SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 74, Morehead State 55
Western Illinois 75, @Eastern Illinois 67
@SIUE 58, Lindenwood 47
@UT Martin 66, Southeast Missouri 63
@Tennessee State 95, Little Rock 86
TENNESSEE TECH 74, MOREHEAD STATE 55
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Strong defense and an overall team effort on offense propelled the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team past Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles dominated on the way to a 74-55 victory in the Hooper Eblen Center.
The purple and gold (8-7, 3-1) limited the visiting Eagles (8-7, 3-1) to just 55 points, their lowest point total since Tech topped Morehead 66-55 back on Jan. 7, 2012 in Cookeville. The Golden Eagles also held their rivals to just 36.5 percent shooting on the night, including a 3-for-15 performance from distance.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Cookeville crew was efficient and moved the ball around well, racking up 21 assists and eight triples. Eight of the nine Golden Eagles who saw the floor scored at least five points and hauled in a rebound. Tech's 19-point win over Morehead marked its largest over the rival since a 63-40 triumph in Cookeville back on Jan. 13, 2005.
It was a tight battle early on in the contest, with Morehead State flipping a seven-point Tech lead into a four-point advantage of its own with 8:27 to play in the opening stanza. Local Rickman native Matthew Sells kicked off the Golden Eagle comeback, drawing a foul from beyond the arc and hitting all three free throws.
The freebies opened up a 20-6 run by the purple and gold, one that saw the Golden Eagles push out front for good and build a 10-point lead. The advantage moved to 11 by the break, with Tech taking a 40-29 lead into the locker room, the largest halftime edge for the purple and gold over the Eagles since 2005.
It didn't take long for the Cookeville crew to take command of the contest for good, with the lead swelling to as much as 22 midway through the second half. Tech finished things off with a 74-55 win, boasting a 21-5 advantage on the fast break.
Two nights after turning in a season-high 12 points, Sells dropped a new season-high of 17 points against Morehead State, sinking 5-of-6 shots from the floor and 4-of-5 tries from downtown while playing 33 minutes. Sophomore forward JaJuan Nicholls also posted a season-high in the scoring column, securing 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He mixed in three assists and two blocks for good measure.
Flirting with a triple-double and filling the stat sheets, Jaylon Johnson delivered 12 points, seven rebounds, eight assists, and five steals to the Tech effort. Sophomore guard Kyle Layton produced 10 points on 3-for-4 shooting with five rebounds.
Sparta native Grant Slatten finished 2-for-3 in 18 minutes off the bench, dropping eight points with four rebounds. Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe chipped in six points, a team-high 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks as well.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 75, EASTERN ILLINOIS 67
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Western Illinois Men's Basketball secured a hard-fought victory against in-state rival Eastern Illinois by a final score of 75-67 in a thrilling Ohio Valley Conference showdown in Charleston.
The Leathernecks, led by Marko Maletic's game-high 25-point performance, showcased an impressive offensive rhythm, particularly from beyond the arc, hitting 12 of 20 three-point attempts as a team. Maletic's seven triples proved pivotal, while Sean Smith added 15 points, six rebounds, and four assists to further solidify Western Illinois' offensive rhythm.
WIU started the game strong, outscoring Eastern Illinois 37-29 in the first half, thanks to a balanced attack and defensive pressure that forced nine turnovers. For the game, the Leathernecks forced 12 turnovers, turning that into 12 points off the Panther turnovers.
A 12-4 run midway through the second half, fueled by Maletic and Smith, extended the Leathernecks' lead and subdued Eastern Illinois' rally attempts. Ryan Myers hit three three pointers in the last 10 minutes of the game, including back-to-back threes to put the Leathernecks up 10 with 8:51 to go. Myers would again knock down a shot from beyond the arc with 4:44 to go putting WIU up 8 points.
Western Illinois' bench contributed 13 crucial points, while their defensive efforts recorded seven blocks and six steals. The Leathernecks now improve to 8-7 on the season (2-2 OVC).
SIUE 58, LINDENWOOD 47
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE held Lindenwood to just 18 second-half points, grinding out a 58-47 Ohio Valley Conference win Saturday at First Community Arena.
The 47 points were the second fewest allowed by SIUE this year and the fewest against a Division I opponent.
The Cougars improved to 2-2 in OVC play and 9-6 overall. Lindenwood fell to 1-3 in league play and 6-9 overall.
SIUE got out to a hot start for the second consecutive game, pushing the lead to 9-2 in the first 4:30. The Cougars' advantage swelled to as many as 16 when a Jordan Pickett three-pointer made it 28-12 with 5:55 to play before halftime.
The Lions roared back before the break, using a 17-6 finish to the half to trim the deficit to 34-29 at halftime.
