SUNDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 86, Kentucky Christian 63
@Southern Indiana 91, Shawnee State 56
@SIUE 100, Eureka College 52
UIC 77,
@Little Rock 69 (OT)
@Southeast Missouri 93, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods 56
@UT Martin 123, Champion Christian 56
MOREHEAD STATE, KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Morehead State Men's Basketball junior guard Steven Clay scored all 16 of his season-high points in the second half, and the Eagles used a hefty scoring advantage in the final 20 minutes to pull away and defeat Kentucky Christian 86-63 Sunday afternoon at Johnson Arena.
The Eagles (4-6) outscored the Knights 52-37 in the final half and shot 50 percent. MSU managed to hit 46 percent for the game and had 20 assists and six blocked shots. Clay, whose previous season high was just four, hit five of eight total shots and a trio of three-pointers to account for his team-high points. Point guard Jalen Breazeale also dotted double figures as he cashed in 10 points.
In a game where 11 players saw action, the Eagles got 50 of their 86 points from the non-starters. The Eagles also had a stout 46-22 advantage in points scored in the paint and dominated the rebounding effort, leading 49-25. Trent Scott led on the boards with a career-high 11, while Kade Ruegsegger pulled in eight. MSU grabbed 19 of its rebounds off the offensive glass. The six rejections was also a season team-best, including a career-high four by George Marshall.
Jayden Loydd led KCU with 15 points.
Although the Knights never led in the game, the Eagles had a tough tie keeping them at bay in the first 20 minutes. KCU tied the game 17-all once and never trailed by double digits. At the half, MSU finally found a little separation, leading 34-26.
MSU finally distanced itself at the start of the final half. MSU Led 36-33 with 17:41 remaining but an 11-0 run sparked the runaway. At 8:34 the home team was on top by 24 (69-45) following two Jerone Morton free throws. The biggest lead came at 86-61 in the final minute after Morton's triple.
Clay scored 11 of his 16 points during a three-minute span from the 15 to 12 mark in that half.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 91, SHAWNEE STATE 56
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball returned to .500 on the season with an impressive 91-56 victory over Shawnee State University Sunday afternoon at Liberty Arena. The Screaming Eagles are 5-5 overall this season, while the Bears are 3-6.
USI was slow out of the gate with Shawnee State jumping out to a 9-2 lead with two-and-a-half minutes gone in the game. The Eagles quickly erased the deficit with a 22-5 run to pull in front, 24-14, with 8:14 left in the half. Junior guards Jayland Randall and Braxton Jones had a combined 14 of 22 points to lead USI's surge with seven points each.
The Eagles would lead by as many as 18 points during the opening 20 minutes, 40-22, before settling for the 40-25 halftime advantage. Sophomore forward Stephen Olowoniyi was the first Eagle to reach double-digits in the game with 10 points, while Randall added nine in the opening half.
The second half saw USI expand its margin, growing the lead to as many as 37 points, 91-54, with a minute to play in the contest. The Eagles won the second half by an impressive 20 points, 51-31, and by shooting 55.9 percent (19-34) from the field.
USI ended the game with four in double-digits, led by the 18-point performance of Olowoniyi. The sophomore forward was eight-of-12 from the field and two-of-seven from the stripe, while grabbing a team-high seven rebounds.
Eagles' junior guard Damoni Harrison followed with 17 points on a blistering seven-of-eight from the field, two-of-two from downtown, and one-of-one from the line. Randall and Jones rounded out the double-digit scorers with 13 points each.
SIUE 100, EUREKA COLLEGE 52
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball closed out its nonconference schedule in style, blitzing Division III Eureka 100-52 Sunday afternoon at First Community Arena.
The Cougars (7-4) knocked down a school record 17 three-pointers while connecting on a season-high 55 percent (36-65) of their shots overall.
SIUE reached 100 points for the first time since December 2014.
Four SIUE players scored in double figures, led by Ray'Sean Taylor who scored 18 points on six three-pointers, all in the first half. Jordan Pickett scored a career-high 17 points. He was 4-7 overall and 3-6 from three-point range. Ring Malith turned in his fourth consecutive double-digit scoring game with 16 points. Cham Okey recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Both totals were career bests for Okey.
Desmond Polk scored nine points and Brian Taylor II added eight points. Kyle Thomas made his season debut for the Cougars contributing six points and two blocks in just over nine minutes. Jorda Hamilton also added six points. In all, 10 of 13 players who saw time for the Cougars scored. All 13 players scored, added a rebound or an assist.
The Cougars used a 12-0 scoring run in the first half punctuated by Ray'Sean Taylor three-pointer to go up 30-13 with 7:37 to play in the first half. SIUE finished off the first half with six straight points, including a three-pointer from Okey to lead 50-28.
The second half opened with a 19-4 run by the Cougars to extend the lead to 37 (69-32) points after a layup from Polk with 14:26 to play.
SIUE limited Eureka to just 24 second half points. SIUE outrebounded the Red Devils 41-34 and scored 36 points in the paint to just 16 by Eureka.
The Cougars racked up 21 assists, one shy of their season high, while turning the ball over a season-low eight times.
Raymond Bandzoumouna scored 10 points to lead Eureka, which connected on 18-59 (31 percent) of its total shots. The Red Devils were 8-30 (27 percent) from three-point range.
