MONDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 118, Virginia-Lynchburg 58
Indiana State 64,
@SIUE 55
@Milwaukee 92,
Little Rock 72
@Saint Louis 109,
Lindenwood 66
TENNESSEE TECH 118, VIRGINIA-LYNCHBURG 58
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech men's basketball steamrolls Virginia University of Lynchburg 118-58 behind JaJuan Nicholls' 22 points on Monday night at Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles (1-2, 0-0) improve to 1-2 overall with a dominant 118-58 win over the Dragons, led by JaJuan Nicholls (22 points), Mekhi Turner (20 points), Brandon Muntu (18 points), Mekhi Cameron (13 points), and Ja'Quavian Florence (10 points) on Monday night.
Nicholls was one point away from tying a career high as he made 10-of-11 from the field and posted his first double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the team. Turner shot 7-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free-throw stripe on his way to a career-high 20 points, while tying his career-high in rebounds with eight.
All cylinders were clicking as the Golden Eagles finished with five players in double digits and outrebounded VUL 64-to-29. Tech shot 58.2 percent from the field (46-79) but struggled from three-point range, 23.3% (7-30), on its way to the first victory of the season. The Golden Eagles' largest lead of the game was the way the game finished, 118-58 (60 points).
The 118 points were not an Eblen Center record, falling 13 points shy of the record 131 points set against Taccoa Falls College in 2000 (Jan. 11, 200; W, 131-57).
Nicholls' 22 points and Turner's 20 points were off the bench, leading Tech to a 73-21 advantage in points from the bench.
The Golden Eagles held the Dragons to 26.8 percent (19-71) from the field and 28.1 percent (9-32) from three-point land, resulting in just 58 points for the visitors. Tech forced 17 turnovers and outscored VUL 23-10 in points off the miscues.
Tech poured it on in the second half, shooting 80.6 percent (25-31) from the field and scoring 65 of its 118 points in the second 20 minutes.
Florence finished with 10 points (4-7 FG), and Jah'Kim Payne finished with eight points (3-5 FG).
The Golden Eagles led for 39:26 of the 40-minute game and earned a 60-point win for their first victory of the 2025-26 campaign.
INDIANA STATE 64, SIUE 55
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - A near-capacity crowd of 2,482 at First Community wasn't enough to will SIUE men's basketball to a win Monday night. Indiana State limited SIUE to just 34 percent shooting and the Sycamores scored a 64-55 win in a defensive battle.
SIUE dropped to 2-1 with the loss. Indiana State also is 2-1.
The Sycamores looked like they would run away with the game early in the first half building a 21-8 lead with 13:08 to play in the first half thanks in part to a 10-0 run.
Indiana State led 30-19 with 4:59 to play in the first half when SIUE called a timeout. The Cougars proceeded on a 13-0 run and took the lead (32-30) on a running layup by Jack Campion with 1:11 left in the half.
The teams went into halftime tied at 32.
Another extended scoreless stretch in the second half for SIUE proved costly. After a Campion layup made it 43-39 Indiana State, the Cougars didn't score again for nearly six minutes when CJ Hall jumper made it 50-41.
SIUE cut the lead back to five (54-49) with 4:37 to play on a layup by Ring Malith before ISU pulled away again. A three-point play by Campion and another layup by Malith cut the Sycamore's lead to 58-54 with 30 seconds remaining, but ISU sank six free throws over the game's final half minute to seal the win.
Malith led SIUE with 15 points. Campion pitched in 12.
Camp Wagner led Indiana State with 16 points. Sterling Young scored 12.
Indiana State shot just 37 percent for the game and outrebounded SIUE 43-40. ISU turned the ball over 17 times while the Cougars had 15 turnovers of their own.
MILWAUKEE 92, LITTLE ROCK 72
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Little Rock battled through seven ties and six lead changes before falling 92–72 to Milwaukee Monday night at UWM Panther Arena. The Trojans trailed by just three points at halftime and scored 36 points in the paint with 16 fast-break points, staying competitive deep into the second half of their first true road test of the season.
Braxton Bayless led Little Rock with 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting and added three assists, while Johnathan Lawson contributed 15 points and hit a pair of three-pointers. Cameron Wallace added 12 points and five rebounds, and Kachi Nzeh provided eight points and two assists, knocking down two from beyond the arc.
Bayless kept Little Rock close early in the second half with a three-pointer to tie the game at 41, and Nzeh followed with another from deep to keep the Trojans within striking distance. Milwaukee used a second-half scoring surge to create separation, capitalizing on transition opportunities and to seal the win.
The Trojans opened strong, answering an early Milwaukee run with key plays from Lawson and Bayless. Lawson's three-pointer tied the game at 20 midway through the first half, and Bayless's late layup and free throws pulled Little Rock even again at 38 before the Panthers edged ahead 41–38 at the break.
SAINT LOUIS 109, LINDENWOOD 66
ST. LOUIS - Lindenwood Men's Basketball fell on the road at Saint Louis on Monday evening by a final score of 109-66. Turnovers hurt the Lions in the contest, finishing the game with 24 total turnovers that resulted in 34 points for the Billikens.
Saint Louis shot 62.5% from the floor in the first half and shot 50% from beyond the arc as SLU started the first 20 minutes of play on a 12-4 run. With Lindenwood trailing 15-6, Milos Nenadic and Jadis Jones combined to score the next eight points for the Lions to fuel an extended 8-3 run, cutting the Saint Louis lead to 18-14 with 11:34 to go. However, turnovers started to pile up for the Lions as they committed 10 turnovers over the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Billikens responded to the run by the Black and Gold later in the half with an 18-8 run of their own, as Saint Louis made seven consecutive shots during their second run of the half to take a 43-27 lead into the locker room. Jones had eight points in the first half to lead Lindenwood, shooting 4/5 from the field and grabbed three rebounds including two on the offensive glass. As a team, Lindenwood shot 0/6 from deep in the first half and was 40% from the field.
In the second half, SLU scored 66 points and went on an early second half run to distance themselves from the Lions. Sophomore Dontrez Williams scored 11 of his 13 points to lead Lindenwood in his season debut as the 6'5 guard shot 3/4 from the field and knocked down five free throws in 15 minutes of second half action. Williams also led the Lions on the defensive side of the ball as well, leading the team with four steals and two blocks in 28 minutes played. Jadis Jones scored in double figures for the second straight game to start his Sophomore campaign as he finished with a team-high 16 points on 8/9 shooting from the floor.