THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Morehead State 73, Tennessee Tech 66
@Lindenwood 75, UT Martin 74
Little Rock 77, @Western Illinois 58
@SIUE 74, Southeast Missouri 56
Tennessee State 73, @Southern Indiana 71
MOREHEAD STATE 73, TENNESSEE TECH 66
MOREHEAD, Ky. - Power forward Jon Carroll posted his sixth double-double of the season with 22 points (tying his career high) and 10 rebounds as the Morehead State men's basketball team fended off Tennessee Tech 73-66 Thursday at Johnson Arena.
MSU (14-12/10-5 OVC) led by as much as 20 in the second half before the Golden Eagles shredded into their deficit. Tech was never able to climb closer than six, however as it fell to 10-16 overall and 5-10 in the league.
Carroll hit 9-of-12 from the floor, scoring the 22 and grabbing four of his 10 rebounds on the offensive glass. He was joined in double figures by George Marshall on Senior Night with his 18th game this season with 10+. Marshall scored 14. Anouar Mellouk also dotted double digits with 12 points and added seven rebounds. The teams tied in the rebound column, 34-34.
MSU forced the Golden Eagles into a tough night shooting from beyond the three-point arc at just 5-of-21. Tech was 0-of-12 on triples in the first half. Morehead State didn't light it up from deep either at just 4-of-14 but the Eagles nailed 15 of their 18 free throws and had just nine turnovers.
Morehead State built a 20-point advantage (42-22) with 17:44 left in the contest as Mellouk scored a bucket. Tech began to chip away and eventually trailed just 59-53 with 4:29 left. Three other times Tech had it within six. MSU was 6-of-6 from the free throw line in the final minute.
The Eagles crafted a double-digit lead in the first half with 11 minutes remaining.
Morehead State shot 49 percent (27-of-55) for the night and limited Tech to just 40 percent (25-of-63).
LINDENWOOD 75, UT MARTIN 74
ST. CHARLES, Mo. - The Lindenwood Men's Basketball team (16-10, 10-5 OVC) took down the OVC leading UT Martin Skyhawks on Thursday night by a final score of 75-74 behind Mekhi Cooper's game-winning field goal with 4.5 seconds to go in the second half. Jadis Jones led all scorers with a game-high 22 points on 8-11 shooting from the floor, but it was Cooper's late game heroics that gave the Lions their fourth win in their last five games to improve to 10-5 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
The Black and Gold started the game on a 15-5 run behind six points from Jones and a three pointer by Clayton Jackson. Dontrez Williams extended the lead to 11 at 21-10 a few minutes later, but the Skyhawks responded with an 11-0 run to tie the game at 21 with 10:38 to play in the first half. After Milos Nenadic gave Lindenwood the lead back at 23-21, UT Martin went on an 8-0 run to grab a 29-23 lead with just over 7:30 to go. The Skyhawks went up by as many as 13 in the first half of play, but the Lions were able to cut the deficit to five at the break after closing out the first half on a 10-2 run. Jackson connected from deep for the second time in the first half right before the buzzer went off to make it a 44-39 lead for UT Martin at the break. Jadis Jones led the Lions with 12 points in the first 20 minutes of play and Dontrez Williams was right behind Jones who had 10 at the half.
Early in the second half, Jackson picked up right where he left off in the first half and scored on a layup with 18:25 left to cut the UTM lead down to four. Anias Futrell would find the back of the net from the three point line a few minutes later to make it a 49-48 game with just over 16 minutes to play. Following the under 16 media timeout, Futrell and Jones scored four quick points to give Lindenwood it's first lead of the second half by a score of 54-53. Lindenwood was able to push their lead all the way out to nine points with 7:44 remaining after Milos Nenadic, Dontrez Williams, and Jadis Jones all scored in the paint to cap off a 6-0 run for LU over a span of two minutes. Similar to the first half, UT Martin responded with a run of their own and cut the LU lead down to one at 64-63 with a little over six minutes to play. The Skyhawks evened the score at 68 with 3:43 to go and the rest of the game would be tight as the largest lead for either team was three over the final four minutes of action.
UTM took the lead back with 2:30 to go after connecting on a three pointer to give them their first lead of the half since the 11 minute mark, but Jadis Jones found Milos Nenadic over the top of the defense to cut the UT Martin lead to one on the next trip down the floor. After connecting on two free throws a few moments later, the Skyhawks went up by three again at 74-71 with 52 seconds left in the game. Nenadic scored in the paint once again to make it a 74-73 ballgame, and on the next possession down the floor the Lions got a defensive stop with 13 seconds to go and brought the ball up the floor and using their final timeout of the game with 8.5 seconds on the clock. On the inbound play, Mekhi Cooper caught the ball just inside of half court and went around his defender and was able to connect on a floater from just inside the free throw line to give Lindenwood the 75-74 lead with 4.5 seconds left in the game. UT Martin had a good look for the game-winning shot but the shot was off to the right as Lindenwood held on to defeat the OVC leaders by a final score of 75-74.
After UTM shot 66.7% from the floor in the opening half, the defense for Lindenwood held the Skyhawks to 30 second half points and 37.9% from the floor. The Lions scored 50 points in the paint tonight and forced 17 turnovers that led to 28 points for the Black and Gold.