UIC 77, LITTLE ROCK 69 (OT)
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The Trojans' three-game winning streak came to an end Sunday with a 77-69 overtime loss to UIC at the Jack Stephens Center.
Little Rock led by six with just over a minute to play but couldn't hold the lead as the Flames' Javon Jackson hit three free throws with .2 seconds left to tie the game at 64 and send it to overtime.
Little Rock tied the game on a Mwani Wilkinson free throw with 3:38 left in the extra session. However, the Flames took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Filip Skobalji, and the Trojans couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.
Johnathan Lawson led all scorers with 25 points. He also chipped in 8 rebounds and 2 assists. Isaiah Lewis added 11 points and Tuongthac Gatkek scored 10 points and snagged 10 rebounds.
Skobalji and Sasa Ciani led UIC with 15 points apiece.
SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 93, SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS 56
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - Brendan Terry scored a game-high 17 points to lead five players in double figures as Southeast Missouri (4-6) blew out St. Mary of the Woods, 93-56, Sunday afternoon at the Show Me Center.
SEMO never trailed on its way to ending a two-game losing streak and picking up its third home victory of the season.
The Redhawks built a 10-point lead in the first 3:57 of the contest and never let up.
Terry got SEMO going with a dunk on its first possession and Teddy Washington, Jr. added five points before Rob Martin made two free throws to put the Redhawks ahead, 15-5, with 16:07 remaining in the first half.
A 7-0 run later widened the Redhawks margin to 32-16 capped by Terry's second-chance layup with 8:08 left to play.
Troy Cole, Jr.'s dunk then gave SEMO a 48-28 lead at the half.
SEMO scored its most points in a first half of basketball this year. The 20-point lead also marked the Redhawks largest first-half advantage through 10 games.
Martin's first 3-pointer in the game from the left corner gave the Redhawks a 30-point lead at 73-43 with 9:30 to go. That shot came during a 16-3 run in a span of 3:36.
Mason Hanback's basket off a pass from BJ Ward gave SEMO a 93-53 lead, its largest of the day.
SEMO's 93 points matched a season-high. The Redhawks dominated the Pomeroys, 58-20, in the paint and received a 41-point lift from their bench. Additionally, SEMO outrebounded SMWC, 47-27.
Terry was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field en route to his season-high. He also had four rebounds. Cole, Jr. followed with 14 points, while Martin added 13, Washington, Jr. contributed 12 and Braxton Stacker pitched in 11. Martin led SEMO with a career-high seven boards and Washington, Jr. paved the way with seven assists.
UT MARTIN 123, CHAMPION CHRISTIAN 56
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad shattered a pair of single-game school records today, scoring the first 19 points and not looking back in a 123-56 rout over Champion Christian at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The Skyhawks knocked down 19 three-pointers – two more than their previous record of 17 against Bethel on Dec. 13, 2022 – on 42 tries for a scorching 45.2 percent shooting effort from downtown. UT Martin also corralled 73 rebounds on the day, breaking the previous mark of 68 set against Troy on Feb. 24, 1979 and Union on Feb. 19, 1974.
For the second straight game, Tarence Guinyard scored a career-best 31 points as the junior guard also added career-highs of eight rebounds and five assists in only 22 minutes of playing time.
The Skyhawk trio of Vladimer Salaridze (12 points, 13 rebounds, career-highs of four assists, four steals and two blocks), Filip Radakovic (career-bests across the board of 13 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals in his first start) and Lamine Niang (career-highs of 14 points and 12 rebounds) each posted double-doubles.
Josué Grullon tossed in all of his 23 points in the first half, canning seven treys while tacking on eight rebounds, four assists and two blocks in 21 minutes. Matija Žužic swished five 3-pointers on the way to 17 points, seven rebounds and five assists to complete the double-digit scorers for UT Martin, who improved to 4-7 overall. Afan Trnka dished out a career-best eight assists as the Skyhawks shot 52.9 percent (45-of-85) while flirting with the program’s all-time single-game scoring record of 129 points.
A National Collegiate Christian Association program out of Hot Springs, Ark., Champion Christian (5-2) was led by Noah Brooks’ 14 points. Adrian Brown also contributed 11 points but the stifling UT Martin defense limited the Tigers to 22.9 percent shooting overall (16-for-70) and 7-of-38 from three-point land (18.4 percent).
UT Martin did not allow a point until the 14:36 mark of the first half, already taking a 19-point lead in the process. A pair of Salaridze free throws with 8:44 to go before the halftime break extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 39-9.
Grullon scored 11 consecutive UT Martin points during one stretch before a Guinyard coast-to-coast fast break layup just before the halftime buzzer gave the Skyhawks a 68-29 lead. Guinyard (8-of-9 shooting) and Grullon (8-for-12) were both responsible for 23 points apiece in the opening 20 minutes. Brown’s nine points led Champion Christian in the first half.
A Niang fast break dunk at the 13:03 mark pushed UT Martin’s lead to 50 points as the Skyhawks soon hit the century mark on a Salaridze free throw with 9:27 remaining. UT Martin’s biggest lead of the afternoon came after Lucas Williams stroked the Skyhawks’ final trifecta of the day – ballooning UT Martin’s advantage to 74 points with 4:55 left to play.