Thursday, November 19
Middle Tennessee 74, Lamar 66
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -James Washington scored 19 points and had six assists to lead Middle Tennessee to a 74-66 victory over Lamar on Thursday night.
Washington made four of his 11 free throws in the final 29 seconds as the Blue Raiders (2-2) held off a late charge after leading by as many as 14 points in the second half.
Lamar's Lawrence Nwevo hit a free throw to cut the lead to 68-63 with 33 seconds left before Washington hit two to increase the advantage to 70-63 with 16 seconds left. Washington hit two more with 7 seconds left.
After falling behind by eight early, Middle Tennessee took a 16-14 lead on Monatarrio Haddock's 3-pointer with 11:24 remaining in the first half.
Haddock finished with 17 points and Theryn Hudson added 10 for the Blue Raiders.
Anthony Miles led Lamar (2-1) with 19 points and Charlie Harper had 17 points and 15 rebounds. Kendrick Harris added 14 points.
New Orleans 74, Southern University-New Orleans 65
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -Billy Humphrey scored 26 points to lead New Orleans to a 74-65 win over Southern-New Orleans on Thursday night.
The Privateers (1-1) led 44-30 at halftime, but the Knights cut the lead to 56-51 with 8:44 to play in the game. The Privateers responded with a 14-6 run to put the game out of reach at 70-57 with 3:09 remaining.
Ejike Hart added 11 points and seven rebounds for the Privateers.
Ricardo Porter led the Knights with 17 points. Lionel Green added 14 points and Abron Hunt had 11.
New Orleans bolted to its first-half lead on the strength of 78.9 percent shooting from the field (15-for-19). The Privateers cooled off slightly in the second half, but shot 63.6 percent for the game (21-for-33).
Denver 56, Montana 49
DENVER (AP) - Nate Rohnert scored 20 points and sealed the win with two free throws in the last 11 seconds as Denver defeated previously unbeaten Montana 56-49 on Thursday night.
Chase Hallam had 14 for the Pioneers (2-1). Andrew Hooper added 12 for the Grizzlies.
Anthony Johnson led Montana (3-1) with 23 points. Brian Qvale had 10 of his 12 points in the second half.
The Grizzlies failed to get their first 4-0 start since opening the 1995-96 season 5-0.
Denver's 14-point halftime lead was reduced to 53-49 with 1:40 left after consecutive baskets by Johnson. The Grizzlies missed their next three shots.
Andrew Hooper made 1 of 2 free throws, and after Raason Young's shot was blocked, Rohnert sealed the win by hitting two free throws with 10.7 seconds left.
South Alabama 82, Spring Hill 53
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) -Martino Brock scored 16 points and three others posted double figures as South Alabama easily beat Spring Hill 82-53 on Thursday night.
Tim Williams added 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Jaguars (3-1), playing their first home game of the season. Also, Bryan Sherrer had 11 points and Gary Redus 10 as the Jaguars had 10 players to score.
Trailing 19-17, the Jaguars went on a 20-0 run that put them ahead 37-19 with 2:23 to play in the first half. A 20-6 run late in the second half gave the Jaguars their largest lead at 82-47 with 2:29 remaining in the game.
Spring Hill (2-1), an NAIA school, was led by Marcus Coleman with 17 points. Antonio Burch added 11 points for Spring Hill.
The Badgers came into the game averaging 85 points, but were outrebounded 40-29 and shot only 33.3 percent from the field (2-for-60).
The Jaguars shot 51.9 percent (28-for-54).
Wednesday, November 18
Arkansas State 73, SEMO 49
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (AP) -Brandon Reed scored 17 points to lead Arkansas State over Southeast Missouri 73-49 Wednesday night.
Reed was 6 of 11 from the field for Arkansas State (2-0). JeJuan Brown recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 13 rebounds and Martavius Adams scored 10 points for the Red Wolves.
Southeast Missouri (0-2) was led by Anthony Allison with 10 points.
The Red Wolves took a 12-2 lead to open the game and the lead never fell below 10 points the rest of the way. The Red Wolves led 43-21 at the half. They shot 52 percent from the field in the first half and finished 44 percent for the game.
Southeast Missouri has lost 21 straight dating to last season.
North Texas 101, Texas-Arlington 99 (2OT)
ARLINGTON, Texas - It took two overtimes but North Texas finally ended the hex of UT Arlington. In dramatic fashion Josh White poured in a career-high 35 points and North Texas (2-0) knocked off UTA (1-1) 101-99 in double overtime from Texas Hall. The win by North Texas ended a five-game winning streak for UTA over the Mean Green.
