MONDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 67, @Illinois State 65
Western Illinois 59, @San Jose State 55
@Louisville 93,
Morehead State 45
@Georgia 83,
Tennessee Tech 78
@Little Rock 84, Arkansas Baptist 64
@#24 Illinois 112,
Eastern Illinois 67
@DePaul 80,
Southern Indiana 78 (OT)
@Bradley 88,
Southeast Missouri 60
@Tennessee State 96, Fisk 66
@SIUE 95, Westminster 42
@Oklahoma 93,
Lindenwood 60
UT MARTIN 67, ILLINOIS STATE 65
NORMAL, Ill. - Five University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball players scored in double figures this evening as the Skyhawks knocked off Illinois State in an impressive 67-65 road victory.
The win gave head coach Jeremy Shulman his first victory at UT Martin in his Skyhawk debut and also snapped a pair of streaks. UT Martin won a season-opening road contest for the first time since Nov. 22, 2003 (had previously lost its last 13) and prevailed for the first time in six tries against a Redbird squad that was picked fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
The Skyhawks led by as many as 14 points in the second half and held a 63-52 advantage with 1:35 to go but had to fend off a furious Illinois State rally down the stretch. UT Martin was able to sink four free throws in the final 26 seconds to hang on for the victory.
All nine Skyhawks who played tonight made their UT Martin debuts. Josué Grullon poured in a game-high 18 points to go along with nine rebounds while Tarence Guinyard (12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals), Vladimer Salaridze (11 points, 12 rebounds), Adan Trnka (11 points, four rebounds, three assists) and Carlos Cortijo (10 points, two blocks) led the Skyhawks offensively.
The Redbirds were held to 29 percent shooting (18-of-62), including a 19.5-percent effort (8-for-41) from three-point land. Jack Daugherty scored a team-high 15 points off the bench while Chase Walker (13 points), Ty Pence (12) and Landon Wolf (10) additionally scored in double figures for Illinois State.
A Guinyard trifecta from the left wing was the first bucket in the Shulman Era and got the Skyhawks on the scoreboard just 42 seconds into the contest. The Redbirds went on an 11-2 run midway through the first half before Grullon got hot with six straight points in the span of 58 seconds.
Back-to-back treys from Lamine Niang and Guinyard before a driving layup by Cortijo helped UT Martin trim its deficit to 31-29 at the halftime break. Grullon had 10 points in the opening half while Daugherty’s 12 points guided Illinois State.
Trnka caught fire coming out of the locker room, pumping in 11 of the Skyhawks’ first 18 points in the second half to help UT Martin take a double-digit lead (47-37) with 10:42 to go.
Grullon drilled a three-pointer from the right corner a little over a minute later to give the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the evening at 51-37.
The Redbirds used a 10-2 surge to pull within six points with 6:32 remaining but UT Martin was able to nudge its lead out to 63-52 following a pair of Guinyard free throws with 1:35 left to play.
Illinois State cut the Skyhawk lead to one point on two separate occasions but Stefano Faloppa (one) and Grullon (three) combined to calmly swish four free throws late. The Redbirds were able to get a look at a potential game-tying bucket right before the buzzer but Matija Žužic walled up defensively and Grullon came down with the rebound to seal the victory.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 59, SAN JOSE STATE 55
SAN JOSE, Calif. - The Western Illinois men's basketball team defeated San Jose State 59-55 on Tuesday night with big performances from newcomers Sean Smith and Marko Maletic.
The first half started out slow for the Leathernecks as San Jose State jumped out to an early 7-2 lead. WIU would respond in a big way going on an 11-1 run to take the lead at 13-8 with 13:07 to go in the half. Rodrick Payne would have the first four points for WIU during the run as he hit two free throws and followed that with a dunk. Marko Maletic would hit a three and Trey Deveaux and Sean Smith would have back-to-back jumpers to finish the run. Smith would lead the way for the Leathernecks in the first half shooting 60% from the field with seven points, adding three rebounds and three assists. As a team, WIU shot 41.7% from the floor in the first half and trailed 29-25 at the break.
In the second half, WIU started on a 9-5 run. Tay Knox would get things rolling for the Leatherneck offense as he would hammer home a dunk to cut the deficit to 29-27. After two made free throws by the Spartans, Sean Smith and Trey Deveaux would again have back-to-back jumpers to even the score at 31-31. The Leathernecks would outscore the Spartans 34-26 in the second half holding San Jose State to 31.8% from the field in half number two. The defense would hold the Spartans to 34.8% from the floor for the game.
