By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Tonight’s men’s basketball contest between the University of Tennessee at Martin and Austin Peay was a five-point game at the halftime break but the Skyhawks ultimately could not shake off a season-low shooting performance in a 72-57 setback at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Koby Jeffries equaled a career-high with 14 points while also handing out a team-best four assists and swiping a game-high two steals for UT Martin (6-12, 2-4 Ohio Valley Conference). Josh Endicott added 13 points and a game-best eight rebounds to round out the Skyhawk double-digit scorers as UT Martin shot 33.3 percent (20-of-60) from the floor.
Austin Peay (5-9, 1-3 OVC) produced four players in double figures in the scoring column, paced by Tariq Silver’s 24 points. Elijah Hutchins-Everett recorded 16 points, Elton Walker chipped in 12 points and Alec Woodard posted 11 points for the Governors, who shot 55.6 percent (15-for-27) in the final 20 minutes.
“This one starts with me,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “I didn’t do a very good job of preparing our guys – Austin Peay was the physically and mentally tougher team all night. They were able to make us uncomfortable on that offensive end all night and that kind of crept into our second-half defense. It’s a disappointing result for us – we’re a much better basketball team than what we showed tonight. We’ll rebound from this and we’ll figure it out together.”
Bernie Andre managed the first bucket of the game – a stepback three-pointer from the left corner – at the 17:28 mark. Andre added another trey a little over two minutes later, starting a 12-2 UT Martin run. Five different Skyhawks (Andre, Jeffries, Endicott, KK Curry and Mikel Henderson) provided buckets during that surge, resulting in a 16-9 UT Martin advantage with 10:40 left to play in the opening half.
The Governors responded with 14 unanswered points until a Henderson pull-up jumper ended the Skyhawk drought and made the score 23-18 at the 5:15 mark. Endicott accounted for five straight UT Martin points, helping the Skyhawks trim an eight-point deficit to five (33-28) at the break.
Endicott was responsible for seven points and a game-high seven rebounds in the first half while Silver’s 14 points led all scorers.
Austin Peay tallied the first four points of the second half but a thunderous dunk from Curry with 17:12 left to play shaved UT Martin’s deficit down to 39-34.
After the Governors claimed their first double-digit lead of the evening, KJ Simon heated up for the Skyhawks. The junior guard from Orlando, Fla. splashed three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor, pulling UT Martin within four points (46-42) at the 13:42 mark.
However, Austin Peay compiled a 9-0 run over nearly a five-minute stretch, taking a 55-42 lead in the process. A driving layup by Jeffries with 2:41 to go kept the Skyhawk deficit at 13 points but that was ultimately as close as the Skyhawks would get the rest of the way.
UT Martin goes back on the road on Saturday, Jan. 22, traveling to OVC-leading Murray State. Tipoff time from the CFSB Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information