Game of the Night
Indiana State 77, Illinois State 75: A couple of the Missouri Valley’s legit contenders squared off in a league game tonight, and the result was pleasingly close. With :07 left in the game, Justin Gant kept things interesting, missing his second of two free throws for Indiana State, leaving the Sycamores with a mere two-point lead. Jackie Carmichael, the Redbirds’ star forward, snagged the rebound and fired an outlet to Nick Zeisloft, who missed what would have been a game-winning three-pointer had it gone. Creighton and Wichita State may be the more high-profile teams in the Valley, but it’s worth remembering that it’s a tough league night-in and night-out, on every floor.
Meaningful Results
Alabama A&M 59, Mississippi State 57: When a SWAC team takes the payday and drops you on your home floor, you’ve got issues. The visiting Bulldogs of A&M got just three points from their bench, but still proceeded to outlast their hosts, who shot just 35% from the floor.
Memphis 78, Loyola 64: The Tigers may not be as good as they had hoped this season, but beating Jimmy Patsos’ Greyhounds is hardly a simple task. Dylon Cormier dropped 25 for Loyola in the loss, but Joe Jackson filled up the stat sheet for Memphis, going for 22 points, 4 boards, 7 assists and a block.
USC 63, Dayton 61 (OT): Sounds like Eric Wise had an interesting night. The 6'6" Trojan senior scored a season-high 19 points to help USC stave off Dayton, but he also picked up two technical fouls and was ejected from the game with 5:29 left in the second half. The Trojans went on to overtime without him and pulled out the win at the Galen Center.
Starred
Matty D: Matthew Dellavedova led St. Mary’s to a 78-62 home win over Yale, putting up a nice line of 24 points, 6 assists and a steal. The Gaels will keep it Ivy, suiting up again tomorrow against Harvard.
Josh Davis, Tulane: 18 points, 12 rebounds and a road upset of Alabama. Not a bad day for the 6'8" junior.
Greek Mythology: In the Clash of the Titans (and Golden Griffins), the hoped-for guard duel materialized. Billy Baron led the Griffs with 20 points, 8 boards and 7 assists. Ray McCallum countered with 22, 5 and 7. In the end, Detroit took the 83-78 win over Canisius.
Struggled
Kent State: Seriously? A 77-75 win over Fairmont State? With the MAC slate just about to start? Chris Evans of the Golden Flashes scored 27 on the night, but missed the back end of a one-and-one with the game on the line, leaving Fairmont State plenty of time for a three-point try that, fortunately for the KSU faithful, fell short.
Northern Iowa: I’m just going to set this here and back away slowly: two offensive rebounds. Total. The Panthers were swamped by Wichita State, 66-41, in their MVC opener.