THURSDAY'S SCORES
Little Rock 83, @Southeast Missouri 61
UT Martin 106, @Lindenwood 82
@Tennessee State 78, Eastern Illinois 73
Morehead State 78, @Western Illinois 57
SIUE 78, @Tennessee Tech 77
LITTLE ROCK 83, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 61
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. - The Little Rock Men's Basketball team continued their Ohio Valley Conference winning streak with a 83-61 victory at Southeast Missouri on Thursday. The Trojans had five players in double-figures, with two recording double-doubles for the second time this season.
Jamir Chaplin recorded his fourth double-double of the season with team highs of 19 points and 11 rebounds, while Makhel Mitchell recorded his second-straight double-double of the season with 17 points and ten rebounds. KK Robinson contributed 15 points, six rebounds, and led the team in assists with five.
Jaylen Crocker-Johnson knocked down 13 points, and DeAntoni Gordon knocked down ten points.
The Trojans (17-11, 11-4 OVC) out rebounded the Redhawks (8-20, 3-12 OVC) 41-23 and outscored the home team 50-30 in the paint. Little Rock also capitalized on second chance points 16-7 and points from the bench 21-17.
SEMO opened the half with a jumper before Gordon knocked down a three-pointer to spark a 13-2 run to take the advantage with 14:47 left.
After a three-pointer by the Redhawks, Little Rock scored four-straight points on a jumper by Chapllin and a dunk by Mitchell from Bradley Douglas for the 17-7 lead.
Both teams shot free throws with SEMO going 6-of-6 and Mitchell going 2-of-2, before Mitchell scored on a layup with the dish from Douglas for the 21-13 lead.
Over the next three minutes, Little Rock was led by both Chaplin and Mitchell who each knocked down four points to maintain the 29-21 advantage.
With 2:10 remaining, the Trojans extended their lead 43-27 on a three-point play by Crocker-Johnson. SEMO answered back going 6-2 over the final minutes to bring the half time lead for Little Rock to 45-33.
SEMO opened the second half with two free throws, before the Trojans answer back on a layup by Chaplin. Both teams knocked down points, before a three-pointer by Robinson brought the Little Rock lead to 52-37.
After a Redhawk jumper at the 17:29 mark, a jumper by Robinson sparked seven-straight points by the Trojans including a three-point play by Mitchell for the 61-39 lead.
Little Rock controlled the remaining of the game winning 83-61.
UT MARTIN 106, LINDENWOOD 82
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - A near triple-double by University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball star Jordan Sears highlighted the Skyhawks’ 106-82 Ohio Valley Conference triumph at Lindenwood this evening.
Sears went off for career-highs across the board, finishing his night with 37 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. He also knocked down a career-best seven treys (in 11 tries) as part of an 11-for-18 shooting effort while also swishing all eight of his free throw attempts. His scoring performance was the eighth-best point total in UT Martin’s NCAA Division I Era (since 1992) as the junior out of Daytona Beach, Fla. moved into second place for most 30-plus point games (seven) in the school’s Division I history.
The Skyhawks’ 106 points tonight tied the program’s previous high score for an OVC contest (also accomplishing that feat in a home win over Tennessee State on Jan. 11, 2003). UT Martin shot 63.9 percent (39-for-61) from the field – the best mark for the program in an OVC outing since connecting on 67.2 percent (41-of-61) in the same 2003 game against Tennessee State.
Jacob Crews pulled down his eighth double-double of the season with 28 points (on 9-of-14 shooting) and 12 rebounds, adding two steals and two blocks. Issa Muhammad tallied 10 points with eight boards while KK Curry (nine points), Sebastian Mendoza (nine) and Koby Jeffries (eight) provided solid scoring punch for the Skyhawks, who shot 63.9 percent (39-for-61) from the field. That included a sizzling 71.4 percent (20-of-28) effort in the second half as UT Martin generated 59 points over the final 20 minutes.
The victory tonight improved the Skyhawks to 18-10 overall and tied the 2007-08 squad for the second-most OVC victories (11) in school history. It also equaled the program record for most OVC road wins in a single season (six – tied with the 2008-09 and 2007-08 teams).
The Lions (8-20, 2-13) placed five scorers in double figures, led by Keenon Cole’s 17 points. He was followed by Darius Beane (13), Jeremiah Talton (12), Colin Ruffin (11) and Jaylon McDaniel (10).
Curry scored four of the Skyhawks’ first six points of the game but the Lions began the game making eight of their first 13 field goal attempts, taking a 20-14 lead a little over six minutes in.
UT Martin forced misses on Lindenwood’s next six shots, allowing the Skyhawks to go on a 10-0 run. Crews accounted for the first four points of the run before Jeffries added four himself – giving UT Martin a 26-21 edge with a floater in the lane midway through the opening half.
The Lions came back to briefly take a two-point lead with six minutes remaining before the break but Sears soon caught fire. He collected 14 points in a span of 4:28 – including four treys – to help the Skyhawks claim a 47-40 lead at the half.
Sears’ 18 points topped all scorers while Cole had 14 points to guide Lindenwood.
