Ohio Valley Conference

NASHVILLE - Aaron Nkrumah recorded 26 points and 11 rebounds for his second straight double-double, and Tennessee State rolled past SIU-Edwardsville 80-53 in Ohio Valley Conference play Saturday at the Gentry Center.

The Tigers (19-9, 13-5) had three players score in double figures, led by Nkrumah, who shot efficiently from the field while adding 11 rebounds, two assists and active defense throughout. Antoine Lorick III contributed 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks, controlling the paint on both ends, and Travis Harper II finished with 12 points, attacking the rim and getting to the free-throw line. Tennessee State shot 49 percent from the floor and held SIU-Edwardsville to 32 percent shooting in a wire-to-wire victory.

The Tennessee State offense was strong from downtown, making eight threes on 19 attempts for 42.1 percent. Nkrumah hit two treys for the Tigers, while the balanced perimeter attack helped stretch the Cougars' defense and open driving lanes. The Tigers also dominated the glass, outrebounding SIU-Edwardsville 37-21, including a decisive edge on the defensive boards that limited second-chance opportunities.

Tennessee State forced 15 SIU-Edwardsville turnovers while committing 12 themselves in Saturday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 19 points on the other end of the floor and held the Cougars to just 27 points in the second half. Dante Harris' four steals led the way for Tennessee State as the Tigers applied steady pressure in the passing lanes and converted in transition.

After jumping out to a 7-5 advantage, Tennessee State went on a 7-0 run with 15:05 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Nkrumah, to increase its lead to 14-5. The Tigers continued to build separation with defensive stops and transition scores, stretching the margin to double digits midway through the half. Tennessee State entered halftime with a 40-26 advantage after capitalizing on 11 SIU-Edwardsville turnovers and turning them into 11 points.

Following intermission, Tennessee State kept widening that lead, expanding it to 55-30 before going on a 7-0 run, finished off by Antoine Lorick III's layup, to grow the lead to 62-30 with 9:40 to go in the contest. The Cougars narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Tigers controlled the tempo and cruised the rest of the way for the 80-53 win. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 40 points inside, including 22 in the second half.

SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 70, LITTLE ROCK 65
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - Luke Almodovar scored 13 points to lead five players in double figures and Southeast Missouri (18-11, 13-5) made four free throws in the final 30 seconds to finish off a 70-65 win over Little Rock (11-18, 8-10) Saturday at the Jack Stephens Center.
 
SEMO capped a two-game sweep of LR and gave Head Coach Brad Korn a win in Little Rock during back-to-back season for the first time in his career. 
 
The Redhawks picked up their eighth road win of the year in their final road test of the 2025-26 campaign. SEMO has won nine of its last 10 games, as well.
 
Down, 40-38, with 15:28 remaining, Almodovar used a five-point swing to jumpstart a 9-0 run for the Redhawks. He knocked down a 3-pointer and quickly made a layup. Troy Cole, Jr.'s jumper ended the surge giving SEMO a 47-40 advantage with 13:19 to go.
 
Marqueas Bell's layup later ran the Redhawks lead to double figures at 55-45 at the 8:30 mark.
 
SEMO led by 10 on three other occasions before LR made a push down the stretch.
 
The Trojans managed to cut the Redhawks lead to 61-58 on a make by Tuongthach Gatkek with 3:32 left to play.
 
Braxton Bayless then made two free throws to get LR within three again (66-63), this time with 30 seconds on the clock.
 
BJ Ward was fouled and went to the free throw line. Ward made his first attempt and missed his second shot. 
 
After LR rebounded the ball, Blaize Sagna got a huge steal and was fouled.
 
Sagna made two free throws with 22 seconds before Brendan Terry added SEMO's final point from the charity stripe nine seconds later.
 
Neither team led by more than six points as SEMO and LR exchanged leads 10 times in the first half.
 
The Trojans scored the first six points of the game for the largest lead by either team 4:24 into the contest.
 
BJ Ward's 3-pointer later gave the Redhawks their first lead at 7-6 with 14 minutes remaining.
 
After Almodovar buried a 3-pointer to tie the game at 15-15, Bell scored a layup, was fouled and added a free throw to put SEMO ahead by three.
 
Bell gave the Redhawks a one-point edge with two free throws with 48 seconds left before Kachi Nzeh made a 3-pointer to regain a 32-30 lead for the Trojans at halftime.
 
Almodovar shot 5-of-10 from the field and led the Redhawks with three made threes.
 
Bell followed with 12 points and six rebounds and Braxton Stacker narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine boards. Terry and Cole, Jr. contributed 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
SEMO outscored LR, 40-33, in the second half and outrebounded the Trojans, 38-31.
 
Kachi Nzeh had a game-high 16 points to lead the Trojans.
 
The Redhawks remain in a three-way tie for first in the Ohio Valley Conference with Tennessee State and Morehead State.

TENNESSEE TECH 72, LINDENWOOD 57
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles rode a dominant second half and a career performance from Ty Owens to claim its third straight win, defeating Lindenwood Lions 72-57 on Saturday at the Eblen Center.

