MARTIN, Tenn. – For the fifth time this season and fourth instance in Ohio Valley Conference play, the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball program endured an overtime contest as the Skyhawks and Tennessee Tech went five extra minutes at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center. Unfortunately, UT Martin ran out of gas in the extra period as the Skyhawks fell 89-85 this afternoon.
UT Martin (9-12, 5-5 Ohio Valley Conference) led by six points at the halftime break but overcame a five-point deficit with 4:14 to go in regulation to force overtime. The Skyhawks scored six of the first eight points in the overtime period but the Golden Eagles responded with a 10-0 run and time ran out on UT Martin’s comeback attempt.
Vladimer Salaridze continued his dominant play as of late, leading the team in scoring for the fourth consecutive outing. The redshirt senior from Tbilisi, Georgia generated a career-best 29 points on 10-of-17 shooting while adding a game-high nine rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal.
Tarence Guinyard (17 points, seven rebounds), Andrija Bukumirović (14 points, eight rebounds) and Matija Žužić (12 points) also scored in double figures while Afan Trnka dished out seven assists with two blocks for the Skyhawks, who shot 89.5 percent (17-of-19) from the free throw line.
A trio of Tennessee Tech players crossed the 20-point plateau as JaJuan Nicholls (23 points), Jaylon Johnson (21) and Ray Glasgow (21) guided the Golden Eagles offensively. Daniel Egbuniwe added 12 points for a Tennessee Tech (10-11, 5-5 OVC) squad that only led for 12:44 of the contest but held the advantage for the final 2:43 of the game.
“Tennessee Tech is a good team and they outplayed us tonight,” UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. “We have to be better in tough circumstances – this is a disappointing one because we couldn’t fight through any adversity. It’s unbelievable that every single conference loss has been by one point or overtime. But I love this team and we’re going to get to where we need to be – we just have to take that next step.”
Salaridze scored the first six Skyhawk points of the day and helped UT Martin claim its biggest lead of the game after his three-pointer with just under four minutes to go in the first half made the score 28-18. The Golden Eagles trimmed their deficit to four points before a Bukumirović slam dunk in the closing moments of the first half gave the Skyhawks a 34-28 edge at the intermission. Salaridze (11) and Guinyard (10) each scored in double figures in the first 20 minutes alone.
Treys from Žužić, Salaridze and Trnka in a 4:43 stretch helped UT Martin stretch its advantage out to 47-38 with 15 minutes to go in regulation. However, Tennessee Tech answered with an 18-4 run and eventually led by a 69-64 margin. Bukumirović (second-chance layup), Salaridze (two free throws) and Guinyard (fast break layup) each made big plays down the stretch while the Skyhawk defense held Tennessee Tech without a field goal for the final four-plus minutes of regulation to send the game into overtime.
Žužić collected UT Martin’s first six points of overtime, canning a three-pointer on the Skyhawks’ opening possession before swishing three free throws to give UT Martin a 76-72 lead with 3:26 left to play. After the Golden Eagles’ aforementioned extended run, the Skyhawks managed to pull within two points following a trio of Guinyard free throws with 11 seconds remaining. It ultimately would not be enough as Tennessee Tech was able to make nine of its 10 tries from the charity stripe in the extra period to escape with the win.
UT Martin goes on the road for its next game, making the short trip to Southeast Missouri on Thursday, Jan. 30. Tipoff time from Cape Girardeau, Mo. is set for 7:30 p.m.