On Friday, UT Martin picked up a victory while Tennessee State pushed No. 9 ranked Tennessee to the limit in Knoxville, and SIUE, Lindenwood and Southeast Missouri suffered losses.
 

FRIDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 86, Champion Christian 57	Box Score
@#9 Tennessee 83, Tennessee State 78	Box Score
@Middle Tennessee 88, Southeast Missouri 75	Box Score
@#2 Duke 90, SIUE 47	Box Score
@Omaha 67, Lindenwood 56	Box Score

UT MARTIN 86, CHAMPION CHRISTIAN 57
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team shook off a slow start tonight to defeat Champion Christian by an 86-57 margin in the 2026-27 home opener.

The Skyhawks held the visiting Tigers to 22.6 percent shooting (7-of-31) and a 1-for-18 effort from three-point land (5.6 percent) in the second half, outscoring Champion Christian by a 50-18 margin over the final 20 minutes. Down two starters, UT Martin still managed to force 22 turnovers, outscore the Tigers 46-10 in the paint and hold a 44-14 advantage in points off the bench.

All 11 Skyhawks who played tallied at least three points, led by Nikola Janicic's 15-point effort to go along with a game-high four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Davi Remagen tallied 10 points while Gabrielius Bubnys managed 10 points in 13 minutes in his collegiate debut. Sasha Savkov tacked on game-highs of eight rebounds and three steals while Ousseynou Sambe swatted away a game-high two blocks for UT Martin (2-2).

Champion Christian (2-1) was led by Braylon Frazier's 16 points while Kelen Smith provided 14 points and seven rebounds for the first-year NAIA program out of Hot Springs, Ark.

After Bubnys scored five straight points in a span of 23 seconds, Kaan Onat converted a driving layup at the 13:40 mark to open up UT Martin's first double-digit lead of the night (16-6). Moments later, five consecutive points from Nikas Stuknys stretched the Skyhawk advantage out to 28-14 with eight minutes to go in the first half. However, the Tigers soon went on a 12-2 run and eventually claimed a 39-36 lead going at the intermission. Five UT Martin scorers led the way with five points apiece while Frazier and Smith each had 13 points at the break for Champion Christian.

Early in the second half, the Skyhawks dialed up 11 unanswered points to seize the momentum. After the Tigers cut their deficit to 58-49 at the 10:09 mark of the second half, UT Martin went on a 16-0 run to officially put the game away. Bancevicius contributed a pair of three-pointers during the extended Skyhawk surge that featured points out of six different scorers. A triple by Enrique Moya with 2:51 remaining gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the night (83-51) as the Skyhawks improved to 33-2 in home openers since joining the NCAA Division I ranks in 1992.


#9 TENNESSEE 83, TENNESSEE STATE 78
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -  Ty-Laur Johnson scored a game-high 22 points and handed out seven assists as Tennessee State cut a 15-point second-half deficit to five in the final minute before falling 83-78 to No. 11 Tennessee on Friday at Food City Center.

Jayden Jones scored all 13 of his points after halftime and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds off the bench for the Tigers (2-2). Christian Alston and Arterio Morris scored nine points apiece. Morris added three steals and two blocks, and Ajayi Simmons scored seven points off the bench.

Tennessee State outrebounded the Volunteers 45-43 and collected 24 offensive rebounds, including six by Aaron Bradshaw and five by Jones. The Tigers turned those extra possessions into 12 second-chance points and scored 24 points off 17 Tennessee turnovers. TSU committed 12 turnovers and attempted 25 more shots than the Vols, finishing 25-for-78 from the field.

Terrence Hill Jr. led Tennessee (3-0) with 19 points and four 3-pointers. Jalen Haralson added 15 points, and Tyler Lundblade scored 14 while going 9-for-9 at the line. The Vols made 27 of 40 free throws.

Morris turned a steal into a layup to give Tennessee State its largest lead, 11-5, with 13:09 left in the first half. After Tennessee tied the game at 16, Johnson made two free throws and Morris hit a 3-pointer off a turnover to put TSU ahead 21-16 with 9:33 remaining.

Alston's two free throws gave the Tigers a 23-19 lead before Hill scored four points in three seconds, hitting a 3-pointer and making a free throw to tie the game at 23. Tennessee later used an 8-0 run to go ahead 33-25. Simmons answered with a 3-pointer, and Bradshaw hit another with three seconds left in the half to bring TSU within 42-37.

The Vols extended their lead to 58-43 with 12:17 to play. Morris scored inside, Jones added a putback and Daniel Vieira-Tuck turned his steal into a dunk to cut the deficit to 58-49. Tennessee pushed the margin back to 15 before Jones hit a 3-pointer with 7:02 left.

Down 73-60 with under five minutes to go, the Tigers scored six straight points. Johnson hit a floater, and Jones followed with two layups, the second off Johnson's seventh assist, to make it 73-66 with 3:38 remaining. Jones added a putback with 1:07 left to keep TSU within seven.

Johnson converted a three-point play with 32 seconds remaining to make it 78-73, then hit a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left to cut the deficit to 81-76. Lundblade made two free throws with seven seconds to go before Johnson scored the final basket.


MIDDLE TENNESSEE 88, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 75
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Quintero Barnett scored 32 points and made eight 3-pointers to lead Conference USA member Middle Tennessee (3-1) to an 88-75 win over Southeast Missouri (2-2) Friday night at the Murphy Center.

