MONDAY'S SCORES
West Georgia 61,
@Tennessee Tech 59
@#21 Wisconsin 94,
SIUE 69
@Western Illinois 74, Coe College 63
WEST GEORGIA 61, TENNESSEE TECH 59
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech (2-3, 0-0) made an 11-0 run and cut it to a one-point game late, but fell 61-59 to West Georgia (3-2, 0-0) on Monday night at Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles fall to 2-3 on the season and lose their first home game of the year, failing to come back late, 61-59. TTU trailed by as much as 14 in the contest, but an 11-0 run put the Golden Eagles right in contention.
Tech's rally was in large part due to holding West Georgia without a field goal over the final 3:12. A made front end of the one-and-a-half-court heave as time expired by Ty Owens hit off glass and sent the Golden Eagles to their first loss at home this season.
TTU outscored West Georgia 32-28 in the second half, led by 17 points from Dani Pounds, nine from JaJuan Nicholls, and eight from Ja'Quavian Florence.
UWG made one of its last 11 shots over the final three-plus minutes, including 0-for-4 from the field during that span, allowing Tech to battle its way back into it.
Tech outshot UWG 41% to 33%, making 20-of-49 from the field but struggling from three-point range, shooting just 2-of-20 from distance.
West Georgia made just nine shots of 31 attempts in the second half (29.0) and committed eight turnovers, while Tech sank 10 shots on 28 attempts and gave up the ball five times. Pounds scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half on 3-of-4 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.
Pounds was the only Golden Eagle in double-digits, while the Wolves had three players with double-figure scoring.
Chas Lewless and Shelton Williams-Dryden led the way with 19 points apiece for West Georgia. Josh Smith finished with 15 points.
Pounds became the fifth different Golden Eagle to lead the team in scoring in five games this season. He has scored in double figures in back-to-back games (11 vs. Berea and 17 vs. West Ga.), bringing his points per game to 10.2.
Florence finished 3-of-6 from the field for eight points, making 2-of-2 from the free-throw line over 19 minutes. Mekhi Cameron finished with six points on just 1-of-6 from the field, a three-pointer (1-3 3FG), and 3-of-5 from the free-throw stripe. It marks the first game this season that Cameron hasn't scored in double digits.
#21 WISCONSIN 94, SIUE 69
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin knocked down 15 of 39 three-pointers Monday as the 21st-ranked Badgers downed SIUE men's basketball 94-69 in front of 13,797 at the Kohl Center.
The Cougars fell to 3-2 with the loss while Wisconsin improved to a perfect 4-0.
SIUE enjoyed a strong first half and took the lead 11-10 thanks to a Myles Thompson three-point play with 13:45 to go before halftime. A pullup jumper from Ring Malith extended SIUE's advantage to 13-10.
A subsequent 9-0 run put the Badgers back on top to stay.
Wisconsin held a 48-41 lead at halftime. SIUE shot 57 percent (17-30) from the field in the first half and outrebounded Wisconsin 15-14.
The Cougar trimmed the lead to 48-43 at the start of the second when Wisconsin went on a 9-0 run, forcing SIUE into a timeout with 16:29 to play in the game. The Badge stretched the run to 16-0 before a Jo Valrie three-pointer with 14:28 left.
Valrie scored 10 points and was one of three Cougars in double figures. He was 2-3 from three-point range. Jordan Pickett paced SIUE with 12 including two three-pointers of his own. Myles Thompson scored 10 points and added a team-high seven rebounds.
SIUE shot 45 percent (26-58) for the game and was 7-18 from three-point range.
After going 8-21 in the first half, the Badgers were 7-18 from three-point range in the second half. For the game, Wisconsin shot 45 percent (29-65) overall.
John Blackwell scored a game-high 24 points and was 5-6 from three-point range to lead Wisconsin. Nick Boyd was 4-7 from long range and finished with 22 points.
The Badgers outrebounded SIUE for the game 38-31. Both teams scored 28 points in the paint.
WESTERN ILLINOIS 74, COE COLLEGE 63
MACOMB, Ill. - Western Illinois Men's Basketball earned its first victory of the season Monday night inside Western Hall, surging in the second half to defeat Coe College 74–63.
The Leathernecks trailed 36–34 at the break but responded in the second half, outscoring the Kohawks 40–27 while taking control on both ends of the floor. WIU shot 49 percent from the field, piled up 40 points in the paint, and forced 16 turnovers that turned into 21 points the other way.
Lucas Lorenzen led the Leathernecks with 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals across 35 minutes. Goanar Biliew delivered an energy boost off the bench, finishing with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including a pair of emphatic finishes at the rim.
Francis Okwuosah added 11 points and nine rebounds while knocking down three shots from beyond the arc. Isaiah Griffin had nine points and seven boards, and the WIU bench contributed 29 total points to help lift the offense.
Defensively, Western Illinois tightened up after halftime, holding Coe to just 10 made field goals in the second half and forcing them into 8 turnovers.