SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL CLINCHES OVC TOURNAMENT BERTH WITH A 91-86 VICTORY OVER TENNESSEE STATE ON SENIOR DAY

Saturday, March 2

Martin, Tenn.

3:30 P.M.

UT Martin

11-18 (6-12OVC)

Tennessee State

9-21 (6-12OVC)

Tennessee State

UT Martin

SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL CLINCHES OVC TOURNAMENT BERTH WITH A 91-86 VICTORY OVER TENNESSEE STATE ON SENIOR DAY

3/2/2019 9:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score PDF Boxscore Photo Gallery Postgame Press Conference

MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team punched its ticket to the upcoming Ohio Valley Conference Championship tournament with a thrilling 91-86 home victory over Tennessee State this afternoon.

With the win, the Skyhawks (11-18, 6-12 OVC) will enter next week's OVC Tournament as the No. 7 seed. UT Martin will take on No. 6 seed Eastern Illinois on Wednesday, March 6 at 8:30 p.m. at the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.

It was a highly emotional day from the start as the Skyhawks honored seniors Kevin Little, Jailen Gill, Delfincko Bogan and Fatodd Lewis during a pregame ceremony. UT Martin followed that up with an efficient offensive performance as the Skyhawks did not trail over the final 33 minutes of the contest.

Bogan poured in a game-high 22 points to lead five UT Martin scorers in double figures today. Derek Hawthorne, Jr. compiled 17 points and a game-best seven rebounds off the bench for the Skyhawks while Craig Randall (16), Quintin Dove (14 points, seven rebounds) also had high-scoring days. Preston Parks collected 10 points, including four clutch free throws over the final 17 seconds to ice the win.

Tennessee State (9-21, 6-12 OVC) saw Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey and Thomas Davis, score 21 and 20 points, respectively. Michael Littlejohn secured 14 points while Kamar McKnight posted 12 points for a Tigers squad that were forced into 19 turnovers.

"We had a bad taste in our mouths from our loss (to Belmont) on Thursday – that was not indicative of who we are as a team," UT Martin head coach Anthony Stewart said. "That was an embarrassing loss but we didn't feel sorry for ourselves – we came in, practiced hard yesterday and we came in here and got after it. They came out and showed the crowd and the community how resilient they are and what kind of character that they have with their 'don't say die' attitude. Obviously, I'm happy for the win but I'm proud of how my guys reacted to adversity."

The Skyhawks started off slow as Tennessee State led by a 7-1 margin nearly eight minutes into the game. UT Martin answered with a 12-0 run and never trailed from that point forward. The Tigers would get within two points on three different occasions but the Skyhawks unreeled an 8-0 run towards the end of the half, taking a 12-point advantage after back-to-back Bogan layups. UT Martin would settle for a 41-30 lead behind Hawthorne's 12 points while Tennessee State was led by Davis' game-high 14 points.

The Tigers used a 10-2 run to close within two points with 17:17 left to play but buckets by Gill on back-to-back possessions stretched the Skyhawk lead back out to 50-42. Tennessee State went on an 11-4 surge to get within a single point (64-63) just under the midway point of the second half. A pair of Gill free throws at the 2:33 mark extended UT Martin's advantage out to six points but the Tigers wouldn't quit – evening the score at 80-80 less than a minute later. On the ensuing possession, Bogan twisted and turned for a nifty old-fashioned three-point play. Randall (short jumper in the lane) and Little (two free throws) followed with big plays before Parks sealed the game from the charity stripe.