MTSU never trailed in the game and shot 52.9 percent from the field with 14 three-pointers. The Blue Raiders outscored the Redhawks, 42-18, from beyond the arc.

The Blue Raiders heated up to shoot 70.8 percent (17-of-24) from the floor to set the tone in the first half. MTSU made 80 percent (8-of-10) of its 3-pointers with Barnett scoring his first 18 points to lead the way. Barnett did not miss going 6-of-6 from the field, 4-of-4 from distance and 2-of-2 at the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes. He had 15 of points in the first 5:33 of the contest alone and MTSU used a 12-0 run capped by a Barnett 3-pointer to widen its lead to 42-23 with 6:36 left to play.

A layup by Kaleb Siler gave the Blue Raiders a 50-28 advantage before they headed into the locker room ahead, 50-32. SEMO won the second half, 43-38, but did not drop MTSU's lead below double figures. A 9-0 run pulled cut the Blue Raiders lead to 56-45 on Axton Perry's conventional 3-point play at the 13:40 mark. Perry later threw down a dunk to make it a 59-49 game with 10:46 to go. That, however, was as close as the Redhawks would get. 

Barnett made 10-of-13 field goals and 8-of-10 threes. He also added six rebounds and two assists during his career night.

Fontaine Williams, Jr. led SEMO with 20 points, his fourth-straight double-digit scoring performance. Williams, Jr. hit 6-of-15 field goals, buried three 3-pointers and made 5-of-6 free throws. Alonzo Clawson-Smith and Perry followed with 15 and 13 points, respectively, off the bench.

The Redhawks and former Ohio Valley Conference member MTSU played each other for the first time in 27 years.


#2 DUKE 90, SIUE 47
DURHAM, N.C. - SIUE men's basketball couldn't overcome a slow shooting night, falling on the road at No 2 Duke 90-47 Friday at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

SIUE hit just 30 percent (17-56) of its shots and dropped its third consecutive road game to fall to 2-3 overall.

Duke improved to 3-1.

The Cougars shot just 31 percent (8-26) in the first half and missed all seven three-point attempts. They trailed 43-20 at the break.

Jayden Riley came off the bench and knocked down SIUE's first three-pointer with 16:13 to play. The Cougars finished 3-22 (14 percent) from long range.

The Cougars opened the second half much stronger from the field, hitting seven of their first 14 shots to start the half. SIUE finished the half hitting just two of their final 16 shots.  

No SIUE player scored in double figures. Gianni Cobb led SIUE with nine points. Jordan Pickett scored eight. Brennan Miller pulled down a career-high nine rebounds to go along with four points. Dehrio McCaskill grabbed a career-high seven rebounds and scored three points,

Six Duke players scored in double figures led by Patrick Ngongba who scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Dame Sarr and Caleb Foster each scored 12 points.

Cayden Boozer finished with a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds. Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje and Sebastian Wilkins both added 11 points.

The Blue Devils shot 48 precent in the second half and 46 percent (30-68) for the game. They outrebounded the Cougars 51-33.

SIUE committed 19 turnovers, leading to 20 Duke points. The Cougars finished with just four assists in the game.


OMAHA 67, LINDENWOOD 56
OMAHA, Neb. - The Lindenwood Men's Basketball team (2-3, 0-0 OVC) wrapped up their two game road trip in Nebraska with a 67-56 loss at Omaha on Friday night. Three Lions scored in double figures, with Marsai Mason leading the way with a team-high 12 points. However, the Lions struggled at the free-throw line, converting just 51.9% of their attempts compared to 78.9% for the Mavericks.

To open the contest, Shamiere Green and Makhan Diouf each connected on their first three-point attempts to give Lindenwood an early 8-2 advantage. The Lions maintained their lead throughout much of the first half, holding Omaha to 29.6% shooting from the floor while shooting 50% themselves. However, the Mavericks stayed within striking distance by converting 12 of 14 free-throw attempts.

After Omaha briefly took the lead with 3:37 remaining, Dom Clay answered with a three pointer on the next possession down the floor, and Marsai Mason followed with a layup to spark a quick 5-0 run and put the Black and Gold in front 29-25 with 2:46 to play. The two teams traded baskets over the remainder of the half, with Lindenwood taking a 31-30 lead into the break and Green leading the Lions with seven first half points.

Lindenwood's defense continued to limit the Mavericks early in the second half, holding Omaha to just seven points through the first 5:30. With the score tied at 37, Xavier Spencer connected on a three pointer from the top of the key to put the Lions back in front by three, but Omaha responded with a 15-4 run over the next six minutes to build a 52-44 advantage. The Mavericks eventually extended their lead to 11 with 5:12 remaining, but Lindenwood continued to battle, cutting the deficit to six with 2:24 to play after Spencer drew contact and scored in the lane to create an and-one opportunity. Omaha responded again to Spencer's basket, closing out the final two minutes with an 8-3 run to secure the 67-56 victory and hand the Lions their third loss of the 2026-27 season.

Mason recorded his second consecutive game with at least 10 rebounds, posting his first double-double as a Lion. Spencer and Green also finished in double figures, scoring 11 points apiece to lead Lindenwood offensively.