The Eastern men’s basketball team is coming off an 80-56 season opener loss to Northwestern and will be seeking redemption on Friday against Saint Louis University on the road. 

The Billikens are led offensively by guard Gibson Jimerson and freshman guard Jordan Nesbitt who both finished the game Wednesday night in double digits over Harris-Stowe. 

The Panthers are led by junior forward Jermaine Hamlin who had ten points against Northwestern Tuesday night along with freshman forward Rodolfo Bolis, who had eight rebounds. 

Tennessee-Martin kept up with No. 17 University of Tennessee for the first 25-plus minutes but a strong second half by the Volunteers led to a Skyhawk defeat of 90-62. The Skyhawks outshot the Volunteers 44.8 percent to 42.9 percent 

KK Curry had a wonderful debut for the Skyhawks, securing a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. KJ Simon was also in double figures for the Skyhawks with 14 points and six rebounds. 

For the Volunteers, Kennedy Chandler and Santiago Vescovi had 20 points apiece while Olivier  Nkamhoua tallied a double-double with 11 points and 14 rebounds.  

Ohio had a 92-80 victory over Belmont University Tuesday night as they made 16 3-point field goals, with seven different players making at least one. 

Belmont was led by Ben Sheppard who scored a career-high of 25 points, followed by Nick Muszynski with 18 points and six assists.  

Ohio was led by Mark Sears who had 27 points, along with Jason Carter and Ben Vander Plas who were both in double digits.  

A 22-2 run by Auburn was too much for the Morehead State men’s basketball team during their season opener in Alabama on Tuesday night. 

The Eagles were led by freshman forward Johni Broome with 12 points and eight rebounds. They also won the board battle over the Tigers, 39-35, led by junior guard Jaylen Sebree who had a career-high of ten rebounds. 

The Tigers were led by Wendell Green who had 19 points and Devan Cambridge with 11 points.  

Southeast Missouri and Missouri State faced off at JQH Arena Tuesday night and a 3-pointer by Eric Reed, Jr. With 11 seconds left led the Redhawks to a 99-94 victory. 

Reed Jr. Had 21 points for the Redhawks, leading the team. Chris Harris followed closely behind with 19 points. 

For the Bears, forward Gaige Prim led with 28 points, followed by guard Donovan Clay who had 20 points. 

The Murray State men’s basketball team had a 109-77 victory over Cumberland Phoenix to start their 97th season at the CFSB Center in Murray, Kentucky.  

The Racers shot 63 percent from the field which included hitting 13-of-26 from the 3-point line for 50 percent. They won the battle of the boards 43-24 and dished out 24 assists. 

The Racers were led by KJ Williams who finished with a career-high of 32 points along with Tevin Brown who had 21 points and was 4-of-8 from the 3-point line.  

Cumberland Phoenix made 23-of-56 shots and went 11-of-27 from the three-point line. Tavon King was the only Phoenix player to reach double figures, posting 19 points. Tyler Byrd, Aaron Ridley, and Jordan Stephens each had nine points. 

Tennessee Tech fell on the road to No. 12 Memphis, 89-65 for their season opener Tuesday evening as the Tigers shot 35-of-59 percent from the field.  

The Golden Eagles were led by Mamoudou Diarra who had 11 points, followed by Kenny White Jr. And Diante Wood who both had eight points.  

The Tigers were led offensively by Emoni Bates with 17 points, along with Jalen Duren and Lester Quinones who both had 15 points.  

The season opener Tuesday night inside the Winfield Dunn Center resulted in the Austin Peay men’s basketball team securing an 86-79 victory over UT Southern. The win marked the first career victory for first-year head coach Nate James.  

The Governors had four score in double figures led by redshirt senior Tariq Silver with 20 points. Silver was 6-of-7 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from long distance. Behind Silver was junior Cameron Copeland with 18 points and freshman Elijah Hutchins-Everett with 17 points. Junior Carlos Paez had 12 points to add to the performance.  

The Firehawks had three players in double figures: Adarion Hudson and Kavion Hancock each had 20 and Brady Brown contributed 11.  

The Tennesse State men’s basketball team dropped their season opener against Alabama A&M 82-73 at the Vion Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. 

The Tigers were led by Dedric Boyd with 17 points and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. With 13 points. The Bulldogs were led by Jalen Johnson with 17 points followed by Garrett Hicks with 16 points. 

SIUE men’s basketball team suffered an 88-77 loss on the road to Marquette on opening night. The Cougars were led by guard Ray’Sean Taylor with 16 points. Behind Taylor was Shamar Wright with 11 points.  

The Golden Eagles were led by Darryl Morsell with 21 points. Morsell was then followed by teammate Justin Lewis with 17 points.

Autumn Schulz can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].