COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A furious rally at the end of regulation sent the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team’s contest into overtime at Tennessee Tech but the Golden Eagles were able to hang on for a 71-66 win at the Hooper Eblen Center.
Despite the loss, the Skyhawks officially clinched a berth into the Ohio Valley Conference Championship Tournament in Evansville, Ind. on March 5-8.
Tonight’s result was the sixth overtime contest of the season, matching the 1998-99 UT Martin team for the most in a single season in school history. The Skyhawks have now been involved in 13 games that came down to one possession or overtime and had seven conference losses by one possession or overtime – leading the NCAA Division I ranks in both categories.
UT Martin (12-17, 8-10 OVC) trailed by 10 points with three minutes to go in regulation but Tarence Guinyard went on a scoring spree to send the game into overtime. The junior guard out of Tampa, Fla. scored 17 of the Skyhawks’ final 20 points of the night, all coming in a span of 4:59. The only three points that didn’t come from Guinyard during that stretch were courtesy of Josué Grullon, who drilled a 25-foot fast break three-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Guinyard ended his night with his first career double-double, collecting game-highs of 26 points and 12 rebounds to go along with team-highs of four assists and three steals. UT Martin also received a big lift from AJ Hopkins, who scored a career-best 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting (including four triples) while adding six rebounds in 38 minutes.
Tennessee Tech (14-14, 9-8 OVC) was led by Rodney Johnson, Jr.’s 18 points and nine rebounds while Jaylon Johnson was responsible for 16 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Matthew Sells added 12 points for the Golden Eagles, who ended the game on a 9-0 run.
Tennessee Tech came out strong, taking a 17-3 lead at the under-12-minute media timeout. The Skyhawks immediately responded with 10 unanswered points, which included four points from Guinyard plus triples from Afan Trnka and Hopkins.
Another Hopkins three-pointer with five minutes to go before the halftime break kept UT Martin within striking distance (25-20) before the Golden Eagles claimed an eight-point halftime advantage. Hopkins had game-highs of 11 points and five rebounds at the break.
The Skyhawks’ first three field goals of the second half came from long distance as Andrija Bukumirović (left corner), Hopkins (left corner) and Guinyard (straightaway stepback) helped UT Martin pull within a single possession at 37-34 with 16:47 left to play in the second half.
Moments later, a 10-3 Tennessee Tech run resulted in a 50-39 Skyhawk deficit with 9:16 remaining. UT Martin still faced a double-digit deficit (58-48) with 3:08 to go in regulation but Guinyard then took over. His and Grullon’s heroics sent the contest into overtime – the second time that the Skyhawks have gone past the 40-minute mark against the Golden Eagles in the past 27 days.
Guinyard accounted for UT Martin’s first four points of overtime, giving the Skyhawks a 66-62 edge. Tennessee Tech didn’t score until the 3:04 mark of overtime but wrapped up the game with the aforementioned nine unanswered points.
UT Martin rounds out the regular season with a pair of home games next week, beginning with a Thursday, Feb. 27 matchup against Southern Indiana. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 7:30 p.m., following the conclusion of the women’s game as part of the backend of an OVC doubleheader.