Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Recaps
Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Angelo Warner came off the bench to net 27 points and pull down eight rebounds as the fifth-seeded Morehead State Eagles took down the fourth-seeded UT Martin Skyhawks, 76-65, in the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.
Karam Mashour contributed 25 points and seven rebounds for Morehead State (17-16), which advances to the semifinal round of the tournament to take on top-seeded Murray State on Friday. Brent Arrington chipped in with 11 points, and Kareem Storey dished out eight assists in the win.
Alex Anderson netted 23 points to pace UT Martin (18-12), which lost its second consecutive game. Marshun Newell added 13 points and eight rebounds, but turned the ball over four times in the loss.
Morehead State buried 48.4 percent of its first-half field goal tries, even though the team made just 3-of-10 from 3-point range. Still, the Eagles took a 36-28 lead into the intermission after UT Martin could only sink 37.5 percent of its attempts from the floor.
The Eagles improved to 57.1 percent shooting in the second period, and added a 13-of-16 mark from the free-throw line to add to their lead. The Skyhawks connected on 36.7 percent of their shots in the frame as their season came to an end.
Morehead State outscored UT Martin in points in the paint, 38-22, and owned a 30-14 advantage in bench scoring in the win.
Final Score: Belmont 97, Eastern Illinois 64
Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) – Craig Bradshaw scored 23 points, dished out six assists and recorded four steals as the third-seeded Belmont Bruins cruised past the sixth-seeded Eastern Illinois Panthers, 97-64, in the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament at Municipal Auditorium.
Evan Bradds and Nick Smith each tallied 14 points for Belmont (20-10), which advances to the semifinal round of the tournament to face last year’s OVC champion Eastern Kentucky on Friday. Amanze Egekeze added 12 points with six rebounds, and Mack Mercer chipped in with 10 points off the bench. Reece Chamberlain narrowly missed a triple-double with nine points, eight boards and eight assists.
Reggie Smith netted 17 points to pace Eastern Illinois (17-14), which lost two of its last three to end the season. Trae Anderson contributed 13 points off the bench, and Cornell Johnston collected 11 points with five assists in the loss.
Belmont took a commanding 47-24 lead into halftime after hitting an impressive 58.6 percent of its field goal tries in the opening frame, with a 9-of-15 mark from 3-point distance. Eastern Illinois connected on just 33.3 percent of its attempts in the period.
The Bruins continued to build on their lead in the second half behind 63.3 percent shooting, adding in 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. The Panthers improved to 48.3 percent from the floor, but couldn’t catch the red-hot Bruins.
Belmont outscored Eastern Illinois from 3-point distance, 48-24, and held a 38-26 advantage in scoring in the paint in the win. The Bruins used all 15 of their players in the contest.
Categorized in: NCAA Basketball