Marko Maletic led the Leathernecks in scoring finishing with a team-high 13 points and adding 5 rebounds. Maletic's biggest shot of the night came late in the second half with the Leathernecks up four with 3:31 to go. Maletic would hit a three on a pass from Sean Smith to put the Leathernecks up seven by a score of 54-47. San Jose State would respond by going on an 8-2 run cutting the WIU lead to 56-55. The defense would get back-to-back stops late in the game as Sean Smith would get a steal with 15 seconds remaining. Maletic would knock down two huge free throws to extend the lead to 58-55. As a team, the Leathernecks shot 80% from the free throw line during the game.
On the next possession, San Jose State had a chance to tie the game with a corner three but the defense would hold strong and get the stop. Ryan Myers would add a free throw with 0.2 seconds remaining to give Western Illinois the victory by a score of 59-55. Myers finished the game with 11 points, adding two assists and two rebounds.
LOUISVILLE 93, MOREHEAD STATE 45
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Morehead State Men's Basketball found the offense tough to come by in its season opener at Louisville Monday night. The Cardinals forced the Eagles into just a 23 percent shooting night as the home team got past MSU 93-45.
In head coach Jonathan Mattox's debut, MSU ran into a buzzsaw in U of L head coach Pat Kelsey's first game too in the Yum Center. The Eagles managed to shoot 38 percent in the final 20 minutes but could not overcome a 3-for-28 performance in the first half.
Newcomer Kenny White, Jr., led Morehead State with 14 points and also grabbed six rebounds. MSU did have a nice rebounding effort despite the setback as it pulled in 45 boards. Grad student center Dieonte Miles registered a team-best 11 rebounds.
But, the Eagles committed 21 turnovers and hit only 3-of-21 three-pointers, while U of L buried 11 of 35 from deep range.
Kasean Pryor led the home team with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double.
The Cardinals spurted out to a 5-0 lead and never trailed. U of L eventually led 27-8 and then held a 41-14 advantage at the half. The biggest lead was 50 late in the second half.
GEORGIA 83, TENNESSEE TECH 78
ATHENS, Ga. - It was a down-to-the-wire, instant classic in Athens, Ga. on Monday evening, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell just short of a massive victory over Georgia in Stegeman Coliseum on the opening day of the 2024-25 season.
The Bulldogs (1-0) converted just enough free throws down the stretch to top the visiting Golden Eagles (0-1), 83-78, but fans of the purple and gold received plenty of encouragement about the direction of the newest edition of Tech basketball. The contest featured 12 lead changes throughout the night, with neither side able to pull away by double digits at any point.
Trailing by seven midway through the first half, Tech fought its way back to take the lead before UGA responded with a mini run. Down by four with 4:30 to go, sophomore guard Kyle Layton hit a floating jumper to cut the deficit in half and followed it up by burying a fast-break triple to put back on top.
Georgia answered with a dunk, but the Cookeville crew got a quick shot of adrenaline when Sparta, Tenn. native Grant Slatten drilled a corner three to give his squad its biggest lead of the night. An unfortunately-timed media timeout seemed to give the Bulldogs just enough time to gather themselves, as the home squad closed the half on a 9-3 run for a 42-38 lead.
Tech made a splash right out of the gates to open the second stanza, with junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe draining a quick attempt from beyond the arc to trim the UGA advantage to one. Newcomer Jaylon Johnson put the Golden Eagles back on top for the final time on the night, driving into the lane and hitting a key layup.
Taking advantage of six Tech turnovers over the final seven minutes of the ball game, Georgia built as large a nine-point lead. The purple and gold put one last charge together, methodically trimming the gap all the way down to three following one final layup from Layton, but the Bulldogs finished off the win with two final freebies from the line.
On the night, the Golden Eagles shot 49.2 percent from the floor and 39.3 percent from distance, sinking 11 of its 28 tries from downtown. Tech also dished out 15 assists to go along with seven steals.
It was senior guard Mekhi Cameron leading the charge for the purple and gold, dropping 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting with a trio of triples. Layton tied his career-high with 14 points and swiped a career-best four steals.
Johnson flirted with a double-double, inking 12 points and seven assists. Senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. tacked on a dozen points and a team-high seven rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting in 21 minutes off the bench. Egbuniwe chipped in nine points, three boards, and a pair of dimes.
