NEWARK, N.J. - Lafayette never snapped a cold-shooting funk on Monday against NJIT, losing a 78-58 decision to open 2012. The Leopards shot a season-low 20 percent from long distance while NJIT knocked down 13 three-pointers.

It was the first win for the Highlanders (6-7) in the five-game series with Lafayette that began in 2006. Four-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week Seth Hinrichs led Lafayette (5-9) with 14 points to go along with a team-high five rebounds and two blocks. NJIT's Chris Flores had five three-pointers en route to 23 points and was joined in double figures by and Arjun Ohri with a career-high 19 and Isaiah Wilkerson with 17.

It was a back and forth affair in the opening stanza. The teams were tied on eight different occasions, the final at 4:08 when Ryan Willen (11 points) hit a jumper. The Highlanders scored the final nine points of the half with Ohri hitting a pair of three's and Flores adding another at 1:06 to lead 34-25 at halftime. Ohri had 11 in the first half.

Lafayette shot 35 percent from the floor in the opening half, including 27 percent (4-for-15) from three where NJIT shot 58 percent (7-for-12). Lafayette never made it to the bonus in the first half, taking just four free throws in the opening stanza, eventually reaching the bonus with 2:35 left in the game.

NJIT opened the second half with five unanswered, all from Ryan Woods, to extend the lead to 39-25 just 1:04 in. The Leopards trimmed the margin to nine on a backdoor feed from Willen to Jim Mower (nine points) who converted a three-point play to cut the deficit to 39-30 with 17:46 left.

The Highlanders used an 8-2 run over a two-minute span midway through the second half to take a commanding lead 58-39 lead at 9:05, an advantage NJIT extended to as many as 27 points in the final minutes. Alan Flannigan scored five points in the final 24 seconds, including his first career three-pointer at the buzzer, to run the final to 78-58.

Lafayette hosts Penn on Wednesday in a doubleheader at Kirby Sports Center. The Lafayette women host Columbia beginning at 5 p.m. and the men will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – Tyler Stone scored a game-high 24 points and added six rebounds to lead Southeast Missouri (7-7, 2-0) to a 74-56 win over Jacksonville State (5-11, 0-3) Monday night at the Show Me Center.

Southeast, which has won three-straight games, is 2-0 in Ohio Valley Conference play for the first time since 1999-2000. That year, the Redhawks beat Tennessee Tech and Tennessee State to start league play under then-head coach Gary Garner.

“This was a really good win for us,” said Southeast head coach Dickey Nutt. “We got off to a strong start and I was pleased with our shooting.”

Southeast stormed out of the gate with a double-digit run for the second-straight game, scoring the first 11 points of the contest.

Nick Niemczyk buried a three-pointer on the Redhawks opening possession, before Stone, Marcus Brister and Leon Powell combined for the next eight points in less than four minutes.

JSU responded with a 16-4 run of its own to take its only lead of the game when Brian Williams' jumper gave the Gamecocks a 17-16 edge at the 10:53 mark.

Southeast and JSU would then battle to a 20-20 tie before combining for eight turnovers in a period of 7:26.

The Redhawks, however, managed to score 14 of the last 22 points of the half and dropped in five-straight after Stephen Hall converted a three-point play to cut Southeast's lead to 29-28 with 1:45 on the clock.

Marland Smith's three-pointer (:54) and Brister's layup (:01) in the final minute gave Southeast a 34-28 lead at the intermission.

After Darion Rackley's layup sliced Southeast's lead to 43-41 with 13:57 left to play in the second half, the Redhawks used a 15-0 run to blow the game open.

JSU went scoreless for 5:04, missing eight field goals and committing three turnovers during that stretch.

Meanwhile, Brister completed a pair of three-point plays and Smith and Niemczyk drained back-to-back threes to fuel the decisive surge. Niemczyk's three pushed Southeast's lead to 58-41 at the 9:14 mark.

The Redhawks led by as many as 20 points twice in the last eight minutes en route to their seventh win of the season.

Southeast, which owns a .500 record for the first time under Nutt, shot 50 percent (25-of-50) from the field and a season-high 81 percent (17-of-21) at the free throw line.

Defensively, the Redhawks forced 13 turnovers and held JSU to a .317 field goal percentage. The Gamecocks made 19 of their 60 field goal attempts. JSU shot just 21.1 percent (4-of-19) from three-point range, as well.

Stone, who scored double figures in his eighth-consecutive start, shot 10-of-16 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. It was the third time Stone scored 20 or more points in a game this season.

Brister followed with 14 points, a game-high eight rebounds and four assists.

Smith rounded out Southeast's double-digit scorers with 11 points and a game-high six assists. He also drained at least three 3-pointers in each of his last four games.

Williams led all JSU scorers with 19 points.

The Gamecocks, who have now lost 12-straight road games, fell to 0-8 away from home this year.

Southeast hits the road to face UT Martin on Jan. 5. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., CT, at the Elam Center.

Click here for a full breakdown of the game's stats!

