By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A remarkably efficient offense out of the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad set the tone for an impressive nonconference victory as the Skyhawks generated a 77-72 triumph over North Dakota this afternoon.
Playing its third game in three days at the Paradise Classic event, UT Martin showed no signs of tired legs as it knocked down 54.7 percent (29-for-53) of its field goal attempts. That included a sizzling 60 percent (9-of-15) clip from beyond the three-point arc. That marks the best performance from downtown for the Skyhawks since shooting 64 percent (16-of-25) against Tennessee Tech on Jan. 13, 2016 – a span of 173 games.
The duo of KK Curry and KJ Simon helped UT Martin (2-3) to its first road win of the season. Curry dialed up a career-best 24 points while nabbing a game-high nine rebounds. Simon collected 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and swatted away a pair of blocks.
Mikel Henderson (nine points on three 3-pointers), Koby Jeffries (3-of-3 shooting, game-high seven assists), Chris Nix (six rebounds, game-best two blocks) and Darius Simmons (seven points) also performed well while the Skyhawks received big minutes from the true freshman trio of Josiah Morris (six points), Grant Hurst (game-high two steals) and David Kamwanga (three rebounds, one steal).
North Dakota was led by Caleb Nero’s 20 points while Tsotne Tsartsidze (13 points) and Mitchell Sueker (11 points) also scored in double figures. The swarming UT Martin defense locked down the Fighting Hawks from three-point range as North Dakota shot just 15.4 percent (4-of-26) from long distance.
The Fighting Hawks (2-3) led for the first 12-plus minutes before the Skyhawks seized momentum late in the first half. North Dakota took a six-point lead early but Simon poured in five points during a 7-1 UT Martin run. A little over two minutes later, Curry scored five straight Skyhawk points to give UT Martin its first lead of the ballgame at 21-22 with 7:22 remaining before the break.
After the Fighting Hawks battled back to take a 31-27 advantage, the Skyhawks closed out the first half on an 8-2 run to take a 35-33 lead into the locker room. Simmons canned a three-pointer to start the surge before Curry pumped in five consecutive points – including the go-ahead trey with 1:02 to go in the half.
Curry’s 13 points led all scorers at halftime while Sueker posted nine points to pace North Dakota.
The second half started with four straight Fighting Hawks points but UT Martin flipped the lead thanks to an old-fashioned three-point play from Curry and a Henderson three-ball. Henderson knocked down another trifecta a few minutes later but North Dakota unreeled four straight points to reclaim the lead.
Jeffries swished jumpers on back-to-back trips down the floor to give the Skyhawks a 50-49 advantage – a lead they wouldn’t relinquish the rest of the way.
UT Martin led 60-52 at the 8:44 mark but the Fighting Hawks clawed within a single possession (65-62) with 3:38 to go. Morris buried a big wide-open three-pointer on a set play coming out of a Skyhawk timeout and Simon added a contested triple from the right corner to give UT Martin some breathing room.
A thunderous Curry dunk on an outlet pass from Henderson gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the day at 75-66 with 36 ticks remaining. Simmons added a pair of free throws down the stretch to help ice the win.
UT Martin returns home for its next outing as it welcomes Carver College to the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on Wednesday, Nov. 24. Tipoff time is set for 2 p.m.
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information