THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Eastern Illinois 76, SIUE 72 (OT)
Little Rock 77, @Southern Indiana 62
@Tennessee State 78, UT Martin 71
@Lindenwood 92, Western Illinois 76
@Tennessee Tech 85, Southeast Missouri 74
EASTERN ILLINOIS 76, SIUE 72 (OT)
CHARLESTON, Ill. - In a back-and-forth game, Eastern Illinois was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor in overtime as the Panthers picked up a 76-72 win over SIUE on Thursday night at Groniger Arena.
The win moved EIU to 3-8 on the season and 1-1 in the OVC. SIUE fell to 7-5 overall, 0-1 in the OVC.
The two teams were square after the first half at 33-33 with EIU running out to a 21-11 lead on a jumper by Zion Fruster with 8:53 to play in the first. Fruster was a big part of the Panthers offense scoring 23 points off the bench.
SIUE closed the gap and led by four points with 4:32 to play in the opening half on a 3-pointer by Darrion Baker. Fruster would tie the game with a three of his own with 29 seconds left in the half.
In the second half the Cougars pulled out to a ten point lead at 59-49 with 7:38 to play as Ring Malith scored seven straight points for SIUE. Malith finished with 23 points for SIUE, one of three Cougars in double figures.
It was EIU that chipped away at the double digit lead this time with the Panthers tying the game at 61-61 with 3:32 to play on a three point play by Meechie White, part of an individual six point run as the junior guard had 21 points.
Both teams had just one basket in the final 2:45 of play with Fruster scoring for EIU and Arnas Sakenis for SIUE.
SIUE scored first in overtime on a Malith 3-pointer with EIU building a two possession lead on a driving lay-up by Andre Washington with 42 seconds left. EIU closed out the game at the line.
Washington was the third EIU player in double figures with ten. Kooper Jacobi pulled down ten rebounds.
Harrison Alexander (13 pts) and Sakenis (10 pts) joined Malith in double figures for SIUE.
LITTLE ROCK 77 SOUTHERN INDIANA 62
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Little Rock used a dominant second half to pull away from Southern Indiana, earning a 77–62 Ohio Valley Conference road victory Thursday night at Liberty Arena.
The Trojans (3–9, 1–1 OVC) outscored the Screaming Eagles 43–26 after halftime, asserting control in the paint and on the glass. Little Rock finished with 34 points in the paint and a decisive 43–28 rebounding advantage to secure its first conference road win of the season.
The first half featured a back-and-forth battle with multiple lead changes. Little Rock established an early interior presence behind Kachi Nzeh and Cameron Wallace, scoring 16 paint points in the opening half. Southern Indiana countered with perimeter shooting, keeping the contest tight throughout.
Tracy Steele Jr. drilled a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to briefly give the Trojans the lead, but Southern Indiana answered with a fast-break three by Cardell Bailey at the buzzer, sending Little Rock into the break trailing 36–34.
Little Rock wasted no time flipping momentum in the second half. Nzeh opened the period with a three-pointer, and Wallace followed moments later with a steal and emphatic fastbreak dunk to give the Trojans the lead for good. After Southern Indiana briefly tied the game at 41, Little Rock responded with a decisive run fueled by transition baskets, defensive pressure, and efficient shot-making.
Wallace continued to spark the Trojans on both ends, while Braxton Bayless and Steele knocked down timely three-pointers to stretch the lead. Johnathan Lawson added a key triple as Little Rock built a double-digit advantage midway through the half.
The Trojans' defense clamped down late, limiting Southern Indiana's scoring chances while Bayless sealed the win at the free-throw line.
Nzeh led Little Rock with 21 points on an efficient 9-of-10 shooting, adding two blocks. Wallace posted a double-double with 19 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Lawson finished with 18 points, three three-pointers, and two steals, while Tuongthach Gatkek contributed nine rebounds and four blocks.
TENNESSEE STATE 78, UT MARTIN 71
NASHVILLE - Aaron Nkrumah scored 23 points to help lead the Tennessee State men's basketball team over the UT Martin Skyhawks 78-71 in the OVC opener at the Gentry Center on Thursday.
Nkrumah added three steals to his 23-point performance to lead the Tigers (7-4, 1-0), finishing 10-of-20 from the field while attacking the rim throughout the night. Travis Harper II helped out with 16 points, knocking down four three-pointers and adding two steals, while Dante Harris chipped in with 13 points, including several key buckets late to help seal the win.
The Tennessee State defense caused its share of mistakes in Thursday's game, forcing 16 UT Martin turnovers while committing just 10. Those takeaways turned into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. The Tigers also shot an efficient 50 percent from the field and outscored the Skyhawks 46-34 after halftime to complete the comeback.
After playing to a 2-2 tie, Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run with 19:04 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Travis Harper II, to take a 7-2 lead. UT Martin responded with a strong stretch of play, using second-chance opportunities and free throws to grab momentum. Despite baskets from Nkrumah and Harper, the Tigers surrendered the lead and entered halftime down 37-32.
