By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team led for nearly 33 minutes of clock time today but Tennessee Tech ended the game on a 13-4 run to sneak out of the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center with a 76-70 win.
The Skyhawks (6-11, 2-3 Ohio Valley Conference) led by as many as 12 points during the first half and took a 42-36 advantage into the locker room at the halftime break. UT Martin held a three-point lead with under four minutes to play before the Golden Eagles went on a 12-2 surge. The Skyhawks had a pair of open looks from three-point range that would have tied the game with under a minute remaining but couldn’t get anything to go down.
Mikel Henderson scored a career-best 18 points and equaled a career-high with three steals for UT Martin. KK Curry tallied 13 points while the frontcourt tandem of Chris Nix (12 points, nine rebounds, career-best four blocks) and Josh Endicott (12 points, nine rebounds, career-high three assists) also performed well for the Skyhawks this afternoon.
Tennessee Tech (4-11, 1-1 OVC) saw nine different players score at least five points – led by Kenny White Jr. (13 points). Amadou Sylla came away with 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds while Jr. Clay tacked on 10 points for the Golden Eagles, who only shot 37.9 percent (25-of-66) but turned 21 offensive rebounds into 28 second-chance points.
“I thought the last four minutes we were a little undisciplined and that’s on myself and our coaching staff,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “Our guys played their tails off but if you give up 21 offensive rebounds and put them at the free throw line 30 times, it’s going to be tough to close it out unless you’re really good on that offensive side.”
UT Martin had four different players score as part of an 8-1 run to start the game, receiving layups from Nix, Curry, Henderson and Koby Jeffries. Tennessee Tech didn’t score its first field goal until the 16:22 mark but back-to-back buckets from Henderson (three-pointer) and Andre (layup) pushed the Skyhawk lead out to 13-3 a little over four minutes into the contest.
A stepback triple from Henderson with 6:01 to go in the first half gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the day at 34-22. KJ Simon drained a pair of free throws with 49 seconds to go to keep the Skyhawks ahead by double-digits (42-31) but the Golden Eagles scored five unanswered points to close out the opening half.
Henderson’s 11 points led the way for both sides in the first 20 minutes while Shandon Goldman and Dane Quest each provided six points to guide Tennessee Tech.
After a Curry free throw made the score 48-40 in favor of UT Martin with 17:14 remaining, the Golden Eagles used a 13-2 run to take their first lead of the game. That advantage was short-lived as a pull-up jumper from Henderson a little under 90 seconds later put the Skyhawks back ahead at 56-55.
Bernie Andre swished a pair of free throws at the 7:56 mark to extend UT Martin’s lead out to 62-57. Tennessee Tech responded with six unanswered points but Curry tossed in four consecutive Skyhawk points – capped off with an old-fashioned three-point play to provide UT Martin with a 66-63 lead with 4:34 left to play.
The Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run before two Henderson free throws pulled the Skyhawks back within a single possession (70-68) with 47 seconds to go. After Tennessee Tech made one of two free throws on the other end, UT Martin hoisted a pair of potential game-tying trifectas but neither attempt was true.
Endicott converted a layup with seven seconds remaining but ultimately it was too late as the Golden Eagles made five of their final six free throw tries in the last 26 seconds.
The Skyhawks’ next scheduled contest is set for Thursday, Jan. 20 against Austin Peay. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 8 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information