SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 89, Johnson University 58
@South Dakota 89,
Western Illinois 66
@Lindenwood 81, IU Indy 63
@Eastern Kentucky 81,
Eastern Illinois 66
TENNESSEE STATE 89, JOHNSON UNIVERSITY 58
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team got a 30-point performance from the bench on the way to an 89-58 victory against the Johnson (TN) Royals at home Saturday.
The Tigers (4-7) had three players score in double figures, led by Brandon Weston, who had 22 points and two steals. Antoine Lorick III tacked on 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks off of the bench and Aaron Nkrumah helped out with 15 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals.
The Tennessee State offense was impressive from three-point land, making eight threes on 22 attempts. Travis Harper II hit three treys for the Tigers in the contest.
The Tennessee State defense caused its share of mistakes in Saturday's game, forcing 19 Johnson (PA) turnovers while committing 12. Those takeaways turned into 28 points on the offensive end of the floor. Lorick III's four steals led the way individually for the Tigers.
After jumping out to an 18-10 advantage, Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run with 12:41 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Travis Harper Ii, to increase its lead to 26-10. The Tigers then added one point to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 47-30 advantage. Tennessee State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 28 of its 47 points close to the basket.
Following intermission, Tennessee State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 77-56 before going on a 9-0 run to grow the lead to 86-56 with 2:58 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 89-58 win. Tennessee State capitalized on seven Johnson (PA) turnovers in the period, collecting 11 points off those turnovers.
SOUTH DAKOTA 89, WESTERN ILLINOIS 66
VERMILLION, S.D. - Western Illinois fell on the road to South Dakota 89-66 to wrap up their non-conference schedule. The Leathernecks fall to 6-5 overall on the season.
After allowing 53 points in the first half, Western Illinois's defense battled in the second half, allowing only 36 Coyote points. Offensively, the Leathernecks shot 40% from the field and 60% from the three-point arc in the second half.
Marko Maletic was a bright spot for Western Illinois, leading the team with 24 points, including an impressive 6-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc. Julius Rollins added 13 points and demonstrated his versatility with consistent contributions on both ends of the court. Sean Smith chipped in 11 points, showing efficiency with a 5-of-9 performance from the field. Tay Knox was active on the boards, pulling down a team-high nine rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
LINDENWOOD 81, IU INDY 63
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Lindenwood men's basketball (5-6, 0-0 OVC) picked up one final non-conference victory over IU Indy (5-8, 1-2 HL) on Saturday by a final score of 81-63. The Lions had three double-digit scorers in the win and close out the non-conference with a 5-6 record before entering Ohio Valley Conference play next week.
Jaylon McDaniel had a break-out game for Lindenwood scoring a career-high 22 points. It marked the first time in his career at Lindenwood that he has scored over 20 points. McDaniel shot 9-12 from the floor while going 4-6 at the foul line. Lindenwood had 44 points in the paint on Saturday compared to just four by the Jaguars.
The Lions assisted on 17 of their 30 made field-goals in the win including six from Reggie Bass. Bass ended the night with 14-points, his third straight game in double-figures, and added a season-high seven rebounds and six assists. Bass shot 3-6 from the floor including two threes and went 6-7 at the line.
Markeith Browning II also added five of Lindenwood's 17 assists. The graduate student was second on the team in points with 18 after shooting 8-19 from the floor and added another seven rebounds. Browning also led the team in steals with three. The Lions caused 12 turnovers against IU Indy which resulted in 21 points. LU also outscored the Jaguars in second chance points (11) and fast break points with 23.
Freshman duo Jadis Jones and Clayton Jackson each helped the Lions to their fifth win of the season. Jones led the team with nine rebounds including four on the offensive glass. LU out-rebounded IU Indy 40-25. Jackson was solid at the point guard position scoring seven points and adding three rebounds. Nathan Johnson Jr. off the bench also added eight points including two threes.
It was a close game to start as the Lions led 9-8 at the 15-13 mark. McDaniel had four early points in the game while Browning added five. The Lions started the game shooting 4-8 (50.0% FG) from the floor while the Jaguars were 3-6.
Lindenwood would then go on a 5-0 to open up the lead to 14-8. IU Indy came out of the media timeout with a 6-0 run of their own to tie the game at 14, but a Johnson Jr. tip stopped the scoring run. LU took a 19-14 lead with under 10 to play after Browning's lone three of the game.
Jackson nailed a three with 7:10 remaining in the first half to open up a nine-point lead (28-19). After a small run by the Jaguars, Lindenwood went into the locker room up 39-29. LU shot 41.2% from the floor including 5-13 from three. The Lions' defense held IU Indy to 6-15 shoot from three as the Jaguars entered the game ranking 21st nationally with 10.5 made threes a game.
To start the second half, Lindenwood was a perfect 6-6 from the floor as they opened up a 51-35 lead. McDaniel scored 10 straight points before IU Indy called a timeout. With 13:04 remaining, the Jaguars cut the lead to eight points after a three by Jarvis Walker.
Lindenwood's offense led by Browning and Bass down the stretch provided a spark to push the lead past 20 points with under two minutes to play. The duo guard had six and eight points respectively in the second half while McDaniel had 18 points in the final 20 minutes. Lindenwood shot 61.5% in the second half including a perfect 7-7 from the foul line.
EASTERN KENTUCKY 81, EASTERN ILLINOIS 66
BEREA, Ky.– Eastern Kentucky forced Eastern Illinois turnovers and converted several of those into 3-pointers as the Colonels beat the Panthers 81-66 on Saturday night in a match-up of former conference rivals.
EKU improved to 6-5 while EIU fell to 3-7.
EKU broke open a close game midway through the first half with an 11-0 run using 13 EIU first half turnovers that were converted into 16 first half points. A jumper by Kooper Jacobi snapped the Colonels run. Jacobi finished with his third double-double of the season for EIU with ten points and 13 rebounds.
EKU led 39-28 at the break led by George Kimball III with 13 of his 18 points in the opening half.
In the second half EKU was able to convert on several transition 3-pointers knocking down eight straight shots and six straight 3-pointers to stretch the lead out to 73-41 with 8:25 to play.
EKU was 17-of-38 from 3-point range in the game with Jackson Holt going 5-of-10 to finish with 17 points.
The Panthers closed the game on a 10-0 run with Nakyel Shelton leading EIU with 22 points. Obadiah Curtis provided a lift off the bench with 12 points.