By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
CHARLES, Mo. – Today’s University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball contest at Lindenwood came down to the wire but the Skyhawks could not pull through in a narrow 80-75 setback at Robert F. Hyland Arena.
UT Martin (15-10, 7-5 Ohio Valley Conference) led by as many as 15 points in the first half but the Lions went on a 23-3 run in the second half to take a 10-point lead. The Skyhawks scrapped and shaved their deficit down to one point with 1:21 to go but couldn’t quite get over the hump as Lindenwood scored the final four points of the contest.
For the seventh time in the last eight games, Jordan Sears led UT Martin in scoring as the sophomore guard had 19 points to go along with team-highs of three assists and a season-best four steals. Trailing closely behind was Jalen Myers’ 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, including a 4-for-6 effort from three-point range.
KJ Simon (14 points, team-high seven rebounds, two blocks) and Desmond Williams (11 points, team-best three assists) also reached double figures in the scoring column for the Skyhawks, who were playing without leading scorer Parker Stewart for the third time in the last four games.
The Lions (9-16, 4-8 OVC) were guided by Tommie Williams’ game-high 21 points off the bench. Keenon Cole (18 points) and Brandon Trimble (16 points) additionally scored double digits for a Lindenwood squad that shot 60.7 percent (17-of-28) in the second half and went 10-for-21 (47.6 percent) overall from behind the three-point line.
“I thought we came out with a lot of pop but we just weren’t good enough for 40 minutes,” UT Martin head coach Ryan Ridder said. “We really struggled defensively in the second half and didn’t play very well offensively down the stretch. Collectively, we just have to continue to get better and have everyone get back healthy – mentally and physically.”
The backcourt duo of Williams (a pair of three-pointers) and Simon (two buckets in the paint) combined to score the Skyhawks’ first 10 points of the day. A strong take to the hoop by Williams at the 13:53 mark opened up a 16-5 advantage for UT Martin.
Treys from Sears and Myers on back-to-back trips down the court widened the Skyhawk advantage out to 24-9 with a little over 11 minutes remaining in the opening half.
The Lions eventually got within six points but a pair of three-pointers – one from Sears and one from Williams – in the final 19 seconds provided UT Martin with a 44-32 edge at the halftime break. Williams’ triple was a running halfcourt heave just before time expired that found nothing but net.
Williams’ 11 points at the half led all scorers as the Skyhawks knocked down 47.1 percent (8-for-17) of its three-point tries. Jacob Tracey topped Lindenwood with nine first-half points.
Six of UT Martin’s first eight points in the second half were of the second-chance variety as Simon had a pair of tip-ins before a Chris Nix putback boosted the Skyhawk lead to 52-39 with 15:07 left to play.
The Lions responded with a 7-0 run but three-pointers from Myers and Simon pushed UT Martin’s advantage out to double digits (58-48) with 12:30 remaining.
The aforementioned 23-3 run followed as the Skyhawks found themselves trailing by a 71-61 margin with 5:56 to go. At one point, Sears scored seven straight UT Martin points until Myers splashed a straightaway three-pointer to pull the Skyhawks back within a single possession (71-68) at the 3:41 mark.
Lindenwood went back on top by eight points but five consecutive points from Sears plus a pair of Myers free throws cut UT Martin’s deficit to 76-75. However, those would be the last Skyhawk points of the afternoon.
UT Martin completes a three-game OVC road swing on Thursday, Feb. 9 at Eastern Illinois. Tipoff from Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill. is set for 7:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the women’s game as part of a doubleheader.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information