By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It was an offensive struggle Saturday evening for the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team as the Skyhawks fell by an 80-66 margin at Ohio Valley Conference rival Southern Indiana.
UT Martin forced the Screaming Eagles into 19 turnovers but shot a season-low 12 percent (3-for-25) from beyond the three-point arc, connecting on 21 of its 60 field goal attempts (35 percent) overall.
Jordan Sears led the Skyhawks in scoring for the fourth time in the last eight games as the sophomore guard tallied 17 points to go along with three steals in 28 minutes of playing time. Parker Stewart posted 16 points, five rebounds and four steals while Jalen Myers generated 10 points and a team-best seven rebounds for UT Martin (11-8, 3-3 OVC).
Southern Indiana (10-9, 3-3 OVC) placed three scorers in double figures, headlined by the duo of Isaiah Swope (game-high 21 points, four assists, three rebounds, three steals) and Jacob Polakovich (19 points, game-best 12 rebounds). Jelani Simmons tacked on 14 points for the Screaming Eagles, who improved to 8-1 at home this season.
“Southern Indiana jumped on us early – they’re a very good basketball team, especially in this gym,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “When you shoot 3-for-25 from three-point range, it’s going to be tough to win – especially on the road. We had some good looks but I want to give Southern Indiana credit – a lot of our offensive struggles were because of what they did. It just wasn’t our night – we’ll regroup and bounce back from this.”
Southern Indiana scored the first eight points of the game before an inside bucket by Chris Nix got UT Martin on the scoreboard at the 17:59 mark. The Skyhawks soon used a 9-2 run to pull within a single point at 14-13 after a KK Curry layup. A three-pointer from Stewart ignited the surge while Sears followed with four consecutive UT Martin points preceding Curry’s bucket.
Curry knocked down a three-pointer in the right corner with a little over 13 minutes to go in the first half to keep the Skyhawk deficit at one point but the Screaming Eagles responded with nine unanswered points. A pair of Myers free throws snapped Southern Indiana’s run and got UT Martin back within single digits with 9:09 to go before the halftime intermission.
At one point, Polakovich scored eight straight points for the Screaming Eagles, allowing the hosts to take a 35-21 advantage. A coast-to-coast layup by Koby Jeffries began a 6-2 Skyhawk run before a Sears leaner with five seconds to go shaved Southern Indiana’s lead to 39-29 at the break.
Sears (11 points) already reached double figures in the scoring column in the opening half while Polakovich’s 16 points led all scorers.
The Screaming Eagles scored six unanswered points coming out of the locker room before a Nix layup served as UT Martin’s first field goal of the second half. Eight of the next 11 Skyhawk points came from the charity stripe as Myers was 4-for-4 from the free throw line during that stretch.
Stewart converted an old-fashioned three-point play at the 9:54 mark to cap off a 6-0 UT Martin run and get the Skyhawks within 11 points at 59-48. Myers accumulated four quick points in a three-second span to keep UT Martin’s deficit at 11 with 7:14 remaining in the contest.
Stewart scored the Skyhawks’ last 10 points of the game as UT Martin tried to make one final push – trailing by 10 points with 2:13 left on the clock. However, that was as close as the Skyhawks would get the rest of the way.
UT Martin puts the finishing touches on a three-game road swing on Thursday, Jan. 19, making the short trek to Southeast Missouri. Tipoff is set for approximately 7 p.m. – following the conclusion of the women’s contest as the second half of an OVC doubleheader.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information