SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Longwood 64,
UT Martin 62
@Western Illinois 63, Central Arkansas 61
SIUE 76, Canisius 58 (Kalamazoo, Mich.)
Little Rock 81, @UTSA 64
@Purdue Fort Wayne 93,
Southern Indiana 74
@Tennessee State 81, Alabama A&M 71
UTRGV 83,
Tennessee Tech 58 (White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.)
LONGWOOD 64, UT MARTIN 62
FARMVILLE, Va. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team led for over 38 minutes of today’s contest but Longwood took its first lead with three seconds remaining to hand the Skyhawks a tough 64-62 setback.
UT Martin led by 12 points with 6:30 left to play and held a 62-57 advantage with 1:01 remaining but the Lancers went on a furious rally, scoring the final seven points of the contest.
Josué Grullon continued his phenomenal start to the season for the Skyhawks (2-2), scoring 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting – including a 6-of-10 effort from three-point range. He also added three steals in 26 minutes off the bench.
Lamine Niang hauled in 10 rebounds in 24 minutes in his first start of the season while Vladimer Salaridze just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds in 22 minutes. Carlos Cortijo handed out a game-high four assists in 25 minutes off the bench for UT Martin, who made 10 three-pointers and shot 82.4 percent (14-for-17) from the free throw line.
Longwood (4-0) was held to 25.9 percent shooting from three-point range, connecting on just seven of its 27 tries from long distance. KJ McClurg scored a game-high 25 points for the Lancers, who have made two of the last three NCAA Tournaments out of the Big South Conference.
Back-to-back treys from AJ Hopkins and Grullon broke a 7-7 tie and gave the Skyhawks a 13-7 advantage with 12:41 to go before the halftime break. Salaridze and Grullon sank triples as to bookend an 8-0 run that gave UT Martin its first double-digit lead of the day (21-9) at the 10:53 mark of the first half.
A Stefano Faloppa layup helped the Skyhawks take their biggest lead of the day (31-18) at the 2:30 mark before UT Martin settled for a 33-24 halftime advantage. Grullon’s 11 points topped all scorers as the Skyhawk defense held Longwood to 1-of-10 shooting from beyond the three-point arc with nine turnovers.
The Lancers scored 13 out of the first 14 points of the second half and soon pulled within two points at 39-37. UT Martin responded with eight unanswered points, starting and ending with Grullon trifectas to nudge the Skyhawk lead back out to double figures (47-37) with 14:10 to go.
Longwood once again whittled its deficit down to two points but UT Martin had another strong response – accounting for a 10-0 run that featured five points from Matija Žužic. Three free throws from Afan Trnka resulted in a 57-45 Skyhawk lead with 6:30 left in the contest.
Grullon sank two free throws to make the score 62-57 with 61 ticks remaining. After two Lancer free throws and a three-pointer evened the game at 62-all, Longwood made two free throws with three seconds left to take its first lead of the afternoon. Grullon got a look at a potential game-winning 30-foot heave at the buzzer but the desperation attempt rimmed out as time expired.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 63, CENTRAL ARKANSAS 61
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois secured a narrow victory over Central Arkansas, 63-61, at Western Hall this afternoon. The first half was rough for the Leathernecks, as they shot 9-29 (31%) from the floor and was 2-14 (14.3%) from three point range in the opening 20 minutes. WIU was led offensively in the first half by Sean Smith and Ryan Myers who each had 5 points , with Smith adding 2 assists. Despite trailing 28-23 at halftime, Western Illinois surged back with a strong second-half performance, scoring 40 points to edge out the Bears.
Ryan Myers would have 13 second half points, including three three-pointers, and two big free throws down the stretch to lead WIU. Sean Smith had 12 points in the second half and finished with an efficient stat line as he would have 17 points, 4 assists, six rebounds, and five steals for the game. Julius Rollins added valuable support with eight points and three rebounds, while Tay Knox provided defensive strength, securing seven rebounds and contributing nine points. Knox would have the game-winning play as he would block a Central Arkansas shot with less than five seconds to go in the second half leading to a Bears foul that put Myers on the line to win the game for the Leathernecks.
Western Illinois excelled at turning defense into offense, scoring 15 points off turnovers and maintaining a disciplined game with only nine personal fouls compared to Central Arkansas's 18. Their ability to capitalize on fast breaks (11 points) also played a pivotal role in the win. The Leathernecks forced 13 turnovers for the game, with eight of them coming in the second half. WIU also shot much better from the floor in the second half shooting 12-25 (48%) from the floor and 6-15 (40%) from deep.
