FRIDAY'S SCORES
Le Moyne 65,
UT Martin 53 (Corpus Christi, Texas)
UNC Asheville 72,
Southeast Missouri 64 (Conway, Ark.)
@Southern Indiana 92, South Dakota 83
@#20 Arkansas 79,
Little Rock 67
LE MOYNE 65, UT MARTIN 53
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - It was a defensive grind for both sides tonight as the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team could not find a rhythm offensively in a 65-53 setback to Le Moyne.
The Skyhawks (2-4) won the turnover battle 16 to 12 and held the Dolphins to 35.8 percent (19-for-53) shooting, including an 8-of-29 effort (27.6 percent) from three-point range. However, UT Martin could only muster 17 made field goals and three 3-pointers.
Afan Trnka paced the Skyhawks in scoring for the first time this season, tallying 12 points. Tarence Guinyard reached double figures in the scoring column for the second time in as many games in the Island U Invitational, posting 10 points this evening. Lamine Niang (seven rebounds) and Josué Grullon additionally added eight points while the duo of Vladimer Salaridze and AJ Hopkins (eight rebounds apiece) helped UT Martin outrebound the Dolphins by a 48-46 margin.
Le Moyne (2-4) was led by AJ Dancler’s 16 points while Ocypher Owens (11 points), Dwayne Koroma (11) and Trent Mosquera (10) also scored in double digits.
Trnka gave the Skyhawks their lone lead of the game with a driving and-1 at the 17:49 mark, resulting in a 3-2 UT Martin advantage. The Dolphins soon went on a 12-4 run to take a 14-7 lead with 14 minutes to go before the intermission.
Trnka buried a deep three-pointer from the left wing at the 8:10 mark, snapping an 0-for-11 start from downtown for the Skyhawks. Both teams then went without a field goal until Hopkins swished a trifecta that knotted the score at 22-all with 2:18 remaining in the opening half.
Le Moyne was able to score six of the final eight points of the first half to claim a 28-24 advantage at the break. Trnka’s eight points led UT Martin while Salaridze accounted for a game-high six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Robby Carmody had a game-high nine points to pace the Dolphins, who shot just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) overall and 25 percent (4-for-16) from three-point land in the first half.
A pair of Guinyard free throws and a backdown bucket from Salaridze opened the second half scoring and tied the score at 28-all. Niang then scored four straight points for the Skyhawks but Le Moyne opened up a 40-32 lead with 14 minutes left to play.
Grullon knocked down a straightaway trey and a tough fadeaway jumper along the right baseline in a span of 89 seconds to will UT Martin back within a single possession (40-37) at the 12:08 mark.
The Dolphins then scored 10 of the next 12 points and the Skyhawks wouldn’t get any closer than nine points the rest of the way.
UNC ASHEVILLE 72, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 64
CONWAY, Ark. - Teddy Washington, Jr. scored 15 points and Southeast Missouri (2-4) shot a season-low 34.9 percent from the field in a 72-64 loss to UNC Asheville (2-2) Friday.
For the second-straight night, SEMO was involved in a game with several ties and lead changes. The Redhawks, however, just couldn't get any separation.
Down, 17-12, the Redhawks put together an 11-2 run to build a four-point cushion.
Marqueas Bell knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game and Teddy Washington, Jr., Elliot Lowndes and Rob Martin each followed with baskets to give SEMO a 23-19 advantage with 6:03 remaining in the first half.
UNCA used a 5-0 run during a period where the Redhawks didn't score for over five minutes.
Toyaz Solomon's dunk brought the game tied the game and two free throws by Jordan Marsh gave the Bulldogs a 28-27 edge.
Josh Banks the added a layup push UNCA's lead to 30-27 at the intermission.
Tied, 37-37, SEMO went the final 13:29 without a lead.
Solomon made a layup to widen the Bulldogs' lead to 56-46 with 4:48 to go and the Redhawks didn't recover after that.
SEMO made 22-of-63 field goals and was outscored at the free throw line for the fifth game in a row against a Division I opponent
Rob Martin (13) and BJ Ward (10) joined Washington, Jr. with double figures in the scoring column.
