SATURDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 71, Southeast Missouri 69
@Eastern Illinois 74, Tennessee State 70
Little Rock 82, @Lindenwood 74
Tennessee Tech 59, @Western Illinois 54
UT Martin 75, @Southern Indiana 56
MOREHEAD STATE 71, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 69
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Davion Cunningham willed Morehead State men's basketball to not lose on Saturday. The redshirt junior guard erupted for a career-high 35 points, including 25 in the final half, as the Eagles chiseled away a 12-point second-half deficit and defeated Southeast Missouri 71-69 at Johnson Arena.
Cunningham, whose previous college career high was 31 last season at USC Aiken, hit 13 of 17 field goals (all but one was inside the three-point arc) and nailed eight of nine free throws. He also added five rebounds, a steal and an assist. Cunningham's point total was the highest by an Eagle player since Drew Kelly scored 40 versus South Dakota in 2013. He also had the second highest field goals made in an Eagle contest since Kelly's production 13 years ago.
Morehead State improved to 5-1 at home in 2025-26, to 8-9 overall and to -2 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Redhawks slipped to 9-8 in all games and 4-2 in the conference.
"Great team win today," said head coach Jonathan Mattox. "We've been in these situations before, and I am proud of how we responded. Our guys and our staff recognized that Davion had the hot hand, and credit to them. They kept feeding him the ball, and he finished. Incredible effort."
The Eagles trailed 38-30 at the half and eventually saw SEMO build its cushion to 56-44 with 12:24 left. But, a 16-5 scoring flurry over the next six minutes had MSU back to within one (63-62) when Cunningham dropped in a jumper in the paint. SEMO was back on top five five (69-64) with 2:48 remaining when the final rally commenced.
Cunningham drilled his lone triple of the game with 2:24 on the clock to cut it to 69-67. After a misfire on a three-ball by the visitors, Chase Dawson completed the comeback by knocking down a triple on the run with 1:33 left. SEMO had three more chances in the final minute to re-take the lead or send it to overtime, including one with 0.2 seconds left, but missed all three shot attempts.
Besides Cunningham's output, MSU had one other player in double figures as George Marshall scored 10.
The Eagles blistered the net for 68 percent (15-of-22) in the second half and 57 percent overall - the third highest field goal percentage in a game this season. In the past five seasons, MSU is 52-2 when it shoots 50 percent or better.
SEMO had five players score 10+, led by Brenden Terry. After scoring 30 off the bench Thursday at Southern Indiana, he paced the Redhawks with 13 today. SEMOI hit 42 percent overall but was held to just 33 percent (10-of-30) in the final 20 minutes.
MSU had more rebounds (30-24) then its counterpart on the opposite bench as Jon Carroll pulled in a team-best nine.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 74, TENNESSEE STATE 70
CHARLESTON, Ill. - Eastern Illinois men’s basketball was able to hang on for a 74-70 win over Tennessee State on Saturday afternoon winning their fourth straight at Groniger Arena.
The Panthers opened the game red hot from the field building a 26-6 lead with 12:33 left in the opening half following a 3-pointer by Preston Smith. Smith was one of four Panthers in double figures scoring 14 points off the bench.
EIU kept TSU at an arm’s length the remainder of the first half leading 42-33 at the break after shooting 53.3 percent from the field and 6-of-10 from 3-point range. Smith knocked down three of those first half 3-pointers while Andre Washington knocked down two. Washington finished with 12 points.
Tennessee State made several second half runs at the Panthers cutting the lead to two points with 11:14 to play on a dunk by Carlous Williams, part of his 11 point night.
The Tigers tied the game for the first time with a Jalen Pitre basket at 5:18 and then for the final time with a pair Williams free throws with 3:30 to play knotting the score at 66-66.
Nazareth Fisher answered for EIU with the first of two big baskets in the post giving EIU the lead for good with 3:01 to play. The Panthers never trailed in the contest improving to 6-10 overall, 3-3 in the OVC.
TSU would cut the lead down to one point over the final three minutes one time, but EIU had an answer each time. TSU fell to 10-6 overall, 4-2 in the OVC. Kahlil London had 23 points to lead TSU with Travis Harper II scoring 18 but limited to just 1-of-4 on 3-pointers.
Kooper Jacobi had 14 points and pulled down five rebounds reaching the 500 rebound mark for his EIU career. Zion Fruster led all EIU players with 19 points.
LITTLE ROCK 82, LINDENWOOD 74
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - Little Rock earned an 82–74 road victory over Lindenwood on Saturday night at Robert F. Hyland Arena.
With the win, Little Rock improved to 7–10 overall and 4–2 in OVC play, while Lindenwood dropped to 10–7 overall and 4–2 in the conference.
The Trojans used a strong defensive effort and consistent interior scoring to secure the win, finishing with 44 points in the paint and 11 steals. Little Rock outscored Lindenwood 45–43 in the second half and converted 17 points off nine Lions turnovers. Lindenwood stayed within striking distance by knocking down seven three-pointers, but the Trojans' defensive pressure proved decisive.
Little Rock took a 37–31 lead into halftime after forcing nine turnovers and recording seven steals in the opening half. The Trojans shot 48 percent from the field and matched Lindenwood with 16 points in the paint, while also holding a slight edge in fast-break scoring to maintain control.
The Trojans opened the second half with a 6–0 run to extend their lead, highlighted by a steal from Johnathan Lawson and a fast-break dunk by Braxton Bayless at the 19:10 mark. Little Rock continued to attack the paint, scoring 28 second-half points inside, and finished with an 18–13 rebounding advantage after the break. The Trojans forced seven additional turnovers in the second half, converting them into 10 points to preserve momentum down the stretch.
