By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – Chris Nix, a redshirt junior forward on the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team, muscled up for 19 points on 7-of-7 shooting from the floor as the Skyhawks claimed a 91-78 victory over Eastern Illinois at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Nix also added a season-high three blocks, three assists and three rebounds as he was one of five UT Martin double-digit scorers. The Skyhawks (13-8, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference) led for 33:33 of clock time this afternoon but found themselves trailing by six points with just under 11 minutes to go. The 6-9, 220-pound Bellevue, Tenn. native then scored five of UT Martin’s next seven points and later scored five of nine Skyhawk points in crunch time – wrapping up his scoring run with 1:32 to go as UT Martin had the game in hand.
Parker Stewart tied Nix for the team lead in scoring with 19 points while adding a game-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. KJ Simon posted 16 points, a career-best six assists and six rebounds while Jordan Sears (15 points, season-high five assists) and Jalen Myers (10 points) aided a dynamic Skyhawk offensive effort that set a season-high for field goal percentage against a NCAA Division I opponent (.574) for the second straight game. Josh Endicott equaled a season-high with nine points while adding six rebounds in only 18 minutes for UT Martin, who leapt into a five-way tie for first place in the league standings.
The Panthers (7-14, 3-5 OVC) were led by Kinyon Hodges, who scored 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half. Cameron Haffner provided 15 points off the bench for an Eastern Illinois squad that was limited to 22.7 percent shooting (5-of-22) from three-point range.
“Our guys are finding ways to win ballgames – it’s hard to win these OVC games,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “We proved that we could really score the ball in nonconference play – we know that when we get going and share the ball, we’re a good offensive team. We recalibrated a little bit and have really been focusing on our defense. Our guys have great confidence in this building – we have a special group out there right now.”
Simon got things started with a layup just 13 seconds into the game. Myers scored eight of UT Martin’s next 14 points before a Stewart three-pointer capped off a 10-2 run which gave the Skyhawks a 19-12 advantage at the 12:41 mark of the first half.
The Panthers trimmed their deficit to 27-24 but Sears canned a three-pointer on UT Martin’s next trip down the floor. Stewart soon sank a pair of treys in a 90-second span to extend the Skyhawk lead out to 40-31 with 5:22 to go before the halftime break.
Eastern Illinois concluded the opening half on a 12-6 run as UT Martin carried a 46-43 advantage into the locker room. Myers’ 10 points led the Skyhawks while Hodges’ 19 points topped all scorers at the half.
Nix scored the first four points of the second half to give UT Martin a 50-43 edge. A Nix free throw at the 16-minute mark kept the Skyhawk lead at two possessions (53-47) but the Panthers used a 15-3 run to take a 62-56 advantage.
A total of 32 seconds after Eastern Illinois took its biggest lead of the day, Simon soared for an offensive rebound and had a stickback layup to snap the momentum. The senior lefty then converted a pull-up jumper in the lane with 9:30 remaining to give UT Martin the lead (65-64) again.
After the Panthers evened the score at 68-all at the 6:52 mark, an Endicott three-pointer from the right corner ignited a massive 21-4 run that proved to be the difference. A Simon dunk in transition put the finishing touches on seven unanswered Skyhawk points and made the score 89-72 with 1:19 left to play – their biggest lead of the night going away.
UT Martin is back in the Elam Center for each of its next two games, starting with a Thursday, Jan. 26 matchup against Lindenwood. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m., following the conclusion of the women’s game as part of an OVC doubleheader.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information