After the Lions got within four points early in the second half, Crews and Sears drilled three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to extend UT Martin’s advantage to 54-44 with 17:54 remaining.
The Skyhawk lead grew to 16 points (66-50) when Curry converted a contested fast break layup at the 13:30 mark. Lindenwood would not get any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.
A Mendoza bucket inside opened up a 21-point lead (82-61) for UT Martin with 8:25 to go. Williams knocked down a three-pointer to wrap up the scoring and give the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the evening (24 points).
TENNESSEE STATE 78, EASTERN ILLINOIS 73
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team went into the half tied with Eastern Illinois 35-35, but took control in the second half to knock off the Panthers 78-73 at home Thursday.
The Tigers (16-12, 9-6) had three players score in double figures, led by Ej Bellinger, who had 18 points and six rebounds. Jaylen Jones added 16 points and five assists off the bench and Jason Jitoboh chipped in as well with 12 points, six rebounds, and four blocks.
The Tennessee State defense held Eastern Illinois shooters to only 39.7 percent from the field. The Tigers also kept Corey Sawyer Jr to 3-of-13 shooting in the game.
After falling behind 5-4, Tennessee State went on a 7-0 run with 15:21 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Justin Williams, to take an 11-5 lead. Eastern Illinois then responded to tie things up at 35-35 heading into halftime. Tennessee State got the job done in the paint in the first half, scoring 20 of its 35 points close to the basket.
Eastern Illinois then snagged a 42-37 advantage before Tennessee State responded by going on an 8-0 run, finished off by Jones' jumper, to seize a 45-42 lead with 14:58 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept expanding the margin and coasted the rest of the way for the 78-73 win. Tennessee State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 16 of its 43 total points.
MOREHEAD STATE 78, WESTERN ILLINOIS 57
MACOMB, Ill. - Riley Minix totaled 30 points and Jordan Lathon added 25 as the Morehead State men's basketball team halted a three-game losing skid with an emphatic 78-57 win on the road over the Western Illinois Leathernecks Thursday.
Minix and Lathon's stellar scoring performances led the Eagles (21-8, 12-4 OVC) in the contest. Minix tacked on 15 rebounds for his OVC best 16th double-double and seventh straight game with double digit points and boards. Dieonte Miles also helped out with six points and six rebounds.
Lathon now has 11 20+ point games this year, while Minix dotted 30+ for the third time this season.
MSU kept its hold on first place in the OVC.
Minix pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead the Morehead State offense which grabbed 18 boards and turned them into 23 second-chance points. The Eagles easily won the battle of the top two rebounding margin teams in the OVC, 53-30.
Morehead State's defense held Western Illinois to only 31 percent shooting from the field.
After jumping out to a 6-3 advantage, Morehead State went on an 8-0 run with 14:20 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Lathon, to increase its lead to 14-3. The Eagles then added two points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 37-24 advantage. Morehead State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down six shots to account for 18 of its 37 points.
Morehead State kept its lead intact before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Eddie Ricks III's jumper, to grow the lead to 59-39 with 9:06 to go in the contest. The Eagles kept expanding the margin and eventually led by as much as 24 (73-49). MSU coasted the rest of the way for the 78-57 win. Morehead State made the most of nine offensive rebounds to tack on 14 second-chance points out of 41 total in the period.
SIUE 78, TENNESSEE TECH 77
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - SIUE men's basketball clinched its fourth consecutive trip to the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament with a 78-77 road win at Tennessee Tech Thursday.
SIUE improved to 16-12 overall and 9-6 in the OVC, matching the school record for OVC wins set last season. The four straight tournament bids also is a first at SIUE.
The win is only the second for SIUE in nine all-time trips to Tennessee Tech.
Despite leading for more than 32 minutes in the game, the Cougars were forced to hold off the Golden Eagles down the stretch.
SIUE led by seven at halftime and built its lead to as many as 13 points (59-46) with 12:30 left in the game. Tennessee Tech battled and tied the game at 65 on a three-pointer by Jayvis Harvey with 6:00 to play. The Golden Eagles took their first lead of the second half when Josiah Davis grabbed a steal at mid-court and then finished with a dunk to put TTU up 70-68.
Ray'Sean Taylor knocked down one of two free throws in two separate trips to the line in the game's final 13 seconds to put SIUE up 78-75. Tennessee Tech got the ball back with five seconds to play. Davis brought the ball across the timeline, where he was double-teamed and then fouled before he had a chance for a game-tying three-pointer. Davis hit both free throws for the final margin.
SIUE connected on 30-59 (51 percent) of its shots for the game and hits 9-23 (39 percent) of its three-point attempts.
Taylor led four SIUE players in double figures with 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting. He went 5-10 from three-point range. It marked Taylor's second consecutive 20-point game and the 24th of his career at SIUE. Damarco Minor and Shamar Wright each scored 15 points and Lamar Wright added 10 points. Lamar Wright led SIUE with eight rebounds as SIUE outrebounded Tennessee Tech 32-31.
Davis led Tennessee Tech with 24 points. Harvey added 23 for the Golden Eagles.