LITTLE ROCK 84, ARKANSAS BAPTIST 64
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Little Rock Men's Basketball took advantage in their home season opener, posting a final score win of 84-64 over NAIA Arkansas Baptist Monday night at the Jack Stephens Center in the season opener. Graduate transfer Mwani Wilkinson lead the Trojans in several areas, backed by returning senior Jordan Jefferson and transfer Johnathan Lawson, shooting a combined 47% from beyond the arc.
LSU transfer Mwani Wilkinson scored a team-high 21 points for Little Rock. He also pulled down nine rebounds. Ante Beljan and Jordan Jefferson chipped in 15 points apiece for the Trojans, and Johnathan Lawson, who grabbed six rebounds, and Isaiah Lewis each chipped in 11.
The Buffaloes' Ryan Gordan led all scorers with 25 points and added a game-high 10 rebounds.
Little Rock led Arkansas Baptist, who also hails from the capital city, 48-28 at halftime. The Buffaloes trimmed the lead to 11 with 12:18 to play in the game, but Ante Beljan's conventional three-point play pushed the Trojans' lead to 62-47 with 11:30 left in regulation.
Beljan's bucket with 10:20 to go gave the Trojans a 17-point advantage, 66-49.
However, the Buffaloes outscored Little Rock 10-5 the next five minutes to get the lead back to 12 on Gordan's two made free-throws. The Trojans led 71-59 with 5:56 to play.
However, Little Rock rattled off a 9-0 run capped by two free-throws by Tuongthach Gatkek to notch a commanding 80-59 lead with 3:10 left. Little Rock led by as many as 23 points late in the game.
#24 ILLINOIS 112, EASTERN ILLINOIS 67
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Eastern Illinois held an 11-10 lead at the first media timeout on Monday night but the Panthers could not overcome No. 24 Illinois living at the free throw line as the Fighting Illini won the season opener over EIU 112-67.
Nakyel Shelton scored 16 points including a 3-pointer that gave EIU that 11-10 lead with 15:57 to play in the first half.
Illinois made 27 first half trips to the free throw line knocking down 23 for an 85 percent clip. They would finish the game shooting 74 percent from the line going 34-of-46.
In the second half Illinois turned to its outside shooting as they knocked down 11-of-24 from 3-point range going 16-of-42 during the game. Will Riley and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn had the big days from long range for Illinois combining for nine 3-pointers. Riley finished with 31 points, Gibbs-Lawhorn had 21 points.
EIU’s defense did force 13 Illinois turnovers in the game with EIU committing just eight.
It marked the third straight season EIU has opened the year playing at nationally ranked Illinois.
EIU had four players finish in double figures led by Shelton’s16 points. Artese Stapleton had 11 points, Obadiah Curtis ten and Zion Fruster ten for the Panthers.
DEPAUL 80, SOUTHERN INDIANA 78 (OT)
CHICAGO - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball battled valiantly for 45 minutes before falling in overtime to DePaul University, 80-78, Monday evening at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles start the year 0-1, while DePaul begins 2024-25, 1-0d.
DePaul started the scoring and built an 11-5 lead early before the Eagles exploded on an 11-0 run to take their first lead of the season 16-11. USI sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi led the way during the offensive surge with six of the 11 points, including a spectacular fast-break dunk off a pass from junior guard Sam Kodi.
Following USI's extension of the lead to six, 25-19, on a three-pointer by junior guard Damoni Harrison, the Blue Demons rallied on a 15-3 burst to retake the advantage, 34-28. DePaul would close the half with a bucket to lead 44-40 at the break. Harrison and junior guard Jayland Randall, who had USI's first bucket of the season, led the Eagles during the first 20 minutes with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
DePaul opened the second half by extending its lead to as many as nine points, 61-52, with 11:47 on the clock. The Eagles, however, were not done as they would chip away and close the gap to 68-66 with 3:45 to play in the contest.
Olowoniyi would put the Eagles out in front, 72-69, with back-to-back buckets and a free throw with 53 ticks left on the clock. USI would try to hold onto the three-point lead, but DePaul would knot the game at 74-74 with 1.6 seconds on the clock and force overtime.
In the extra time, both teams missed on the first four possessions combined before Randall gave the Eagles a quick lead, 76-74. DePaul responded by tying the score, 76-76, and grabbing the lead, 78-76, with 1:27 left. Randall knotted the game at 78-78 with his second bucket of overtime, but the Blue Demons took the lead for good, 80-78, on a pair of free throws with two seconds to play.
