-and-1. The team's last-ditch heave was well off the mark, however, securing Tech its second win of the season.
Junior Daniel Egbuniwe had a big day for the purple and gold, leading the way with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks. The forward finished 7-for-10 from the floor with three assists for good measure.
Fellow forward Rodney Johnson Jr. chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds to tie for the team lead. The senior was 5-for-7 from the field with three assists of his own.
Sophomore guard Kyle Layton delivered 10 points and a pair of steals to the effort while junior guard Ray Glasgow kicked in 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting in 13 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Jaylon Johnson mixed in eight points, nine assists, five steals, and four boards on the night.
All 10 Golden Eagles that saw the floor produced at least two points and secured at least one rebound in the contest. The home squad ended the day shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from distance.
SIUE 77, INDIANA STATE 72
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - A hot start and a strong second-half propelled SIUE men's basketball to a 77-72 come-from-behind win Tuesday night at Indiana State.
The Cougars picked up their first road win of the year and improved to 2-2 overall. Indiana State slipped to 1-2 with the loss.
SIUE opened the game with an 11-2 outburst and led until the 9-minute mark in the first half when ISU took an 18-17 lead.
Samage Teel gave Indiana State a 36-33 halftime advantage with a shot-clock beating three-pointer with just seconds remaining in the first half.
The Cougars were even better to open the second half of play. SIUE opened the period with a 10-3 start to lead 43-39 at the first media timeout of the half. Darrion Baker capped a 9-0 run with a three-point play to push SIUE's lead to 54-44 with 12:40 left. An overall run of 13-2 by the Cougars gave SIUE its largest lead at 58-46 with 10:37 to play. SIUE knocked down 11 of its first 13 field goal attempts in the second half.
Indiana State wasn't done. The Sycamores ripped off a 14-2 run tie the score 60-60 with 5:10 to play in the game.
Ray'Sean Taylor knocked down two three-pointers and buried four free throws and Ring Malith hit a three-pointer all in the game's final four-plus minutes to seal the road win for the Cougars.
SIUE connected on 59 percent (17-29) of its shots in the second half and a season-high 50 percent (30-60) for the game.
Ray'Sean Taylor paced SIUE with 22 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including four three-pointers. It was the 26th 20-point game of his career. He added six assists.
Malith turned in a career-high 19 points. He was 8 for 15 from the field and hit a pair of three-pointers. Desmond Polk and Brian Taylor II each finished with nine points. Arnas Sakenis and Baker each scored six points. Baker grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
SIUE outrebounded Indiana State 39-32 and outscored the Sycamores 42-16 in the paint.
Indiana State knocked down 15-41 three-point attempts (37 percent) and made 41 percent (24-59) of its shots overall.
Jahni Summers led the way for Indiana State with 15 points. Camp Wagner scored 12 points and was 4-10 from three-point range.
ARKANSAS STATE 80, LITTLE ROCK 63
JONESBORO, Ark. - After trailing by six at halftime, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock men's basketball team couldn't withstand two Arkansas State second-half runs and fell 80-63 Tuesday night at First National Bank Arena in front of more than 5,000 fans.
ASU led 55-52 with 10:02 to play took control at that point and pushed the lead back to double figures for the second time in the half. A 10-0 run over the next two minutes put the Red Wolves in control as their lead grew to finish out the game.
Mwani Wilkinson was the only Trojan in double figures with 20. Creed Williamson added eight points and four rebounds.
Taryn Todd led ASU with 17 points and Kobe Julien added 16.
Little Rock trailed by 13 points with just over 15 minutes to play in the game, but quickly got back in it. The Trojans used a 7-0 spurt to cut the lead to 49-43 with Nikola Milosevic three. ASU pushed the lead to seven around the 12-minute mark, but Wilkinson's three-pointer made it 51-47 with 11:43 remaining.
Isaiah Lewis cut the Red Wolves' lead to three, 55-52 at the 10:02 mark but Little Rock couldn't get any closer and the lead grew to double figures again with 8:37 to play.
Little Rock kept it close in the first half as the lead swayed back and forth.
Williamson converted on a hook shot in the lane to give the Trojans a 20-17 lead with 8:42 in the half. A few minutes later Tuongthach Gatkek hit a jumper to give the Trojans a four-point advantage (22-18).
Julien tied the game on a layup at the 5:46 mark. A 5-0 run, that included a Joseph Pininon three-pointer gave the Red Wolves a 27-22 lead with 3:23 left.
ASU led by six at the 2:12 mark but Jordan Jefferson's floater cut the lead to 31-27. However, Taryn Todd's jumper moved the lead back to six, 33-27, with 44 seconds remaining, and that is where the score stood at halftime.