SIUE 76, CANISIUS 58
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - SIUE had to erase an early deficit before eventually cruising to a 76-58 win over Canisius in the Cougars' second game in the Bronco Classic at Western Michigan.
SIUE has now won three straight and improved to 4-2 overall. Canisius dropped to 0-4. The Cougars also improved to 7-1 over the last three seasons at in-season multi-team events (MTE).
Saturday, Canisius got out to a fast start and led 10-2 when SIUE called a timeout with 16:15 left in the first half.
The Golden Griffins went up 12-2 when SIUE turned the tide.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Brian Taylor at 13:36 and Ray'Sean Taylor at 12:34 put the Cougars up 14-12 and they never trailed again. An offensive rebound and tip-in by Declan Dillon at 9:42 capped a 20-0 scoring run by the Cougars and made it 22-12. Following a pair of Canisius free throws, SIUE scored the next seven points to lead 29-14 after a Desmond Polk three-pointer with 5:08 left in the half.
The Cougars led 43-27 at halftime.
In the second half, SIUE quickly pushed its lead to 20 (51-31) with 17:05 to play. The Cougars had their largest lead at 63-41 after a Myles Thompson fastbreak layup with 11:46 left in the game.
Brian Taylor led all scorers with a career-high 23 points coming on an 8-of-9 shooting performance. He hit a three and was 6 for 6 at the foul line, while adding four assists. A day after scoring a career-high 16 points, Polk scored 15 points thanks to a career-best five three-pointers. Darrion Baker scored a career-high 12 points while pulling down seven rebounds. Ray'Sean Taylor scored 11 points, including three three-pointers. He added five rebounds and dished out seven assists compared to just a single turnover.
The game marked the first time this season that SIUE has had four players score in double figures.
SIUE collectively shot 50 percent (29-58) from the field. The Cougars were 10-22 (46 percent) from long range and outrebounded Canisius 38-27.
SIUE finished with 20 assists, their most since collecting 22 opening night against Westminster.
The Golden Griffins were led by Paul McMillan IV who scored 18 points. Tana Kopa chipped in 12 points.
LITTLE ROCK 81, UTSA 64
ARLINGTON, Texas - The University of Arkansas at Little Rock snapped a two-game losing streak in a major way Saturday afternoon at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The Trojans led by double figures most of the game and cruised to an 81-64 win at the Convocation Center on the campus of UTSA.
The Trojans (2-2), who led by 10 points at halftime, led by as many 20 in the second half.
Ante Beljan led the Trojans with a career high 21 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 assists. Mwani Wilkinson continued his stellar play with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals. Isaiah Lewis totaled 16 points, 7 assists and 3 steals and Jonathan Lawson chipped in 15 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists.
The Trojans were 52.7% from the field and a sizzling 50% from the 3-point line hitting 9 of 18. They committed 14 turnovers after the Roadrunners forced 18 in a loss at Bradley this week.
The Trojans held UTSA star Primo Spears, who has scored 1,000 points in three seasons of Division I basketball, to 15.
Little Rock led 36-26 at halftime and grew its lead to 20 with 13 minutes to go in the game, but Spears' layup off a steal cut the deficit to 10 with with 7:30 to go. However, Wilkinson, who was shaken up a few minutes earlier, went on his own 7-0 run to push the advantage back to 17, 70-53, with 6:51 remaining and ended the Roadrunners' threat.
Little Rock controlled the first half holding the lead much of the first 20 minutes. The Trojans built the advantage to as many as 15 with 2:40 left.
UTSA (1-2) took the first lead of the game, but the Trojans grabbed it back with 18:23 to play and didn't let go of it until the 7-minute mark.
Spears put the Roadrunners up 21-20 after a Little Rock turnover. However, Beljan tied the game with 5:59 left, and the Trojans then exploded to a 16-0 run. The two big blows were back-to-back threes by Wilkinson. Both were assisted by Lawson, who found Wilkinson wide open in the corner each time. The second triple gave Little Rock a 29-21 advantage with 4:08 left. Creed Williamson's layup with 2:40 to go capped the run and gave the Trojans their biggest lead (15) of the game.