USI had one more chance, but misfired as the final buzzer sounded, 80-78.
In the loss, Olowoniyi led three Eagles in double-digits with 23 points and a team-high nine rebounds. The sophomore forward scored 23 points on 11-of-17 from the field and one-of-one from the stripe.
Randall followed with 22 points on a blistering nine-of-11 from the field, three-of-three from long range, and one of two from the stripe. Harrison closed out the double-digit scorers with 17 points on six-of-eight from the field, two-of-three from beyond the arc, and three-of-four from the line.
As a team, USI shot 50 percent from the field (31-62) and won the battle of the boards, 36-35..
BRADLEY 88, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 60
PEORIA, Ill. - BJ Ward scored a career-high 17 points and Southeast Missouri (0-1) dropped its season-opener to preseason Missouri Valley Conference favorite Bradley (1-0), 88-60, Monday night at Carver Arena.
Ward scored 14 of his points in the first half and surpassed his previous career-best of 13 vs. Tennessee Tech on Feb. 8, 2024.
His effort, however, wasn't enough against a hot shooting BU team that hit 55.6 percent (30-of-54) of its field goals and buried 10 three-pointers.
The Braves were on fire from the get-go making six of their first seven shots to grab an early 15-2 lead 4:17 into the contest. BU made its first five field goals with Darius Hannah and Christian Davis scoring five points each to key the stretch.
SEMO, meanwhile, missed four of its first five from the floor and turned the ball over twice out of the gate. Brendan Terry scored the Redhawks first points of the season on a layup with 18:38 remaining in the first half.
After the first media timeout, Ward entered the game and quickly knocked down a pair of 3-pointers to get SEMO within seven (15-8). Rob Martin's layup and another bucket by Ward cut the Braves' lead to single digits twice more.
BU pulled ahead by 19 with less than a minute to go before heading into the locker room with a 46-29 halftime advantage.
The Braves shot over 60 percent (60.7) from the field and made seven 3-pointers with nine different players getting into the scoring column in the first half alone.
Ward became SEMO's first double-digit scorer of the season getting 14 points in his first 11 minutes of action.
BU took its largest lead of the night at 79-50 on a dunk by Hannah with a little over three minutes left before polishing off its 28-point victory.
Ward shot finished at 7-of-10 from the field and 3-of-5 from long range. He also dished out one assist and had a team-high three steals.
Damarion Walkup followed with 11 points in 26 minutes off the bench in his SEMO debut.
SEMO shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57) for the night.
Christian Davis and Jaquan Johnson led the Braves with 15 points apiece, and Almar Atlason added 13 points and eight rebounds.
Preseason MVC Player of the Year Duke Deen was limited to seven points thanks largely in part to Martin's strong defense.
SEMO opened a basketball season on the road for the seventh-straight year and 18th time in 19 seasons. The Redhawks are now 13-21 all-time in season-opening games during their NCAA Division I era.
TENNESSEE STATE 96, FISK 66
NASHVILLE - Ronald Jessamy scored 23 points and Carlous Williams added 21 to lead the Tennessee State men's basketball over 615 HBCU foe Fisk, 96-66 in the season opener at the Gentry Center on Monday.
The Tigers (1-0) had five players score in double figures, led by Jessamy, who secured a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds. Williams added 21 points and seven rebounds and Justus Jackson chipped in as well with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.
The Tennessee State offense was very productive from deep, pouring in nine threes on 31 attempts. Jackson was the most prolific shooter for the Tigers, draining four treys in the contest.
The Tennessee State defense held Fisk shooters to only 38.6 percent from the field, including 23.3 percent from three-point range. The Tigers also kept Doyel Cockrill III to 2-of-12 shooting and four points in the game.
After jumping out to a 7-5 advantage, Tennessee State went on a 6-0 run with 17:39 left in the first half to increase its lead to 13-5. The Tigers then added nine points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 48-31 advantage. Tennessee State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 24 of its 48 points close to the basket.
The Tigers coasted to the win from there, increasing their margin of victory by outscoring the Bulldogs 48-35 in the second half. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 24 of its 48 points in the lane.
SIUE 95, WESTMINSTER 42
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball opened the 2024-25 season in dominating fashion, overwhelming Westminster 95-42 at First Community Arena.
The Cougars won their season opener for the 26th time.
While the game started well enough for the Cougars, SIUE built a commanding lead following a flagrant foul against a Westminster player, which resulted in ejection.