After intermission, Tennessee State kept the Skyhawks from increasing their lead before going on a decisive 7-0 run to seize a 60-58 advantage with 5:26 to go in the contest. Nkrumah sparked the rally with finishes in the paint, while Harper connected from deep to give TSU its first lead of the second half. The Tigers continued to apply pressure defensively and executed down the stretch, using timely baskets from Harris and clutch free throws to expand the margin and coast the rest of the way for the 78-71 win.
LINDENWOOD 92, WESTERN ILLINOIS 76
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Men's Basketball team (7-4, 2-0 OVC) improved to 2-0 in the Ohio Valley Conference and won their fifth straight game overall with a 92-76 victory over Western Illinois on Thursday night. Senior Guard Anias Futrell scored a career-high 36 points in the contest, knocking down eight three pointers and shooting 14-25 from the floor to lead the Lions offensively.
Lindenwood started out fast going on a 16-4 run to start the contest tonight. Futrell scored 10 of the first 16 points and knocked down the first two three point jumpers that he took in the game to provide a spark for the Lions early on. After the Leathernecks cut the Lion lead to five at 16-11 with 14:01 to go in the first half, Futrell ended a 7-0 WIU run with a baseline jumper that sparked yet another run for LU. Dontrez Williams got Lindenwood going again after he converted on a three pointer in which he stole the ball from the WIU defender off of a Jadis Jones missed free throw to extend the lead back to double digits by a score of 23-12.
Williams scored 13 points in the first half and scored four straight points after knocking down the three pointer to push the Lindenwood lead to 29-16 with under eight minutes to play in the half. The Lions got up by as much as 18 points in the opening 20 minutes of play, but the Leathernecks went on an extended 4-0 run over the final 1:38 to get within striking distance at halftime giving Lindenwood a 42-28 lead. Futrell knocked down three shots from beyond the arc in the first half, and shot 8-11 from the field to lead all scorers with 19 points at the break.
In the second half, the Leathernecks cut the Lion lead to 45-37 with 17:24 to go, but Futrell would heat up again and hit back-to-back three pointers on two straight possessions to give Lindenwood some breathing room. The Lions got to the free throw line 25 times in the second half, with Jones leading the way going 8-10 from the line in the final 20 minutes of action.After Jones scored two free throws to push the lead out to 19 points with 13:46 to go, Lindenwood maintained their double digit lead for the remainder of the game and had the lead for all but 14 seconds throughout the contest.
The trio of Futrell, Williams, and Jones combined for 72 of Lindenwood's 92 points tonight while the defense held the Leathernecks to 48.3% from the field in the game. Meanwhile, the Lions shot 50.8% from the field and 47.4% from the three point line as Futrell and Williams combined for all nine of the Lions three pointers with Futrell leading the way with eight.
TENNESSEE TECH 85, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 74
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech opens OVC play 1-0 with an 85-74 win over SEMO on Thursday at Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles (6-6, 1-0) trailed by as much as 10 in the first half but rallied to take the victory with a 51-point second-half opening conference play with a victory over SEMO. The Golden Eagles have won three straight for the first time this season, pulling their record to 6-6 overall and 1-0 in the OVC. Tech hosts UT Martin on Saturday, looking for a conference-opening sweep.
SEMO was picked to finish second in the OVC preseason poll, but finished second to Tech on this night as four players scored in double figures, with Dani Pounds (22 pts) leading the way. He was joined by Mekhi Cameron (12 pts), Brandon Muntu (12 pts), and Ty Owens (12 pts), who led the Golden Eagles to an 11-point win.
The Golden Eagles made 35-of-42 attempts (83.3%) from the line. The 42 free throws marked a season high for the team.
14 of Pounds' career-high 22 points came from the free-throw line on 17 attempts. Pounds was second on the team with six rebounds. Seven of Cameron's 12 points were from the charity stripe, going 7-of-9 from the line. Cameron, despite making only two shots from the field (2-9), found other ways to contribute, leading the team with seven rebounds.
Muntu shot 4-of-5 from the field with two three-pointers and made 2-of-2 from the line for his 12 points. Owens shot 3-of-4 from the field and 1-of-1 from distance while draining 5-of-6 from the free-throw stripe.
The Golden Eagles shot 44.0 percent (22-50) from the field, including 40.0 percent from beyond the arc (6-15), along with making a season-high 35 free throws.
SEMO won the battle of the boards 38-36, but Tech dished out more assists 12-9, recorded more steals 7-6, more blocks 6-5, and forced more turnovers 14-11. Nine different players grabbed at least two rebounds.
TTU trailed for 18:42 and by as much as 10 with 12:43 left in the first half, but a 9-0 run with 2:16 left in the first 20 minutes lifted the Golden Eagles back within one point at the break, 35-34. Tech cut into the deficit with a 13-5 run to end the first half.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles outshot the Redhawks 52.0 percent to 31.3 percent as the defense helped push the home team in front. SEMO made only 10 shots (32 attempts) in the second half, compared to Tech's 13 made buckets on 25 attempts.
Tech held the lead for 19:42, and its biggest advantage was 14 with 10:19 left in the second half. The Golden Eagles outscored the Redhawks 30-22 in the paint, 15-9 off turnovers, and 25-14 on fast breaks.
There were four lead changes, and the score was tied four times.