THURSDAY'S SCORES
Morehead State 68, @Tennessee State 49
UT Martin 76, @Eastern Illinois 59
Western Illinois 79, @Lindenwood 70
@SIUE 68, Little Rock 66
Southern Indiana 74, @Tennessee Tech 71
MOREHEAD STATE 68, TENNESSEE STATE 49
NASHVILLE - Jordan Lathon totaled 22 points and Riley Minix added 20 as the Morehead State men's basketball team defeated the Tennessee State Tigers 68-49 on the road Thursday.
The Eagles (17-5, 8-1 OVC) were led by Lathon, who also had his fourth career double-double with 10 rebounds. Minix's 20-point effort was the eighth time he has reached 20 this season. He added seven rebounds, and Drew Thelwell provided seven assists and a career-high five steals.
With the win, head coach Preston Spradlin moved into sole possession of third place in coaching wins for the men's basketball program - now with 131. He passed former great Wayne Martin.
Morehead State out-rebounded Tennessee State 35-24 in Thursday's game, led by Lathon's 10 boards. The Eagles also limited TSU to just three offensive boards - a season best for opponent rebounds on the offensive glass. TSU had only two second-chance points.
Morehead State's defense held Tennessee State to only 15 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 40 percent overall from the field. The Eagles finished at 50 percent from the field for the 11th time this year, as MSU has won 30 consecutive games when it shoots 50 percent or better.
Jason Jitobah's 12 points led the Tigers.
After falling behind 11-10, Morehead State went on a 7-0 run with 11:15 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Lathon, to take a 17-11 lead. The Eagles then added seven points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 35-22 advantage. Morehead State did most of its first half damage in the paint, scoring 20 of its 35 points close to the basket.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 6-0 run to grow the lead to 58-39 with 5:40 to go in the contest. The Eagles held onto that lead for the rest of the game for the 68-49 win.
UT MARTIN 76, EASTERN ILLINOIS 59
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Jordan Sears led four University of Tennessee at Martin players in double figures scoring this evening as the Skyhawk men’s basketball squad extended their winning streak out to three games courtesy of a 76-59 victory at Eastern Illinois.
Sears tallied a stat line of 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of playing time, doing most of his damage from the charity stripe (11-of-13). Desmond Williams came up big with 19 points – his most in 52 career games in a UT Martin uniform – behind five treys while also pulling down six rebounds.
Jacob Crews (12 points, 16 rebounds) corralled his sixth double-double of the season while KK Curry provided 10 points for the Skyhawks (13-9, 6-3 Ohio Valley Conference). Reigning OVC Player of the Week Issa Muhammad (eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals) additionally helped UT Martin to its second win in Groniger Arena in the last nine visits.
The Panthers (10-12, 4-5 OVC) were led by Tiger Booker, who scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. Corey Sawyer, Jr. also tacked on 10 points but Eastern Illinois was held to 27.3 percent shooting (9-of-33) – including an 0-for-13 effort from three-point range – in the second half. Overall, the Panthers shot 34.3 percent with a 5-of-26 performance (19.2 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.
UT Martin scored the first eight points of the game, capped off with Williams three-pointers from the right wing on back-to-back possessions. A fast break layup by Williams at the 16:09 mark forced Eastern Illinois to burn its first timeout of the contest.
Muhammad scored back-to-back buckets before a pair of Jordan Sears free throws with 12:40 remaining in the first half extended the Skyhawk lead out to double figures (20-9).
Following a David Kamwanga hook shot with 9:20 to go before the halftime break, the Panthers scored 19 of the next 21 points over a 7:14 stretch – flipping a nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
Sears then scored five consecutive UT Martin points before a Crews tip-in pulled the Skyhawks back within two points (35-33). Eastern Illinois was able to score on its final possession of the half, taking a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
Sears’ nine points led UT Martin in the opening 20 minutes while Muhammad and Williams followed closely behind with eight points apiece. Booker tallied 20 points to lead the Panthers in the first half.
Williams once again had the hot hand early in the second half for the Skyhawks, swishing a pair of three-pointers in a 33-second span to give UT Martin a 41-39 edge with a little over 18 minutes to play.
Moments later, the Skyhawks went on a 9-2 surge which was wrapped up with a Sears three-ball that made the score 50-43 in favor of UT Martin. Sears accounted for 11 of 17 Skyhawk points during one stretch, eventually helping UT Martin go back on top by double figures with 7:27 to go.
The Skyhawks soon posted a 14-4 run to lead by as many as 19 points (74-55) with 2:07 remaining. Williams scored the first five points while Sears also chipped in five of the last seven points during the spurt that officially iced the victory.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 79, LINDENWOOD 70
ST. CHARLES, Mo - With the defense taking the majority of the headlines this season, Thursday it was the offense's turn as the Leathernecks topped Lindenwood 79-71 to improve to 14-8 overall and 7-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play. The Leathernecks also improved to 5-1 on the road in the OVC.
Western Illinois went 28-49 (57.1 percent) from the field and 11-16 from three (68.8 percent), holding on to second place in the OVC. The 79 points are the most WIU has scored since dropping 92 on Eureka College on December 18.
The Leathernecks had it cooking in the first half, scoring a first-half high 48 points to lead 48-38 at the break. Western Illinois was on fire in the opening half, going 18-26 from the field (69.2 percent) and 8-10 (80 percent) from three.
JJ Kalakon (career-high 25 points) and Ryan Myers (21 points) led the way, going 16-21 from the field and 10-12 from three combined. Jesiah West also had a big night, adding 12 points. While West had a big night scoring, his big moments came on the defensive end as he blocked four shots in the game's final four minutes.