SIUE led 33-19 when the foul was committed with 4:53 to play in the first half. The Cougars ended the half on a 16-3 run to lead 49-22 at the break.
The Cougars then scored the first 18 points in the second half to extend that to a 34-3 run before Westminster scored another point. The first Blue Jays' bucket of the second half came with 12:38 to play, but by that point, the Cougars had a 42-point advantage.
SIUE swarmed the Blue Jays, forcing 32 Westminster turnovers and finishing the game with 18 steals. The Cougars turned those turnovers into 29 points while also dominating inside, scoring 60 points in the paint. SIUE recorded 22 assists and only 10 turnovers.
The Cougars got minutes from 14 players and 13 of them scored in the game. Ray'Sean Taylor led the way with 15 points and 10 rebounds for his fourth career double-double. He added six assists and five steals. Brian Taylor II also scored 15 points, setting a new career high. Jo Valrie and Eddiean Tirado each scored nine points off the bench. Darrion Baker and Jordan Hamilton each chipped in eight points. Ring Malith score seven points and grabbed seven rebounds.
SIUE's bench combined for 53 points and the Cougars outrebounded Westminster 49-32.
The Cougars shot 48 percent (39-82) from the field and knocked down six three-pointers.
Westminster was led by Kolton Garner's 15 points. He was 5-7 from three-point range.
OKLAHOMA 93, LINDENWOOD 60
NORMAN, Okla. - Lindenwood men's basketball (0-1, 0-0 OVC) suffered a 33-point loss on Monday to begin the season as Oklahoma (1-0, 0-0 SEC) defeated the Lions by a final score of 93-60. The Sooners held the Lions to 35.4% shooting from the field and 16.7% from three-point range.
"I thought we played hard and with a purpose for a long time tonight," said head coach Kyle Gerdeman. "Losing Reggie (Bass) for the second half made things a little harder, but I thought we had some guys gain some valuable experience in game one. We will learn a lot from this as we move forward on the season."
Freshman Jadis Jones showed why he is the reigning Missouri Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year after posting a double-double in his first career start. Jones shot 3-8 from the floor and 4-4 from the line on his way to 10 points. The true freshman also grabbed 10 rebounds including five on the offensive glass. He is the first Lion to post a double-double on opening night since Romelo Burrell during the 2021-22 season.
Milwaukee transfer Markeith Browning II attacked the rim all-night against OU leading the team in points with 14. Browning shot 7-18 from the floor while grabbing four boards. Reggie Bass and Anias Futrell both scored seven while Colin Ruffin added five points, three rebounds and two assists.
Oklahoma shot 52.3% from the field on Monday evening while draining 14 threes. The Sooners only averaged 7.5 made threes a season ago as they shot 41.2% from behind the arc. Jalon Moore led the way for OU after scoring 22 points while grabbing seven rebounds. Sam Godwin also had 11 points and 15 rebounds for Oklahoma.
Browning got the scoring underway with the first bucket of the season just over a minute in. Oklahoma would then go on a 9-0 run to open up an early seven-point lead. Jordan Wildy got in the scoring column from long range as he cashed in a three to cut the lead to 9-7. Wildy had one of LU's four triples.
With 10:59 remaining in the first half, Oklahoma would open up an 11 point lead after Godwin scored on a fast break dunk off a missed layup by Nathan Johnson Jr. The Sooners would go on a 15-3 run to open up a 23-point lead with 6:08 remaining (the largest lead of the first half).
The Lions responded going on an 11-0 run which included five points from Bass. Jones ended the half for Lindenwood with a jumper to cut the lead to 43-29. Going into the break, Jones had six points and seven rebounds while Bass added seven points.
Oklahoma came out of halftime draining four triples as the increased their lead to 21 points with 15:22 left on the clock. Duke Miles for the Sooners shot lights out in the second half cashing in on 12 points with four triples.
Although Lindenwood was more efficient from the field in the second half (43.0% FG), Oklahoma's offense was too much as they shot 18-29 from the field in the final 20 minutes including nine threes.
Both teams were even on the offensive glass with Lindenwood and Oklahoma pulling down 11 offensive boards each. OU won the rebounding battle overall with 43 to just 31 by the Lions. The Sooners scored 29 points on fast break opportunities to just six by Lindenwood.
Lindenwood's bench scored 17 points including five each from Wildy and Ruffin. The Lions' defense forced the Sooners into 12 turnovers resulting in 14 points. Futrell also led the team in blocks with two.