"A lot of guys really stepped up for us on the defensive end on the floor for us when we needed it down the stretch," said coach Johnny Jones. "We are lucky to have No. 10 (White) on our side and he made so many great plays for us tonight. People were able to see the type of player that he is, and we are fortunate that he is back at 100 percent and he is just a warrior."
White led the way for North Texas as the game featured 19 lead changes. With North Texas leading 101-99 with 3.5 second left, UTA had one final chance to tie the game, but Brandon Long's jumper rattled out. The game went to overtime after a furious rally by North Texas in regulation.
Trailing 76-69 with 4:57 left, North Texas went on a 10-1 run over the next two minutes to take a 79-77 lead with 2:13 left in the game. The Mavericks retook the lead at 80-79 with 1:38 on a Marquez Haynes layup. White responded with a basket and North Texas went back up 81-80 with a minute left. The two teams traded free throws and UTA had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation but Haynes missed a jumper at the buzzer.
In the first overtime the two teams traded free throws and buckets. With less than a minute left in the first overtime, North Texas had a 94-93 lead with 28 seconds left after two free throws by White. Long had another chance to win the game for UTA at the free throw line with 3.3 seconds left, but made just one out of two and the game went to a double overtime where the Mean Green were able to outlast the Mavs.
True freshman Jacob Holman had a big night with 14 points and George Odufuwa recorded a double-double with 18-points and 11 rebounds. North Texas made 57 trips to the free throw line, which is the second most in school history.
UALR 100, St. Gregory's 56
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Solomon Bozeman had 16 points and Kelson Stewart had 15 as Arkansas-Little Rock routed St. Gregory's 100-56 Wednesday night.
Bozeman was 3 of 5 and Stewart was 3 of 3 from 3-point range.
Derrick Bails had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Trojans (1-2). Alex Garcia-Mendoza and Nikola Cicic added 10 points each in a game in which all 12 Trojan players scored.
St. Gregory's (3-1) was led by Fayzon Richey with 16 points. Jade Carter had a game-high 11 rebounds for the Cavaliers.
Arkansas-Little rock shot 51.4 percent (37 of 72). St. Gregory's shot 33.8 percent (23 of 68).
Tuesday, November 17
FIU 88, Florida Memorial 82
MIAMI - Isiah Thomas earned his first win as a college coach Tuesday when Phil Gary Jr. scored a season-high 27 points to help FIU beat Florida Memorial 88-82, in the Golden Panthers season opener at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
The Golden Panthers improved to 1-3 in Thomas' first season.
Gary, shot 7 for 11 and added 10 free throws to pace a balanced FIU scoring attack.
FIU struggled to put the game away, leading 68-57 with 8:27 to play before the Lions went on a 17-4 run to take a 74-72 lead on a Matthew Rolle layup, four minutes later
But Marvin Roberts made a 3-pointer for a 79-76 FIU advantage that give the Panthers the lead to stay with 2 1/2 minutes left. Roberts, who came into the game as FIU's leading scorer averaging 19 points per game, finished with his first intercollegiate double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
And it wasn't only career nights for Gary and Roberts. Senior J.C. Otero, who missed most of last season after undergoing knee surgery, came up with career highs of 16 points and 14 rebounds. Otero, who was the tallest Golden Panther on the floor this evening at 6-foot-7, could hold that title for quite some time as after the game, Coach Thomas announced that 6-foot-9 senior forward Nikola Gacesa had torn his right ACL and is probably lost for the season.
FIU also got double-digit performances from Marlon Bright with 11 points and Stephon Weaver with 10.
Giorgio Gramegna had 17 points and 10 rebounds for Florida Memorial (0-2).
The announced crowd of 2,726 ranked as the fifth largest ever to witness a college game at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
The Golden Panthers now prepare for the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer Miami Subregional this weekend, beginning with Friday's double-header featurings James Madison versus Murray State at 4:00 p.m., followed by FIU hosting North Carolina Central at 7:00 p.m. For tickets and information, call (305) FIU-GAME.
Tulsa 59, UALR 45
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -Jerome Jordan scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds Tuesday to pace Tulsa to a 59-45 victory over Arkansas-Little Rock.
