SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL ROLLS PAST SIUE FOR FIRST OVC VICTORY, 85-69

Saturday, January 26

Martin, Tenn.

3:30 P.M.

UT Martin

6-13 (1-7OVC)

SIUE

6-14 (2-6OVC)

SIUE

UT Martin

SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL ROLLS PAST SIUE FOR FIRST OVC VICTORY, 85-69

1/26/2019 7:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Boxscore Photo Gallery Postgame Press Conference

MARTIN, Tenn. – Things clicked offensively for the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team today, as the Skyhawks used one of their most efficient performances of the season to defeat SIUE, 85-69, in Ohio Valley Conference action.

UT Martin shot 51.6 percent (32-of-62) from the floor, including a 9-for-22 performance (40.9 percent) from three-point range this afternoon. The Skyhawks also sank 80 percent of their free throw attempts while winning the rebounding battle (34-27) and committing just eight turnovers.

Quintin Dove collected game-highs of 25 points (on 10-of-16 shooting) and eight rebounds in 28 minutes for UT Martin. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. also recorded 20 points on a 7-for-11 performance from the field, including a trio of three-pointers. Delfincko Bogan added 12 points while Fatodd Lewis tallied 10 points, eight rebounds, five steals and three assists for UT Martin, who improves to 6-13 overall and 1-7 in OVC play.

SIUE (6-14, 2-6 OVC) was led by David McFarland's 19 points while Cameron Williams accumulated 12 points off four 3-pointers. Brandon Jackson and Treavon Martin each pitched in 11 points apiece for the Cougars, who led 40-35 at halftime but never led after a 24-7 Skyhawk run to begin the second stanza.

"This win was long overdue," UT Martin head coach Anthony Stewart said. "We've had several opportunities to get a win and we've been close but 'almost' doesn't count. I'm proud of my guys for what they did today – they haven't laid down all year. They just kept coming, kept wanting to learn and kept getting better."

Dove accelerated the Skyhawks early, scoring UT Martin's first seven points of the game in a 3:14 span. A pair of Dove free throws at the 15:03 mark stretched the Skyhawk lead out to 14-8 but SIUE came back with a 12-0 run. Hawthorne then went on a scoring spree, piling up nine points in a four-minute stretch but the Cougars led by as many as nine points before settling for a five-point halftime advantage. Hawthorne accumulated a game-high 14 points at the break while McFarland's 11 points paced SIUE.

Similar to the start of the game, Dove generated UT Martin's first seven points and 11 of the Skyhawks' first 13 points of the second half. Bogan canned a trifecta at the 17:38 mark to provide UT Martin with a 44-42 lead before the Skyhawks pieced together a 13-3 run to go ahead by double figures. A mid-range jumper by Dove with 7:02 left to play gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the day at 75-57 and SIUE wouldn't get any closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

The Skyhawks pay a visit to Music City next week for a pair of OVC games. UT Martin begins its road swing with a Thursday, Jan. 31 matchup at Tennessee State before taking on Belmont on Saturday, Feb. 2.