LITTLE ROCK 77, WESTERN ILLINOIS 58
MACOMB, Ill. - Little Rock delivered one of its most complete performances of the season Thursday night, pulling away for a decisive 77-58 victory over Western Illinois at Western Hall.
The Trojans (10-16, 7-8 OVC) controlled the glass, won the turnover battle and used a balanced offensive effort to secure the 19-point road win. Little Rock out-rebounded the Leathernecks 45-32 and turned 10 Western Illinois turnovers into 13 points while outscoring the hosts 42-34 in the second half.
Little Rock set the tone early. A three-pointer from Kachi Nzeh at the 15:11 mark ignited an early surge, and Johnathan Lawson's work on the glass helped the Trojans maintain steady control. Defensively, Little Rock limited Western Illinois (5-22, 1-15 OVC) to just 10 made field goals in the first half while grabbing 24 rebounds.
The Trojans built separation late in the opening period behind interior finishes from Cameron Wallace and capped the half with a momentum-shifting buzzer-beater from Truman Claytor IV — a three-pointer assisted by Lawson — to take a 35-24 lead into the break.
Little Rock wasted no time extending its advantage in the second half. Tuongthach Gatkek converted inside just seconds into the period, and Braxton Bayless sparked transition opportunities as the Trojans pushed the pace. Gatkek added a fast-break finish during a decisive stretch that kept Western Illinois on its heels.
Wallace and Lawson continued to anchor the offense, while Lawson's defensive presence — including a block and multiple key rebounds — prevented the Leathernecks from mounting a serious comeback. The Trojans methodically extended their lead through efficient shooting and strong free-throw conversion before closing out the 77-58 win.
Claytor led the way with 16 points and two steals, while Wallace matched him with 16 points and added nine rebounds. Bayless was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field, including 3-of-3 from beyond the arc, finishing with 14 points. Lawson posted a dominant all-around performance, recording 13 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists and two blocks.
SIUE 74, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 56
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. - SIUE men's basketball used a dominant second-half performance to win its fourth consecutive game, rolling over Southeast Missouri 74-56 in front of 2,323 fans at First Community Arena Thursday night.
SIUE has won seven of its last eight games and improved to 10-5 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 17-9 overall. The win gives the Cougars the season sweep of the Redhawks.
Southeast Missouri had a six-game winning streak snapped. And fell to 15-11 overall. The Redhawks also are 10-5 in the OVC.
SIUE and SEMO are among four teams tied for second place and just one game behind the leaders. The Cougars will play host to league-leading UT Martin Saturday afternoon at First Community Arena.
The Cougars limited SEMO to just four field goals and 16 points in the second half. The 16 points are the fewest scored by the Redhawks in any game this season.
Arnas Sakenis powered the Cougars with a career-best 16 rebounds to go along with 15 points for his third double-double of the year. He added three blocks on the defensive end. Jordan Pickett matched his season high with 15 points on 6-8 shooting from the field and Tyler King scored 13 points with 11 coming in the second half.
SEMO used nine first-half three-pointers to lead by as many as 10 and take a 40-34 lead into halftime.
The Redhawks pushed the lead back to nine (43-34) after a Braxton Stacker dunk less than a minute into the second half when SIUE turned the tide for good.
A Pickett three-pointer capped off a 10-0 run which gave SIUE its first lead since the first minute of the game. The 10-0 run became a 20-3 run after put-back dunk from Sakenis made it 54-47 SIUE with 9:09 to play.
The Cougars kept rolling while SEMO struggled to find its first-half rhythm. The Redhawks missed nine straight field goals as SIUE pushed its lead to 14 when Tyler King's three-pointer capped a 9-2 run to give the Cougars a 63-49 lead with 6:01 to play.
Luke Almodovar, who buried four three-pointers in the first half, connected on SEMO's only triple in the second before the Cougars used an 11-2 sprint for its largest lead of the game at 74-52 with 2:20 left.
SIUE hit 55 percent of its shots in the second half and 48 percent (28-58) for the game. The Cougars outrebounded the Redhawks 43-30, including a 25-12 edge in the second half.
TENNESSEE STATE 73, SOUTHERN INDIANA 71
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team overcame a halftime deficit to edge Southern Indiana 73-71 on the road Thursday. Trailing 37-29 at the break, the Tigers (17-8, 11-4 OVC) turned the game around behind a balanced attack and strong second-half shooting.
The Tigers (17-8, 11-4) had three players score in double figures, led by Travis Harper II, who had 22 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Aaron Nkrumah tacked on 17 points, six rebounds and two steals and Dante Harris chipped in as well with 14 points.
Jalen Pitre pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead the Tennessee State offense which grabbed 17 boards and turned them into 19 second chance points.
After falling behind 37-24, Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run with 1:06 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Khalil London, to narrow its deficit to 37-29, a score that would hold until halftime.
Tennessee State narrowed its deficit to 58-55 before going on a 9-0 run, finished off by Travis Harper Ii's three, to seize a 64-58 lead with 6:37 to go in the contest. The Screaming Eagles narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Tigers still held on for the 73-71 win. Tennessee State made the most of nine offensive rebounds to tack on 13 second chance points out of 44 total in the period.