College Basketball Roundup -- Nov. 26

College Basketball Round-Up

Mizzou basketball will take on Northwestern on Thanksgiving night at Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, with head coach Frank Haith returning from the an NCAA suspension to lead the team for his first game this season.  The Tigers are 5-0. Illinois rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit to defeat UNLV 61-59 in Vegas. The Fighting Illini are 6-0. St. Louis lost to Wisconsin 63-57 in Cancun, Mexico and faces Old Dominion tonight in a consolation game.

DePaul suffered a 77-59 loss to Texas at the CBE Hall of Fame Classic in Kansas City. Northwestern will take on Missouri at the Las Vegas Invitational tomorrow. Meantime, Notre Dame hosts Cornell Sunday.

SIU Beats Oregan State

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Five SIUE players scored in double figures, and SIUE outscored Oregon State in the second half Tuesday, but it wasn't enough as the Beavers outlasted the Cougars 101-81 in men's basketball at Gill Coliseum.

Oregon State (3-1) shot 64 percent (32-50) from the field and held a 52-29 halftime advantage. The Beavers forced 11 first half turnovers and turned them into 16 points.

"We did a terrible job as far as digging ourselves a huge hole," SIUE Head Coach Lennox Forrester said. "Our guys did a better job in the second half. We made a few adjustments to break their press.

The Cougars (1-6) did not turn the ball over once during the second half and connected on 45.5 percent (20-44) of their shots, outscoring Oregon State 52-49 over the final 20 minutes.  

"We were being more aggressive with attacking the basket," Forrester said. "We did a better job down the stretch of the first half and through the second half."

Maurice Wiltz scored 16 points to lead SIUE. Donivine Stewart and Keaton Jackson each added 13 points. For Jackson the 13 points marked a career high. Stewart added a game-high seven rebounds.  Rozell Nunn scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Christian Salecich scored 10 points and finished with a career-best nine assists. The Cougars finished with 23 assists, including 14 in the second half. The 23 assists is the second most in a game this season.

"We wanted to win some basketball games while we were getting better," Forrester added. "We got better but didn't get any wins."

Devon Collier scored 20 points and hauled in seven rebounds to lead Oregon State. Angus Brandt scored 19 points and also collected seven boards. Roberto Nelson scored 17 points, including 11 at the free throw line.

The Beavers attempted 38 free throws, connecting on 33. SIUE was 10 of 14 from the free throw line.

Tuesday's game was the last in a four-game road trip for SIUE, which played a three-game tournament at Portland State Friday-Sunday.

"We've been on a road for a week, and played four games in five days," Forrester said. "That's tough on anyone. It's not like any of the games were easy. Our guys had to compete."

The Cougars return home to play host to Texas-Pan American Monday at Vadalabene Center.

"We have seven games under our belts; I expect us to start winning some basketball games," Forrester said. "We're more experienced and more seasoned and we have to come out with wins."

EIU Women Claim Victory

CHARLESTON, Ill. – For the second straight game Eastern Illinois sealed a victory at the free throw line as Morgan Palombizio sank a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining to close out a 68-64 win over Western Illinois.

With the win EIU improves to 2-3 on the year with back-to-back home wins.  WIU fell to 3-4.  The Panthers return to action this weekend at the UMKC Tournament with a Friday game against UAB and a Saturday game against UMKC.  Both games will tip off at 3:30 p.m.

EIU opened the game with hot outside shooting as they jumped out to a 13-7 lead with Katlyn Payne’s jumper at 15:15 to play.  WIU would chip into the Panthers lead behind the solid play of Ashley Luke who finished with a game high 29 points and 14 rebounds for the Leathernecks.

Luke sank a pair of free throws with 2:14 to play in the first which gave WIU a five point lead.  EIU cut the halftime margin to 29-26 as Jordyne Crunk made two free throws.  Crunk had 11 of her 17 points in the first half for EIU.

Illinois Places Sinclair On Administrative Leave

(Champaign, IL) -- The University of Illinois has placed former linebacker and assistant director of player personnel Matt Sinclair on administrative leave following his arrest on Saturday. Sinclair was arrested on multiple weapons charges after allegedly pointing a gun at a car. He's due in court next week.

Tuesday, November 26 Scoreboard

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

#7 Syracuse Orange 92, California Golden Bears 81

#10 Gonzaga Bulldogs 113, Chaminade Silverswords 81

#11 Wisconsin Badgers 63, Saint Louis Billikens 57

#12 Wichita State Shockers 75, BYU Cougars 62

#14 Connecticut Huskies 76, Loyola (MD) Greyhounds 66

#17 Baylor Bears 67, Dayton Flyers 66  

Wednesday, November 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

NCAA Top-25 Men's Basketball  ("USA Today" Rankings)

6:00 p.m. - #3 Arizona Wildcats vs. Drexel Dragons  (NIT Semifinal at New York, NY)

3:00 p.m. - #4 Kentucky Wildcats host Eastern Michigan Eagles  (Keightley Classic)

8:30 p.m. - #5 Duke Blue Devils vs. Alabama Crimson Tide  (NIT Semifinal at New York, NY)