Jordan scored 15 in the first half to stake Tulsa (3-0) to a 25-20 lead. He made 4 of 6 shots, but the rest of the Hurricane combined to connect on just 4 of 19 with seven turnovers.
UALR was no better in the first half, making 8 of 24 with eight turnovers.
Jordan, a 7-foot center and the preseason Conference USA Player of the Year, made his presence felt defensively as well as UALR shot just 33 percent for the contest (16 of 49). Jordan finished 6 of 12 from the field and also had two assists, two blocks and a steal.
Solomon Bozeman scored 17 for UALR (0-2).
Donte Medder added 10 for Tulsa. Ben Uzoh scored nine but made just 4 of 14 from the field.
Marshall 63, Middle Tennessee 60
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) -Tirrell Baines scored 12 points and Damier Pitts sank four free throws in the final 35 seconds to help Marshall hold off Middle Tennessee State 63-60 on Tuesday night.
The Thundering Herd (2-0) trailed 54-51 with just over 4 minutes to play, but Pitts hit a pair of free throws and Baines had consecutive dunks to put Marshall up 57-54 with 3:37 remaining.
Baines then dropped in a layup with 2:05 left to seal the Herd's game-winning 8-0 run.
The Blue Raiders (1-2) never got closer than three points the rest of the way, as Pitts' foul shots sealed the game.
Tyler Wilkerson and Shaquille Johnson scored 11 apiece for the Herd, who lead the all-time series against Middle Tennessee 4-1.
James Washington scored 14 to lead the Blue Raiders, who were without last season's leading scorer Desmond Yates. The senior forward is out due to a knee injury.
Oklahoma 72, Louisiana-Monroe 61
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) -Willie Warren scored 24 points, Tony Crocker added 13 and No. 17 Oklahoma notched the 1,500th win in the program's history by beating Louisiana-Monroe 72-61 on Tuesday night.
After dishing out a career-high 11 assists in the Sooners' opener, Warren played his expected role as the team's leading scorer against the Warhawks (1-2). He got to the foul line repeatedly and scored 11 of his points on free throws.
Oklahoma (2-0) struggled early with ULM's zone pressure, but eventually took the lead for good with a 9-0 run with about 14 minutes remaining.
Tony Hooper scored 17 points for the Warhawks before fouling out with just under 5 minutes remaining. Rudy Turner had 12 points and Dynile Forbes 11.
Ryan Wright hit a pair of free throws to put Oklahoma ahead 40-39 with 13:52 to play, and the Sooners took advantage of Hooper's brief rest to build on its lead. Freshman Steven Pledger hit a pair of free throws and a 3-pointer to push the lead to eight before Hooper returned and immediately converted a three point play.
Pledger answered with a 3 at the other end and Crocker added another off an inbounds play with 3 seconds left on the shot clock to make it 53-42. Louisiana-Monroe never got closer than nine the rest of the way.
Freshman Tiny Gallon had 10 rebounds, but the Sooners didn't get nearly as much out of their new recruits as in their season opener. In a 95-71 win against Mount St. Mary's on Saturday, Oklahoma's four freshmen combined for 64 points. They had 20 on Tuesday night.
Oklahoma scored the first five points of the game, but then yielded an 11-0 run sparked by three straight turnovers by Gallon, a McDonald's All-American. Forbes pushed ULM's lead to 16-8 with a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 9:48 left in the first half.
By then, the Sooners had already committed eight turnovers.
Oklahoma cut down on the mistakes and chipped away at the deficit, finally taking the lead back on Warren's reverse layup that made it 23-22 with 1:37 left before halftime.
ULM took the lead again on Jarvis Hill's double-pump layup from the right block that made it 39-38. But that was the only lead of the second half for the Warhawks, who are coming off back-to-back 10-win seasons but added seven new players this season.
LSU 71, WKU 60
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) -Bo Spencer scored a career-high 28 points and made a tie-breaking 3-pointer as LSU defeated Western Kentucky 71-60 on Tuesday night.
With the score tied at 57, Spencer knocked in a 3-pointer with 2:48 remaining in the second-round game of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Tipoff. Following a Hilltoppers offensive foul, Dennis Harris dunked to give the Tigers a five-point lead.
Spencer then picked off a pass and drove for a layup. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Spencer clinched the victory by sinking three foul shots. Spencer, who was 8-for-9 at the foul line, also had seven rebounds and four assists.
