Tennessee Tech leads three-way tussle among men for OVC lead

Roughly halfway though the Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball season, three teams appear to have separated themselves -- at least a bit -- from the pack.

Defending OVC regular-season champion Tennessee Tech leads the way at 9-2, but preseason favorite Murray State and Samford are both on the Eagles' heels at 8-2.

"We're only halfway through. I still think it's going to be somewhere in February before somebody is going to vault out," Samford coach Jimmy Tillette said during Tuesday's OVC coaches teleconference. "I still think the race is too tight ... you've got 10 games left, a lot can happen."

Murray State and Tennessee Tech will have the first of their two regular-season showdowns Thursday night, when the Racers (11-5 overall) host the Eagles (14-5), who have posted six consecutive victories.

"They're an extremely athletic team that causes a lot of problems. They've got a lot of guys that can score the ball," Murray State coach Mick Cronin said of the Eagles. "We're going to have to be ready to play. This late in the year, it's a big game for us."

Said Tennessee Tech coach Mike Sutton: "We're pleased to be where we are. Murray State will be a big challenge for us. It will be a big test, but there is still a lot of basketball to be played."

While Murray State is the only squad among the current top three to remain unbeaten at home this season -- the Racers are 6-0 in the Regional Special Events Center -- Samford has been the OVC's true road warriors.

The Bulldogs (12-5) have won all five of their road games, although they are just 3-2 at home.

"Luckily we're able to win some games on the road, because obviously I can't coach at home and we're not able to make up the difference," Tillette deadpanned.

Overall, the Bulldogs have been the OVC's hottest team, winning nine of their last 10 games -- and none was more improbable than last Thursday's 65-64 triumph at Morehead State.

Samford trailed by 18 points in the first half, by 15 points in the second half -- and still found itself behind by 10 points with 1:14 remaining.

But the Bulldogs outscored the Eagles 13-2 the rest of the way, and won it on Jerry Smith's layup with 2.7 seconds left.

"Justice was not served," Tillette said. "Morehead's players outplayed our players for 38 1/2 minutes. We were lucky to win the game. We should not have won the game."

Down 62-52, Smith hit a 3-pointer at the 1:14 mark, followed by another 3-pointer from J. Robert Merritt with 1:04 remaining to cut the lead to 62-58.

Morehead State's Shaun Williams hit two free throws at the 53-second mark to build the lead back to 64-58.

Following a Samford miss, Williams missed the front end of a one-and-one free throw situation. The Bulldogs' Randall Gulina cut the lead to 64-61 with a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left.

Morehead State turned the ball over and Smith tipped in a missed shot with 15 seconds remaining to bring the Bulldogs within a point.

The Eagles' Quentin Pryor was fouled on the inbounds pass and missed the front end of a one-and-one, setting the stage for Smith's game-winner.

"You have to give Samford a lot of credit. They hit every big shot down the stretch," said Morehead State coach Kyle Macy, whose squad remained winless in OVC play. "But again, if we do any of those things -- as far as making free throws, not throwing a bad pass -- we win the game."

With the OVC's expanded 20-game schedule this season, Austin Peay (11-8, 6-4), Eastern Kentucky (6-4, 9-9) and Tennessee State (6-9, 5-4) are still within striking distance of the top spot, although it would take a major charge by any of those teams. At the very least, they would love to finish in the top four to earn a home game for the first round of the OVC tournament.

"The three teams that have two losses have all done very well. It looks like they're going to continue to do that, so the rest of us are trying to catch them, or at least get that fourth spot now," said Austin Peay coach Dave Loos. "But there's a lot of basketball to be played. Some surprising things could and probably will happen."

Women's race tight

Thanks to Southeast Missouri State's 53-46 victory at Tennessee Tech on Saturday night, the OVC women's race has tightened considerably.

Preseason favorite Tennessee Tech (13-4, 8-2) fell into a first-place tie with Samford (12-5, 8-2), while preseason No. 2 Southeast (10-7, 7-3) moved within a game of the top spot by pushing its winning streak to a season-high four, which is also the current best in the conference.

Eastern Illinois (8-11, 7-4), Morehead State (10-6, 5-4) and Austin Peay (8-8, 5-4) all are just two games on the loss side out of the top spot.