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FAYETTE, Mo. - Melvin Tillman scored a career-high 34 points Thursday, and Central Methodist defeated its second top-10 opponent in seven days with an 81-78 win over No. 10 Culver-Stockton (Mo.) inside Puckett Fieldhouse in Heart of America Athletic Conference action.
The Eagles, who have won 13 of the last 15 matchups with the Wildcats, have won eight of their last nine conference games this season and snapped the visitor's four-game win streak.
Central Methodist (15-10, 8-5), playing its third-straight ranked conference foe Thursday, was led by Tillman in points, rebounds (seven) and assists (five). The senior guard was 13-of-19 from the floor, 4-of-5 from three-point range and a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. The Richmond, Ind., native scored 23 points after halftime and has averaged 28 points per game in the last four contests.
However, it was Culver-Stockton (18-5, 9-4) and James Johnson that got off to a hot start. Johnson scored nine straight points, all on treys, in a three-minute stretch and tallied 15 of his 18 points in the first period.
The Eagles used a quick 6-0 run to build a 29-23 edge following a Mitchell Farr jumper at the 8:26 mark, but the Wildcats rallied to take a 39-37 lead into halftime on a Jonathan Miller bucket.
Culver-Stockton held a 45-41 edge less than three minutes into the second half when a missed dunk attempt by Jermaine Jones following his own steal switched the momentum in favor of the home squad. The Eagles responded with an 8-0 run, with the last five points coming from Kaylim Noel on a two-handed slam and a trey from the wing.
Tillman knotted the affair at 57 on a bucket from deep with 11:51 on the clock, starting a stretch where he scored eight straight points for his team. He gave Central Methodist the upper hand for good, 73-71, at the 2:44 mark on a layup against two defenders. Tillman scored the final 10 Eagles' points Thursday.
The Wildcats cut their deficit to one possession following an old-fashioned three-point play by Johnson with seven seconds to go. However, Johnnie Mills' inbounds pass with 1.3 seconds to play was stolen at half court by Eric McDaniel, preserving the Green and Black's win.
Farr scored 16 points and had five rebounds.
Noel and McDaniel combined to shoot 12-of-16. Noel ended with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists. He was 3-of-4 from deep. McDaniel had 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
John Palmer had three points, as all five Central Methodist starters combined to score every point in Thursday's win.
Johnson, C.J. Adams and Karl Moore each scored 18 in the loss. Miller had 10.
Central Methodist shot 56.9 percent (33-of-58) overall, including 61.5 percent (16-of-26) in the first half. The Eagles were 50 percent (9-of-18) from distance in 40 minutes.
The Wildcats were 46.3 percent (31-of-67) from the field but only 27.3 percent (6-of-22) from behind the arc, including 0-of-9 after intermission.
Culver-Stockton, which entered as the best team in the NAIA in defensive rebounding (31.7 rpg) and sixth in total rebounding (44.3 rpg), was outrebounded by Central Methodist 36-30 overall and 26-18 on the defensive glass. The Wildcats were seventh nationally in scoring average (91.2) but were held 13 points below that mark Thursday.
Central Methodist travels to Avila (Mo.) on Saturday. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. CT.