PURDUE FORT WAYNE 93, SOUTHERN INDIANA 74
FORT WAYNE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball concluded a three-game road swing with a 93-74 loss at Purdue University Fort Wayne Saturday evening in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The Screaming Eagles are 1-4 to start the year, while the Mastodons go to 3-1 in 2024-25.
USI spotted Purdue Fort Wayne a 14-point first-half advantage, 28-14, before junior guard Jared Washington caught fire and sparked a 15-1 run to pull to within two, 31-29, with 5:21 left in the opening half. Washington scored 12 of the 15 points, while USI, as a team, was a perfect six-of-six from outside, including three-of-three from downtown.
The Mastodons would win the final five minutes, 10-6, and led at halftime, 41-35.
In the second half, Purdue Fort Wayne expanded its halftime lead to 11 points, 55-44, before USI narrowed the deficit to four points, 56-52, with 13:44 to play when junior guard Jayland Randall converted a pair of free throws. The Mastodons rebounded and expanded their advantage to as many as 23 points, 88-65, with 3:25 to play before settling for the 93-74 final.
Individually for USI, Washington would lead the Eagles with 19 points, a season-high. The junior guard was six-of-11 from the field, three-of-seven from beyond the arc, and four-of-four from the stripe.
Randall and junior guard Damoni Harrison followed with 14 points each. Harrison was five-of-nine from the field, two-of-four from long range, and two-for-two from the line. Randall was four-of-10 from the field and six-of-six from the charity stripe.
TENNESSEE STATE 81, ALABAMA A&M 71
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team finished with three players in double figures and pulled away late in an 81-71 win over Alabama A&M on Saturday evening at the Gentry Center.
The Tigers (2-3) were led by Brandon Weston, who had 25 points, nine rebounds and three steals. Carlous Williams tacked on 15 points and two steals and Justus Jackson helped out with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Jackson pulled down three offensive rebounds to pace the Tennessee State offense which grabbed 13 boards and turned them into 15 second chance points.
Tennessee State's defense held Alabama A&M to only 15.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 35.5 percent from the field.
After playing to a 25-25 tie, Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run with 6:05 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Ronald Jessamy, to take a 30-25 lead. The Tigers then lost some of that lead, but still entered halftime with a 38-36 advantage. Tennessee State got a great contribution from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 12 of its 38 total points.
Tennessee State kept its lead intact before going on a 10-0 run to grow the lead to 70-58 with 4:48 to go in the contest. The Bulldogs narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Tigers still cruised the rest of the way for the 81-71 win. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of its 43 points in the lane.
UTRGV 83, TENNESSEE TECH 58
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. - Struggles on the glass and with consistency on offense proved too much for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to overcome Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles fell to the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, 83-58, in the championship game of the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division at Colonial Hall and The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va.
The tilt was a battle for most of the first half, with the Golden Eagles (3-2) taking the early lead over the opening five minutes of action. The Vaqueros (3-2) answered back, taking their turn on top until the 8:46 mark.
Tech squared the match-up just before the media timeout, but it was as close as the Cookeville crew would come to retake the lead for the remainder of the event. UTRGV made a huge push at the end of the half, turning a two-point edge into a 41-31 advantage heading to the locker room behind a layup and back-to-back triples.
The Vaqueros held the purple and gold at arm's length over the first half of the second stanza, with both sides unable to make much headway on the scoreboard. Foul trouble and a cold stretch from the floor by the Cookeville crew provided just enough room for UTRGV to pull away down the stretch.
During the second half, the Golden Eagles were held to just 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 26.3 percent from distance. Those totals sat at 37.7 percent from the floor and 31.4 percent from beyond the arc at the end of the game.
UTRGV also boasted decided advantages on the boards and in the paint. The Vaqueros hauled in 47 rebounds, including 16 on the offensive glass, while holding Tech to 24 for the day. UTRGV also scored 42 points in the paint as compared to 24 for the purple and gold.
Junior guard Jaylon Johnson led the Tech effort with 13 points, sinking a trio of treys with three assists, three boards, and a pair of steals. Senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. joined him in double figures with 12 points and three triples of his own.
Local Rickman, Tenn. native Matthew Sells knocked down three shots from downtown as well, finishing with a season-high nine points off the bench. Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe, who was named to the Greenbrier Tip-Off River Division All-Tournament Team, produced eight points, a team-high eight rebounds, and three assists in 21 minutes of action. The veteran finished 4-for-8 from the floor while battling foul troubles during the contest.