College Basketball Roundup From January 10

CHARLESTON, Ill. – Eastern Illinois had its best offensive output of the season but the Panthers fell short Thursday against Tennessee Tech as Jud Dillard hit a shot with two seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles added two free throws following an EIU turnover to win 77-73.

TTU improved to 7-9, 1-3 in the OVC. EIU fell to 3-14, 0-4 in the OVC. The Panthers host Jacksonville State on Saturday at 6 p.m. in Lantz Arena.

EIU opened the game with an 18-6 run as Morris Woods had four early points during his career high 25 point night.  The Panthers extended the lead to fifteen points with 7:01 left as Woods bucket gave EIU a 35-20 lead.

TTU closed the halftime margin to four points as they trailed 44-40 at the break with Dillard scoring 12 first half points.  Dillard would lead all scorers with 34 points.  EIU shot 65 percent in the opening half while TTU shot 56 percent from the floor and was able to climb back in the game behind 7-of-12 shooting from 3-point range in the opening twenty minutes.

Sherman Blanford’s tip-in pushed EIU’s lead to seven points early in the second half and a Blanford lay-up increased EIU’s lead to 58-49 with 14:25 remaining.  Blanford added 16 points coming off the bench for the Panthers hitting 6-of-8 from the floor.  Blanford had six assists.

TTU closed to within three points with 9:40 left on a 3-pointer by Jeremiah Samarrippas.  A free throw and jumper by Woods on the next two EIU possessions pushed the lead back to six points with 7:52 to play at 67-61.

Dillard tied the game at 70-70 with 1:26 left to play as Dillard scored 13 of the Golden Eagles final 15 points going 5-of-5 from the floor.  Following a free throw by Blanford, Dillard sank a 3-pointer with 53 seconds left to give TTU its first lead of the game at 73-71.

Blanford found Josh Piper cutting down the lane for a lay-up to tie the game at 73-73 with 35 seconds left.  Dillard then hit what proved to be the game winner with two seconds left.  EIU turned the ball over on the inbound pass and fouled as Matt Marseille sank a pair of free throws to finish the game.

Jacksonville State 75, SIUE 62

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Jacksonville State went on a 21-2 second-half scoring run to erase a nine-point SIUE lead Thursday en route to a 75-62 victory in Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball at Vadalabene Center.

SIUE fell to 4-9 overall and 0-3 in the OVC. Jacksonville State improved to 11-5 and 3-2.

Jacksonville State forced SIUE into 12 second-half turnovers and scored 18 points off those turnovers. The Gamecocks scored 23 points off 16 SIUE turnovers for the game.

Jerome Jones and Michael Messer were the only Cougars in double figures. Jones finished with 15 points, including 10 in the second half. Messer finished one rebound shy of his first career double-double scoring 14 points and adding nine rebounds. Kris Davis and Mark Yelovich each scored eight points for SIUE. Davis added six assists.

University of Illinois Springfield 73, University of Southern Indiana 71

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – The 10th-ranked University of Southern Indiana men's basketball team was outscored 10-2 in the final 2:30 as it was stunned by the University of Illinois Springfield, 73-71, Thursday evening in Springfield, Illinois. USI falls to 9-2 overall and 2-1 in the GLVC, while UI Springfield goes to 4-8, 2-2 GLVC.
 
The Screaming Eagles flew out of the gate to start the game as junior forward Orlando Rutledge (Louisville, Kentucky) sank a three-point bomb for the first points of the game. USI would build on that three-pointer and posted its largest lead of the half, 11-4, three minutes into the contest.
 
The Eagles continued to lead for most of the first half, but the Prairie Stars outscored USI, 19-11, in the final 10 minutes to lead at halftime, 34-31.
 
The second half saw USI battle back into a lead they would hold for a majority of the final half. USI matched the seven-point first half lead twice in the final stanza, including the final time with 7:30 to play, 61-54.
 
USI seemed to withstand the challenges by UI Springfield and had a six-point lead with 2:30 left, 69-63, when the Prairie Stars made their final run to victory. UI Springfield was sparked by a pair of three-point field goals by senior guard Kyle Gupton with 1:45 and 1:37 left to tie the game 69-69. Gupton finished with a game-high 26 points, including six three-point field goals.
 
Prairie Stars freshman forward Dusko Despot gave UI Springfield the lead for good, 72-69, on a three-pointer with 16 ticks left on the clock. The Eagle cut the margin to one, 72-71, on a bucket by junior guard Lawrence Thomas (Springfield, Illinois), but after a Prairie Stars added a free throw by sophomore Dylan Sparkman with 1.4 seconds that sealed the final score of 73-71.
 
Individually for the Eagles, Rutledge led three players in double-figures with 17 points. The junior forward scored 12 in the second half, including nine in a row. Thomas followed Rutledge with 13 points, while senior center Keith DeWitt (High Point, North Carolina) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points. DeWitt also posted his second double-double of the year with 11 rebounds.