The Lions then scored the first five points of the second half to pull even at 34-34 with 18:22 left. Lindenwood stayed within striking distance until the Cougars used an 8-0 run to push the lead to 57-45 with 3:35 left.
Ray'Sean Taylor led SIUE with a game-high 18 points. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Taylor added two assists and three steals. Desmond Polk pitched in 15 points to go along with two assists, two steals and two blocks. Myles Thompson scored eight points and also added three steals.
The Cougars finished with 16 steals, the second-highest total of the year, and the most against a Division I team. SIUE also forced 10 Lindenwood turnovers, and scored17 points off the Lions' miscues. The two teams each finished with 41 rebounds.
Neither team shot better than 40 percent. The Cougars connected on just 35 percent (23-66) of their shots while Lindenwood knocked down just 32 percent (17-53).
Markeith Browning II led Lindenwood with 16 points. Jadis Jones and Anias Futrell each scored nine points.
UT MARTIN 66, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 63
MARTIN, Tenn. - Another tight finish was in store for the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team this afternoon as the Skyhawks gutted out a 66-63 triumph over previously unbeaten Ohio Valley Conference squad Southeast Missouri at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Although UT Martin (6-9, 2-2 OVC) never trailed in the contest and held a lead for 38:22 of clock time, the visiting Redhawks pulled within two points with 23 seconds remaining. Filip Radakovic split a pair of free throws six seconds later and the Skyhawk defense took it from there – successfully contesting a pair of potential game-tying attempts in the final seven seconds.
Four UT Martin players scored in double figures while a fifth Skyhawk finished just shy with nine points. Tarence Guinyard (14 points) led UT Martin in scoring for the sixth time in the last seven games. Carlos Cortijo equaled his career-high with 13 points in his first start since Dec. 11 while Andrija Bukumirovic accounted for 11 points. Vladimer Salaridze hauled in his fourth double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) of the season to go along with game-highs of four assists and three steals for a Skyhawk squad that knocked down 90.5 percent (19-for-21) of its free throw attempts. AJ Hopkins scored all nine of his points on a trio of three-pointers in the first half, helping UT Martin build a 33-23 advantage at the break.
Southeast Missouri (8-7, 3-1 OVC) was led by Braxton Stacker’s 22 points and four blocks off the bench. Teddy Washington, Jr. added 15 points and eight rebounds as the Redhawks were held to 39 percent shooting (23-of-59).
Hopkins scored nine of UT Martin’s first 15 points as each side jostled for momentum early on. After the score was knotted at 17-all, the Skyhawks went on a 14-4 run with Bukumirovic (rare four-point play and fast break layup) and Cortijo (three-pointer and old-fashioned three-point play) providing six points apiece during the surge in the closing moments of the opening half.
Hopkins’ nine points led all scorers at the halftime intermission while Washington, Jr. posted a team-high seven points for Southeast Missouri.
Back-to-back buckets from Salaridze tied UT Martin’s largest lead of the day at 39-27 with 18 minutes remaining. Two Radakovic free throws kept the Skyhawk advantage at double digits (47-36) with 11:52 to go before the Redhawks went on a 9-0 run off three treys from Stacker.
Southeast Missouri never got any closer than two points the rest of the way. Salaridze had a big tip-in off a lobbed pass on an out-of-bounds play before Guinyard buried a pair of free throws in the final 1:35. Radakovic’s aforementioned free throw and UT Martin’s lockdown defense followed to give the Skyhawks their seventh consecutive home victory in the all-time series against the Redhawks.
TENNESSEE STATE 95, LITTLE ROCK 86
NASHVILLE - Ronald Jessamy and Brandon Weston both recorded double-doubles to help lead the Tennessee State men's basketball team over the Little Rock, 95-86 at the Gentry Saturday.
The Tigers (5-10, 1-3) had four players score in double figures, led by Travis Harper II, who had 20 points and two steals. Jessamy tacked on a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Weston chipped in as well with a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
Tennessee State out-rebounded Little Rock 42-39 in Saturday's game, led by Jessamy's 12 boards. The Tigers also collected 14 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second chance points.
Tennessee State forced 16 Little Rock turnovers. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 24 points on the other end of the floor. Knute Wood led the way individually with two steals.
After jumping out to a 25-22 advantage, Tennessee State went on a 9-0 run with 6:39 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Weston, to increase its lead to 34-22. The Tigers then maintained that lead and entered halftime with a 44-32 advantage. Tennessee State capitalized on 11 Little Rock turnovers in the period, turning them into 13 points on the other end of the floor.
Tennessee State kept its lead intact before going on a 7-0 run to grow the lead to 54-40 with 15:16 to go in the contest. The Trojans narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Tigers still cruised the rest of the way for the 95-86 win. Tennessee State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 24 of its 51 total points.