ShowMe Scoreboard, 1.03.2012

Games played Monday, Jan. 2, 2012

 

High School Girls

• Dexter 72, Farmington 41
• Lesterville 53, Saxony Lutheran 32
• Perryville 52, Ste. Genevieve 41 

NCAA Men

• NJIT 78, Lafayette 58
• SEMO 74,  Jacksonville State 56
• Baylor 61, Texas A&M 52
• Virginia 57, LSU 52
• Rhode Island 78, Boston College 72
• Tennessee 76, Chattanooga 63

NCAA Women

SEMO 66, Jacksonville State 48

• Ohio State 84, Iowa 71
• Penn State 82, Wisconsin 49
• E. Illinois 76, Murray State 56

Tonight

• Mizzou vs Oklahoma at Mizzou Arena

By Andrew Cato, ShowMe Times Sports Editor

FARMINGTON - The Lady ‘Cats opened 2012 on the road with another tough opponent - the Farmington Knightettes. LBB’s one-two punch of Paige Patterson and Brittany Harris both had double-doubles in the 72-41 victory, but this time it was Patterson that led the Lady ‘Cats with 21 points.

“I thought Paige did a great job inside tonight. We tried to find a mismatch there,” LBB head coach Chad Allen said of his sophomore post. “Farmington has a really good post player in Rachel Williams, but she can’t guard both Brittany and Paige. We tried to find that mismatch, and Paige was the recipient of that.”

“I thought Paige also did a really good job on her post moves; she executed and finished well.”

The Lady ‘Cats dominated the glass throughout the contest; Harris and Patterson had 10 and 11 boards, respectively, while Mollie Whitehead hauled in eight from her forward position.


The ‘Cats jumped out to a quick 12-2 lead, aided by a three from Erika Cobb and a three point play from Harris. Alison Jarrell, who had been sidelined with a rib injury for three weeks, knocked down a three on her first shot of the game at the 2:10 mark, but was quickly answered by Shania Sweeney. The Knightettes put together a quick run to cut Dexter’s lead to 21-12 at the end of the first quarter.

Cobb and Hannah Noe both exited the game early in the second quarter with foul trouble, and Farmington continued to inch closer to the Lady ‘Cats. The Knightettes pulled within seven at the 2:24 mark, but Patterson knocked down a trey and 15-footer on back-to-back possessions to give the Lady ‘Cats a 34-24 lead at halftime.

Farmington pulled back within six points early in the second half, but threes from Whitehead and Noe, coupled with a putback from Patterson, helped keep the Lady ‘Cats afloat. A three point play from Katelynn Frazier put the ‘Cats up by 13, but four quick points, capped off by a buzzer-beating jumper by Jordan Martin, pulled the Knightettes within nine at the end of the third.

Jarrell picked up a steal early in the fourth quarter, which led to a bucket for Cobb. Another three from Noe put the ‘Cats up 64-38 at the 6:15 mark, but Martin answered for the Knightettes on the next possession. The Lady ‘Cats were able to shut out the Knightettes for the rest of the contest and take home a 72-41 victory against the District opponent.

“I thought the girls really came out extremely well early in the game. We got in foul trouble midway through the first quarter, and from that point out, I thought Farmington played with us, and they made a pretty good run on us,” Allen said after the game. “I knew that if we kept putting pressure on them, even when we were in foul trouble, that eventually they’d wear down.”

Patterson paced the Bearcats with 21 points, while Harris added 11. Noe rounded out double-digit scorers with 10. Williams led the Knightettes with 21 points, and was Farmington’s only player with more than seven points.

The Lady Bearcats have the rest of the week off, but will be busy preparing for a showdown with the Kennett Lady Indians on Monday, Jan. 9.

“Kennett’s coming up next; Coach Hoffman will have them ready and have a great game-plan for us,” Allen said. :We’ve got to be ready; we don’t have a game for the rest of the week, so we need to work hard and be ready next week.”

Tipoff for LBB’s first home game of 2012 is set at 6:00 p.m. for the JV squad, with Varsity action immediately following.

COLUMBIA - Megan Aubuchon (Old Monroe, Mo.) posted the fourth double-double in as many games for the Owls, leading the William Woods University women's basketball team to a 75-60 win over Peru State College in the Cougars vs. Cancer Classic. The senior recorded a career-high 23 points and added 11 rebounds in the win.

The Owls trailed for just 67 seconds in the contest, shooting at a .373 rate on the afternoon. WWU made the most of its trips to the free throw line, however, sinking 28 of 39 to roll to the 15-point win. Aubuchon sank 9-of-11, and Ciara Tatum (Columbia, Mo.) was a perfect 6-of-6 from the stripe, a career-best for the senior.

Dexter, Mo., native Ashlee Taylor chipped in three points and tallied six rebounds and four assists in the win.

WWU held the Bobcats to just .306 shooting on the afternoon as they improved to a 9-4 record on the year. The Owls are back in action a week from Saturday, traveling to McKendree University for a 2 p.m. contest.