Storm Warren had his third straight double-double for LSU (3-0) with a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds,
Sergio Kerusch led Western Kentucky (1-1) with 25 points. A.J. Slaughter, who scored 30 points on Monday night, shot 3-for-17 and finished with 11 points.
Monday, November 16
WKU 69, Wisconsin-Milwaukee 65
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A.J. Slaughter scored a career-high 30 points to lead Western Kentucky to a 69-65 victory over Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Monday night.
Slaughter scored 17 of his points in the second half of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Tipoff. He was 10-for-16 from the field, including 5-for-10 on 3-pointers. Sergio Kerusch and Steffphon Pettigrew scored 13 points each for the Hilltoppers (1-0).
James Eayrs led the Panthers (1-1) with 13 points. Patrick Souter added 12 points and Ricky Franklin had 11.
Western Kentucky, which trailed by six early in the second half, used a 7-0 run to pull ahead 42-41. After nine lead changes, the Hilltoppers led 58-57 with 5:45 remaining.
Slaughter made two foul shots in the final minute for a 66-59 Hilltoppers lead. The Panthers trimmed the deficit to two on an Eayrs basket with 4 seconds left, then Kerusch clinched the victory with two free throws.
Troy 104, William Carey 88
TROY, Ala. (AP) - Brandon Hazzard scored 29 points and had 10 rebounds and Yamene Coleman added a career-high 20 points to lead Troy to a 104-88 victory over William Carey on Monday night.
The Trojans (2-0), who defeated Piedmont 106-50 in the season opener, posted their first back-to-back 100-point games since the 1993-94 season when they defeated Chicago State 124-110 and Selma 111-85.
Hazard was 9-for-19 from the field and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Coleman, who transferred from the University of Alabama, made 10 of 12 field goals.
The Crusaders (2-1) scored the first basket of the game and never led again. Troy took a 54-35 lead into halftime.
William Carey, an NAIA school, pulled within 66-57 with 13:22 left on a 3-pointer by Daniel Huggins, but Troy promptly regained a double-digit lead.
Brandon Cooks and Drew Meyerchick led the Crusaders with 23 points apiece.
Arkansas State 93, MacMurray College 47
JONESBORO, Ark. (AP) -Daniel Bryant scored 18 points to lead Arkansas State to an easy victory, 93-47, over Mac Murray College in its season opener Monday night.
The Red Wolves raced to an early lead against Mac Murray and were up 51-22 at halftime against the Division III school. Their biggest lead was the final margin of 46 points.
Arkansas State's Donald Boone left the game after four minutes with a knee injury. Red Wolves coach John Brady said after the game that the preliminary report on the senior was a torn anterior cruciate ligament, which would put him out for the season.
Four other players were in double figures for Arkansas State. Brandon Peterson scored 13, Brandon Reed had 12, Adam Sterrenberg 11 and Mike Lance 10. The Highlanders were led by Brady Slagle with 13 points.
Louisiana-Lafayette 90, Louisiana College 67
LAFAYTETTE, La. - Early in the second half the athleticism and speed of Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns men's basketball team helped them break open a close game and pull away from Louisiana College for a 90-68 victory Monday evening at the Cajundome.
The Wildcats shot 46 percent (11-of-24) in the first half, but began the second half shooting 1-of-10.
The Wildcats were led by Jarrod Jackson's 21 points. He was joined in double figures by JeLani Mitchell with 15 points.
ULL shot 53 percent (18-of-34) in the second half and outscored Louisiana College 48-29.
Southeastern Louisiana 90, Florida Atlantic 77
HAMMOND, La. (AP) - Damon Forest scored 28 points to lead five Southeastern Louisiana players in double figures in a 90-77 victory over Florida Atlantic on Monday night.
Trey Hutchin added 17 points for the Lions (2-0), who shot 58.8 percent from the 3-point line (10-for-17) and have scored 99 and 90 points in their victories this season.
Forest played 30 minutes, but was 9 of 13 from the field, hit four 3-pointers and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line. His 3-pointer with 3:42 left in the first half gave Southeastern Louisiana a 39-19 lead.
The Lions increased their advantage to 49-24 on Deshawn Patterson's layup with 1:02 left in the first half.
David Ndoumba scored 11 points and Jason Marks and Brandon Fortenberry added 10 points each for the Lions.
Raymond Taylor led Florida Atlantic (1-1) with 25 points and Shavar Richardson added 18 points.
Photo Credit: School Files