Drew Cisse contributed eight points, nine rebounds, and four assists. James Dent Jr. added seven points.
Lindenwood was able to hang around in part to a good shooting night. The Lions kept pace, especially in the first half. Lindenwood went 17-30 (56.7 percent) in the first half. The Leathernecks adapted in the second half, holding the Lions to 11-32 (34.4 percent) from the field after the break.
With the offenses of both squads clicking in the opening 20 minutes, it was Western Illinois' defense that made the statement early in the second half.
The Leathernecks opened the second half, pushing the lead to 14 in the first three minutes. From there, WIU kept Lindenwood at a distance, never allowing the Lions to get within seven until the final 1:11.
But Lindenwood refused to go away, cutting the deficit to three in the final :40, 74-71. Western Illinois closed the door for good from the line as Dent Jr., Quinlan Bennet, and Cisse hit five straight free throws.
The game is the 16th straight contest WIU has held an opponent to 71 points or fewer. The Leathernecks are 12-4 in those games.
SIUE 68, LITTLE ROCK 66
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill - SIUE men's basketball used a late three-pointer by Shamar Wright to knock off Little Rock, 68-66, Thursday night at First Community Arena.
The Cougars have now won five of their last six games and improve 13-9 overall and 6-3 against Ohio Valley Conference opponents. SIUE also improves to 10-1 at home.
SIUE's Demarco Minor led the game in scoring with 17 points on 6-15 from the field and was a perfect 4-4 at the free-throw line. Minor also led the Cougars' rebounding efforts with seven while adding six assists.
SIUE also received a big contribution from Shamar Wright, who finished the contest with 15 points. He went 4-10 from the field while going 1-2 from three-point range.
Little Rock took the advantage early in the first half on a Jamir Chaplin dunk and ran with the lead. The Trojans grew their first half upper hand to eight midway through the second half on a Bradley Douglas three-pointer.
The Cougars took the lead with 30 seconds remaining in the first half on two made free throws from Demarco Minor. A late three-pointer by KK Robinson gave control back to Little Rock entering the locker room.
SIUE trailed by nine with 6:36 remaining in the contest, but the Cougars had one final rally in them. Desmond Polk made back-to-back three-pointers late in the second half to tie the game at 64-64.
"I've got guys surrounding me who have belief and faith in me," Desmond Polk said.
The Cougars found themselves down two with 15 second to go when Shamar Wright connected on a go-ahead three-pointer. SIUE forced a late turnover to hold onto an emotional victory.
SIUE shot 22-57 from the field and 7-21 from beyond the arc. The Cougars also went 17-21 at the free throw line, compared to Little Rocks' 1-2.
The Cougars' defense forced 21 turnovers and cashed in 17 points off Little Rock's miscues.
SOUTHERN INDIANA 74, TENNESSEE TECH 71
COOKVILLE, Tenn. - University of Southern Indiana Men's Basketball snapped a five-game losing streaking by making 11-of-11 free throws down the stretch to defeat Tennessee Tech University, 74-71, Thursday evening in Cookeville, Tennessee. The Screaming Eagles rise to 6-16 overall and 3-6 in OVC play, while the Golden Eagles are 7-15 overall, 2-7 OVC.
The Screaming Eagles controlled much of the opening 20 minutes and were in front at the intermission, 35-32. USI led by as many as 12 points, 34-22, with 3:47 remaining in the half after a 16-8 run. Sophomore guard Ryan Hall (Kettering, Ohio) and junior guard Jeremiah Hernandez (Chicago, Illinois) led USI during the run with six points and five points, respectively.
TTU, however, cut into the USI advantage with an 8-1 run in the final minutes of the half to shrink the margin to three.
The second half saw the Screaming Eagles re-extend the lead to seven points twice (43-36 and 45-38) on back-to-back points in the paint by junior forward Nick Hittle (Indianapolis, Indiana). The Golden Eagles would rally and jumped back into the lead with a three-pointer to make the score 51-50 with 10:14 to play.
The next eight minutes would see the lead bounce back and forth until Hernandez connected on all three of a three-shot foul to give USI the lead for good, 66-65, with 2:26 to play. Hernandez would convert twice more to increase the lead to 68-65 with two more charity shots with 1:55 on the clock.
After TTU cut the USI advantage to one, 68-67, with two free throws of its own, Hall continued USI's lead protection with two more free throws for a 70-67 lead with 27 ticks left. Sophomore guard Jack Campion (Milton, Wisconsin) and Hittle sealed the victory with four more free throw conversions in the final seconds to hold off the Golden Eagles, 74-71.
Overall, USI was 11-of-11 from the line down the stretch and 19-24 overall in the game. The Screaming Eagles also shot over 50 percent from the field for the game for the first time since November (51.1 percent, 23-45).
Individually, Hernandez led all USI scorers with 19 points before fouling out in the second half. The junior guard was five-of-11 from the field, including a three-point field goal, and eight-of-10 from the stripe.
USI sophomore guard/forward AJ Smith (Edwardsville, Illinois) followed with 13 points and grabbed a team-best 10 rebounds. The double-double was Smith's team-high ninth of the season.
Hittle was third on the team in the scoring column with 12 points (one short of tying a career-high) on a blistering six-of-seven from field and two-of-two from the line. Junior forward Jack Mielke (Downers Grove, Illinois) was close behind with 11 points on a perfect four-of-four from the field and three-of-three from beyond the arc.
Campion rounded out the five USI double-figure scorers with 10 points. The sophomore guard also dished a career-high tying eight assists.