SUNDAY’S SCORES
@Indiana State 77, Southern Indiana 55
@UT Martin 74, Alabama State 64
 

INDIANA STATE 77, SOUTHERN INDIANA 55

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball closed out its road swing with a 77-55 loss at Indiana State University Sunday afternoon at the Hulman Center in Terre Haute, Indiana. The Screaming Eagles go to 3-7 in the non-conference schedule, while Indiana State is 6-4.
 
USI got off to a fast start with a 7-3 lead four minutes into the contest. ISU responded with a 6-0 run to take its first lead of the game and eventually built a nine-point advantage, 22-13, before USI rallied back.
 
USI junior guard Kaden Brown started the rally with back-to-back three-pointers before junior guard Sheridan Sharp pulled the Eagles to within three points, 24-21, on a pair of free throws with 6:29 left in the half.
 
The Sycamores pushed back with an 11-6 dash to halftime to lead 35-27 at the break. Brown and senior guard Cardell Bailey led USI at the break with eight points each.
 
The second started by going the way of the Sycamores. ISU exploded on a 14-2 run to lead by 20, 49-29, with 14:39 to play. USI would cut the deficit 14 points, 51-37, after a free throw by senior forward Ola Ajiboye with 12:02 on the clock before ISU exploded on another 15-2 run to take command, 68-41.
 
The Eagles could not close the gap again, as the Sycamores closed out with a 77-55 final.
 
Brown and Bailey led the Eagles in scoring with 13 points each, while Sharp closed out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
 
UT MARTIN 74, ALABAMA STATE 64

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad overcame a halftime deficit to post an impressive double-digit victory this afternoon, downing Alabama State by a 74-64 margin at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

With the triumph, the Skyhawks improve to 7-2 for just the second time at the NCAA Division I level – also winning seven of their first nine contests in 2016-17. UT Martin outscored the Hornets – the defending SouthWestern Athletic Conference champion who won a NCAA Tournament game last season – by a 44-29 margin over the final 20 minutes and snagged 20 offensive boards on the way to outrebounding Alabama State by a dozen (44-32).

Four Skyhawks reached double digits in the scoring column today, led by Andrija Bukumirovic’s sixth double-double (game-high 15 points and career-best 13 rebounds) of the season. Matas Deniusas equaled Bukumirovic for the most points (15) by either squad this afternoon while Damien King (career-highs of 14 points, seven rebounds and four steals) and Filip Radakovic (14 points) followed closely behind.

The Hornets (3-6) saw Tyler Byrd score 15 points off the bench while Jerquarius Stanback and Micah Simpson each posted 12 points apiece. Asjon Anderson tacked on 11 points for Alabama State, who were outscored 20-3 in second-chance points.

The Hornets jumped out to a 9-2 advantage before a three-pointer by Ty Price capped off an 8-0 Skyhawk run and gave UT Martin its first lead of the day at 12-11. Alabama State responded with nine unanswered points of its own before King caught fire with nine of the Skyhawks’ next 16 points over a stretch of 5:32.

Bukumirovic converted a putback layup with 11 seconds remaining to close out the first-half scoring, whittling the UT Martin deficit down to 35-30 at the break. King’s nine points led all scorers at the half while Simpson’s eight points ranked as a team-high tally for the Hornets.

Alabama State extended its lead to 42-34 with 17:18 left to play but the Skyhawks came right back with 14 of the next 16 points and would not trail for the final 13:14. After the Hornets knotted the score at 49-all, UT Martin went on a 10-2 surge and eventually led by as many as 15 points on the way to the victory.