Banks finished with a game-high 23 points and Solomon added 17 points and 11 rebounds to pace UNCA.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 92, SOUTH DAKOTA 83
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana junior guard Jayland Randall scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 92-83 victory over the University of South Dakota Friday evening at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles are 2-4 to start the year, while the Coyotes go to 5-2 in 2024-25.
After the teams traded buckets and runs for the first nine minutes, USI attempted to take command with an 8-2 run to lead, 22-17, with 9:34 left in the first half. Four different players scored during the run as the Eagles were four-of-seven from the field.
The Coyotes narrowed the margin to one, 22-21, when the Eagles used another 7-0 dash, which included an old fashion three-point play by junior guard Jack Campion, to regain control, 29-21. USI would extend the 7-0 dash to a 13-5 sprint for a 35-26 advantage with 3:40 left. Junior guard Damoni Harrison led the way during the 13-5 run with four points.
USI closed out the half with its first halftime lead of the season, 41-35. Randall paced the Eagles during the first 20 minutes with 13 points, while USI, as a team, shot 50 percent from the field (18-36).
The start of the second half belonged to the Eagles as they extended the halftime advantage to 14 points, 57-43, by outscoring the Coyotes, 16-8, through the first six minutes to take command. Junior guard Jared Washington led USI with five of the 16-point dash.
USD, however, would close the gap to five points three times in the final two minutes before USI closed out the 92-83 victory. The Eagles led by as many as 16 points (75-69, 8:04) in the second half.
USI finished the game with a season-high 92 points with four players in double-digits. Randall led the way with his career-high 24 points on nine-of-15 from the field, three-of-six from long range, and three-of-four from the line. The junior guard has five double-digit scoring games this season with two over 20 points.
Washington followed Randall in the scoring column with 16 points on a blistering six-of-10 from the field, two-of-three from beyond the arc, and two-of-three from the line. Sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi added 14 points on seven field goals, while graduate forward Jack Mielke rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points, including four free throws that iced the win in the final 30 seconds.
As a team, USI shot a season-high 52.9 percent from the field (36-68), 44.4 percent from beyond the arc (8-18), and had a season-high 20 assists. Campion led USI with a career-high and team-best nine assists in the win.
#20 ARKANSAS 79, LITTLE ROCK 67
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - After trailing Arkansas by more than 23 points in the first half Friday night, Little Rock made a second-half charge but fell short in a 79-67 loss at Walton Arena.
The Trojans, who trailed 42-24 at halftime, cut the lead to 55-47 with 12:01 to play in the game. However, the Hogs eventually grew the lead to double digits and led by as many as 17. The Trojans did cut the margin back to seven with just over two minutes left but couldn't get closer.
Wilkinson led Little Rock with 18 points and pulled down 5 rebounds despite heading to the locker room for a few minutes after landing awkwardly fighting for a rebound in the second half. Johnathan Lawson scored 15 points and snagged 12 rebounds and Isaiah Lewis added 13 points and 6 rebounds. Ante Beljan chipped in 10 points and 4 rebounds.
The Hogs' Adou Thiero led all scorers with 23 points. He also had 8 rebounds. Boogie Fland totaled 21 points and seven assists.
After struggling in the first half, Little Rock showed life midway through the second half. A 10-0 run powered by five points from Wilkinson made it a 51-43 game when Lewis canned a triple with 13:29 left. After the Razorbacks answered, Wilkinson hit two free throws to cut the lead back to eight. The Hogs tried to keep the Trojans at arm's length, but Lawson hit another three, and the lead was seven with 12:01 remaining. The Hogs' advantage was again trimmed to seven (58-51) with 10:17 left.
Arkansas pulled away when D.J. Wagner hit two three-pointers in a little over a minute stretch and Arkansas led 77-55 with 5:21 to play.
Lawson hit a three-pointer with 2:14 to go to get to within eight again, but the Razorbacks ended the game with four unanswered points.