Tech improves to 13-16 overall and 8-10 in OVC Play with a third straight win and revenge for a 89-68 loss at Lindenwood on Jan. 22. Lindenwood slips to 16-13 overall and 10-8 in conference play and has lost three in a row. 

Owens poured in a career-high 16 points, knocking down 5 of 8 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc while adding six assists and three rebounds. He scored 16 of Tech's 41 second-half points as the Golden Eagles pulled away after halftime.

Tennessee Tech (13-16, 8-10 OVC) led 31-29 at the break in a first half that featured 11 lead changes. Mekhi Cameron converted a layup with one second remaining before halftime to give the Golden Eagles the edge.

The Golden Eagles took control early in the second half. Cameron opened the period with a 3-pointer, and Brandon Muntu followed with a triple to stretch the lead to 37-32. JaJuan Nicholls then flushed a dunk off a steal to cap the surge and push the advantage to seven.

After Lindenwood trimmed the deficit to 42-40, Tech responded with a decisive run. Nicholls converted multiple second-chance opportunities inside, and Ja'Quavian Florence scored off a turnover to extend the margin to eight.

Owens delivered the knockout stretch midway through the half. He buried a 3-pointer off a turnover for a 56-48 lead, then added a jumper on the next trip to give Tech a 10-point cushion. He sealed the game at the free-throw line, converting a pair with 47 seconds remaining to make it 72-57.

Muntu and Nicholls each added 16 points, with Nicholls pulling down eight rebounds and recording four steals. Cameron finished with 12 points.

Tennessee Tech shot 46.3 percent from the field and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line while holding Lindenwood to 36.8 percent shooting. The Golden Eagles outscored the Lions 41-28 in the second half and dominated bench scoring 40-4.

The win marks Tech's third consecutive victory as it continues its late-season push into OVC Tournament contention.

SOUTHERN INDIANA 70, EASTERN ILLINOIS 68
CHARLESTON, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana senior guard Ismail Habib nailed a three-pointer with one second on the clock to lead the Screaming Eagles to a 70-68 victory over Eastern Illinois Saturday afternoon at Groniger Arena in Charleston, Illinois. The Screaming Eagles, who completed their first conference week sweep of the season, go to 7-21 overall and 4-14 in the OVC, while the Panthers are 11-17, 7-10 OVC.
 
After the Panthers rallied from a 22-point deficit to take a 68-66 lead with 24 seconds to play, Habib took over for the Screaming Eagles. The senior guard narrowed the gap to 68-67 by making one of two from the stripe before sinking the game-winning three-pointer with one second on the clock.
 
USI sophomore guard Josiah Dunham started the final play by making a steal with eight seconds and dishing to Habib for the game-winner.
 
The Screaming Eagles had an early lead to start the game, jumping out in front, 16-8, to start the game. The Panthers would rally to take the lead, 18-16, but USI would explode on a 20-2 run in the final 6:40 of the opening half to lead 36-20 after a three-pointer by Habib to end the first 20 minutes. Junior guard/forward Amaree Brown led the run to halftime with nine points during the surge.
 
In the second half, USI scored the first six points to extend the lead to a game-high 22 points, 42-20, with 19:02 to play on a pair of free throws by senior forward Ola Ajiboye. EIU would commence its comeback by outscoring USI, 48-24, over the next 18 minutes for the 68-66 margin and set the stage for Habib in the final seconds.
 
For the game for USI, Brown led four Screaming Eagles in double-figures with 22 points. He was seven-of-14 from the field, including a three-pointer, and seven-of-eight from the stripe.
 
Habib and Ajiboye followed with 15 points and 13 points, respectively, while Dunham rounded out the double-digit scorers with a career-high 12 points. Dunham also hit a career-high four-of-six from beyond the arc.
 
USI junior forward Tolu Samuels reached double-figures on the glass for the 11th time this season with 11 rebounds.

MOREHEAD STATE 81, WESTERN ILLINOIS 59
MACOMB, Ill. - Every player who saw action scored, and the Morehead State men's basketball team stayed in the hunt for an Ohio Valley Conference championship by disposing of Western Illinois 81-59 at Western Hall Saturday.

The Eagles (17-12/13-5 OVC) won their fifth in a row, while the Leathernecks fell to 5-24 overall and 1-17 in the league.

Jon Carroll led four Eagles in double figures with 17 points, while fellow big man Tamaury Releford scored a career-high for D1 opponents with 14 points. He also grabbed eight rebounds as MSU topped WIU 34-18 on the rebound battle.

Anouar Mellouk added 12 points, and George Marshall scored 10 for his 19th double figure scoring game. Danny Stephens led the home team with 15 points off the bench. MSU also had 15 assists and seven steals.

Morehead State built a 43-27 lead at halftime.

The Eagles finished with a 52 percent field goal accuracy for their fourth straight game hitting 50 percent or better. WIU shot 46 percent.