Game Results—Feb 12-18
Conference V
Western Illinois (15-7, 9-2)—56, NC-Central—46 (Western Illinois trailed the Eagles most of the way in the first half, but managed to gain a 29-28 halftime edge by tightening their defense late in the half. The Leathernecks’ defense became even ore restrictive in the 2nd half which allowed Western Illinois’ struggling offense to slowly pull away. The biggest difference in the game was in turnovers…10 by Western Illinois and 19 by NC-Central. Both SF James Johnson and SG Marcelo Barker scored 14 points. C Jamar Curtis scored just 9 points but pulled down 15 rebounds.)
Alabama State—81, Western Illinois (15-8, 9-3)—63 (“We let the Hornets get ahead of us at the start and just didn’t have it in us tonight to make a comeback,” said Coach Morillo. PF Craig Grant had 19 points.)
Eastern Illinois—97, UC-San Diego (15-7, 8-3)—93 (OT) (UC-San Diego’s players hit nearly 2/3 of their shots but couldn’t shake Eastern Illinois which hit almost 60% of their shots. At the half the score stood at 53-58 in favor of the Tritons. But Eastern Illinois turned the tables in the 2nd half, slowing down the pace and both teams had a much more difficult time of scoring. Both teams held small leads at various parts fo the 2nd half, but when the buzzer sounded the score was knotted at 84-84. In the OT, Eastern Illinois scored the first two baskets. From there on UC-San Diego gamely tried to overtake the Panthers but each time they’d get within a point or two, Eastern Illinois would thwart the Tritons efforts to wrest away the lead. The result was a disappointing overtime road loss by UC-San Diego to one of the teams which they had been tied for 1st in the conference. SF Gregg Green hit for 27 points.)
UC-San Diego (16-7, 9-3)—68, Longwood—53 (The Tritons led from wire to wire, outshooting the Lancers 50% to 40% and outrebounding them 39-22. PF Jack Robinson had 12 points and 8 rebounds and SF Gregg Green had 12 points and 7 rebounds.)
Conference U
MD-Eastern Shore (15-7, 8-3)—75, Dartmouth—49 (Dartmouth controlled the game for the first 6 minutes but the Hawks spurted to a 38-28 halftime lead and then completely buried the Big Green in the 2nd half. Reserve C Romolo Pantini scored 16 points and SF Jibran Hale had 15 points and 7 boards.)
MD-Eastern Shore (16-7, 9-3)—78, Howard—72 (The Hawks fashioned a 12 point lead in the first half only too it evaporate as the half ended with the score tied at 40-40. Howard threatened to upset the Braves throughout the 2nd half until MD-Eastern Shore put together a 10-2 run and then held on the final 3 minutes to score the win. SG Marcos Santini hit for 23 points and SF Jibran Hale added 20.)
Conference T
Alcorn State (17-5, 10-1)—85, Sacred Heart—58 (The Braves blew the Pioneers out of the water, quickly jumping ahead and then steadily adding to their lead throughout the first and second halves. Complete and total domination. All five starters scored in double figures, led by SG Craig Brown’s 21 points and PF Will Friel’s double-double (11 points and 11 rebounds).)
Alcorn State (18-5, 11-1)—75, Bethune Cookman—50 (“Our defense was solid the entire game and never let the Wildcats make a run,” said Coach Montez. Up by as much as 35 points, the Braves’ entire team got time on the court. C Gabriel Atwood led the scoring with 20 points.)
Texas Southern—91, Arkansas-Pine Bluff (16-7, 7-4)—90 (Texas Southern looked to have this game wrapped up, leading nearly all the way and by as much as 17 points, but the Golden Lions came roaring back late in the 2nd half to lose by the narrowest of margins. The lead shifted back and forth the last 3 minutes but the Tigers were able to score on a tip-in with 2 seconds remaining to stymie Arkansas-Pine Bluff’s remarkable comeback. SF Dan Jefferson scored 22 points and had 7 assists.)
Arkansas-Pine Bluff (17-7, 8-4)—84, Seattle—67 (Seattle out-rebounded the Golden Lions 38-28 but turned the ball over 22 times which allowed Arkansas-Pine Bluff to gain the lead early and hang onto it the rest of the way. Coach Spencer commented, “We really needed this win tonight.” SG Kwame Mickens had 23 points, 5 assists, 3 boards, 3 steals, and 3 blocks.)
Awards: none
Significant Injuries: Marcelo Barker of Western Illinois suffered a bruised abdominal which will hamper him for 2 weeks. Alcorn State’s Harold Hein has a strained calif that is likely to require 2 weeks to fully heal.
Comments: All 5 teams continue to do well this season. Alcorn State rolled off 2 easy wins and now has an 11-game win streak. The Braves now are 3 games ahead of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and South Carolina Upstate which are tied for 2nd place in Conference T. Conference U features a 3-way tie for 1st place composed of MD-Eastern Shore, North Alabama, and Jackson State. MD-Eastern Shore has now won 7 of their last 8 games. Western Illinois and UC-San Diego are tied for 2nd place in Conference V, a game behind first place Eastern Illinois.