Braxton Bayless led Little Rock with 21 points, seven assists, and seven rebounds.
Lawson added 20 points, including three three-pointers, and dished out five assists. Cameron Wallace recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Tuongthach Gatkek chipped in 10 points and three steals to anchor the defensive effort.
TENNESSEE TECH 59, WESTERN ILLINOIS 54
MACOMB, Ill. - Tennessee Tech men's basketball grinded out a gritty 59-54 comeback win over Western Illinois on the road Saturday.
Tennessee Tech improves to 7-10 overall and 2-4 in the OVC with the hard-fought five-point win over Western Illinois. Tech earns its first road win against WIU in only the third matchup away from Cookeville. The Leathernecks fall to 4-13 overall and 0-6 in the conference with the loss. The Golden Eagles scored 41 second-half points and limited WIU to just nine made shots in the second 20 minutes to snap a four-game losing skid.
Leading the way for Tech was Mekhi Cameron with 15 points on 5-of-11 shooting, 1-of-3 from three, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Cameron recorded his 10th game in double figures this season and first since dropping 19 on UT Martin on Dec. 20.
Tech finished with three players in double figures, with Dani Pounds adding 11 points and Malik Ferguson chipping in with 11 on the way to a pivotal win. Pounds led the Golden Eagles with eight rebounds. Ferguson, Jacobe Whitted, and Mekhi Turner grabbed four boards apiece.
TTU bounced back from a tough first half after scoring only 18 points in the first 20 minutes. WIU opened with an 8-0 run and led by 10 with 1:04 left in the first half. Tech cut the advantage to eight at the break with a jumper by Ferguson.
In the second stanza, Tech cut into the lead immediately with buckets from Ferguson, Pounds, Brandon Muntu, and Cameron, making it a two-point game with 16:26 left (27-29). A 7-0 run with 17:55 left in the second half helped the Golden Eagles erase the Leathernecks' lead.
The Golden Eagles outscored the Leathernecks 41-28 in the second half, led by 10 points from Pounds and Cameron on 57.1 percent shooting (16-28).
TTU grabbed its largest lead of the game, eight points, with 2:40 left to play after Pounds sank a layup. Pounds and Cameron led the way in the final 20 minutes with crucial momentum-changing plays.
Cameron went coast-to-coast on a steal and layup, and then ran down the shot clock to the final couple of seconds, then drove to the basket for two to put the Golden Eagles up five, marking a key play in the five-point win.
WIU won the shooting battle 42.2 percent to 42.1 percent, but Tech forced 15 turnovers and scored 14 points off those miscues by the Leathernecks.
The dominant performance in the paint, outscoring WIU 40-24 in the lane for the game. Tech held a 12-4 edge in fastbreak points and a 17-7 advantage on bench points.
10 different Golden Eagles recorded points with Muntu (2 pts), Ty Owens (3 pts), Ja'Quavian Florence (2 pts), JaJuan Nicholls (2 pts), and Jah'Kim Payne (4 pts) each contributing points in the win.
The Golden Eagles made 24 shots to the Leatherneck's 19 but lost the rebound battle 35-31. WIU held the lead for 27:06 while Tech took the lead late and did not let it go for the final 11:14 of the game. There was one lead change, and the game was tied just twice.
UT MARTIN 75, SOUTHERN INDIANA 56
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Sophomore guard Filip Radakovic registered the second double-double of his University of Tennessee at Martin career to help the Skyhawks to a 73-56 triumph over Southern Indiana in Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball action.
Radakovic poured in a career-best 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line. He also equaled a career-high with 10 rebounds for his first double-double since Dec. 15, 2024 against Champion Christian.
Andrija Bukumirovic was also a gamechanger tonight as he posted 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks. The freshman duo of Filip Petkovski (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting) and Vladimir Khryapa (seven points in 18 minutes) also gave UT Martin valuable offensive production.
The Skyhawks (13-4) nailed five of their 10 tries from three-point land in the first half and followed that by shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) overall in the second half. For the game, UT Martin also connected on 80 percent (16-for-20) of its free throw attempts. That proved to be a winning formula for the Skyhawks), who took over sole possession of first place in the OVC standings via a 5-1 start for the first time in program history.
The Screaming Eagles (3-13, 0-6 OVC) were led by Amaree Brown's 17 points while Ismail Habib added 14 points. Southern Indiana shot 29.4 percent (15-of-51), was outscored 36-12 in the paint and was outrebounded by a 45-28 margin.
After the Skyhawks scored the first four points of the game, the Screaming Eagles went on a 14-4 run – taking their first lead of the evening at the 15:55 mark. Bukumirovic swished a three-pointer with 6:44 to go before the halftime break to switch the lead back in UT Martin's favor.
Southern Indiana briefly retook the lead in the waning stages of the opening half before another Bukumirovic three-pointer with 10 seconds to go before the halftime buzzer gave the Skyhawks a 35-33 edge. Bukumirovic scored a game-high 13 points (thanks in large part to 3-of-3 shooting from three-point land) while Cardell Bailey had nine points to lead Southern Indiana at the intermission.
The Screaming Eagles led 42-38 with 15:19 left to play but an 11-2 run gave UT Martin the lead for good. Five different Skyhawks scored during that surge with Khryapa providing four of those 11 points.
UT Martin's lead was trimmed to four points at the under-8-minute media timeout but the Skyhawks scored nine of the next 10 points to put the game away. Khryapa put an exclamation point on the 9-1 run with a one-hand tomahawk dunk on a fast break to push UT Martin ahead 62-50 with 4:32 to go.
Petkovski's fast break layup with 43 seconds remaining gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the day – providing the final scoring margin of 73-56.