1/23/09
Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Clay Moser) (10-15) vs. Austin
The Vipers snuck past the Toros 109-104 on Friday night. The Vipers were led by Trent Strickland, who had 27 points and 7 rebounds. Alpha Bangura also contributed 23 points and 7 rebounds in the victory.
1/24/09
#10 Marquette (Scott Monarch) (17-2) vs. Depaul
Jerel McNeal had 21 points and six rebounds and Lazar Hayward added 16 points and 17 rebounds in a 79-70 victory over the Blue Demons on Saturday that kept the Golden Eagles undefeated in the Big East. McNeal’s defense has been one of the biggest reasons Marquette (17-2, 6-0) is off to its best start ever in conference play, topping a 5-0 mark 16 years ago when the Golden Eagles were known as the Warriors and played in the Great Midwest.
Tennessee Tech (Steve Payne) (10-9) vs. Tennessee State
Alex Davis scored 21 points to lead Tennessee Tech to an 86-78 win over Tennessee State on Saturday night. Daniel Northern added 16 points for the Golden Eagles (10-9, 4-5 Ohio Valley Conference). Davis also went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles led by three points at the break and outscored the Tigers 49-44 in the second half. Tennessee Tech won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Tigers 37-29. The Golden Eagles lead the all-time series between the schools 25-20.
Louisiana-Lafayette (Robert Lee) (7-12) vs. South Alabama
Randell Daigle hit a 3-pointer as time expired to lift Lousiana-Lafayette to a 67-65 win over South Alabama on Saturday night. Travis Bureau led the Ragin’ Cajuns (7-12, 4-4 Sun Belt Conference) with 18 points. Chris Gradnigo scored 13 and Daigle chipped in with eight. With 20 seconds left, Bureau made one of two attempts to give Louisiana-Lafayette a 64-62 lead. Following a team timeout, South Alabama sank a 3-pointer with two seconds left to put them up by one. Then Daigle responded with a 3-pointer to win the game.
Southeast Missouri State (Rodney Hamilton) (3-18) vs. Murray State
Murray State had four players in double figures in an 80-55 rout of Southeast Missouri State on Saturday night. Jaycen Herring and Calvin Williams scored 16 points apiece to lead the Redhawks (3-18, 0-10), who have dropped 10 straight games. The Racers hit 12 of 18 free throw attempts, while the Redhawks went just 8 of 17 from the line. Murray State also hit eight shots from beyond the arc compared to one for the Redhawks. Holloway hit five of those 3-pointers. Murray State led by eight points at the break, and went on a 16-0 run during a four-minute span midway through the second half to pull away.
Arkansas State (Elwyn McRoy) (13-7) vs. Florida Atlantic
Yima Chia-Kur scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds as Arkansas State headed off an upset by Florida Atlantic in a 62-60 victory Saturday. Donald Boone added 13 points for ASU (13-7, 5-4 Sun Belt Conference). The Red Wolves had a comfortable 10-point lead going into the half with 35-25 on the scoreboard. But the Owls (4-17, 0-9) pushed ahead with superior shooting in 3-pointers in the second half making 42.9 percent to ASU’s 33.3 percent. Arkansas State was 0-0 in free throws in the final period.
UIC (Tracy Dildy) (10-9) vs. Wright State
Wright State got a 57-31 victory on Saturday night. Scott Vandermeer had 10 points for the Flames (10-9, 3-6), who hit just 11-of-42 shots from the field for 26 percent. The Flames trailed just 34-25 at the 13:26 mark of the second half but the Raiders scored 23 of the game’s final 29 points.
NCCU (Henry Dickerson) (2-21) vs. Chicago State
Chicago State routed North Carolina Central 103-63 on Saturday night. Chicago State dominated the boards, with 62 points in the paint, compared with just 20 by North Carolina Central (2-21). The Cougars led 59-31 at the half. Chicago State made 17-of-33 field goal attempts, or 56 percent, compared with 11-of-34, or nearly 36 percent, for the Eagles. Philip Branch had 15 points and Vincent Davis added 13 for North Carolina Central.
Savannah State (Horace Broadnax) (9-11) vs. Utah Valley
Utah Valley turned in a collective effort and beat Savannah State 55-39 Satuday afternoon. Utah Valley (9-8) took a 24-19 lead into the half and never looked back as they cruised to the 16-point victory. A quick Wolverine run extended the lead to 10 early in the second half and the Tigers would come no closer as they dropped to 9-11 on the season. Raye Bailey, Anthony Jones and Rashad Hassan led the Tigers in scoring with eight points apiece while Jones also chipped in with eight rebounds.
