SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS OUTLASTS EVANSVILLE IN EMOTIONAL 93-87 DOUBLE OVERTIME SEASON-OPENING VICTORY

Wednesday, December 2

Martin, Tenn.

7 p.m.

UT Martin

1-0

Evansville

0-3

OT 1

OT 2

Evansville

UT Martin

Photo by: UT Martin University Relations

SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS OUTLASTS EVANSVILLE IN EMOTIONAL 93-87 DOUBLE OVERTIME SEASON-OPENING VICTORY

12/2/2020 11:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – Tonight's University of Tennessee at Martin season opener took 50 minutes to decide a victor as the Skyhawks made all the right plays down the stretch during a 93-87 double overtime triumph over Evansville at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

UT Martin led for 43:47 of game time – opening up a lead as large as 14 points in the first half – before a late surge by the Purple Aces at the end of regulation. Eden Holt – who tossed in a game-high 24 points in his Skyhawk debut – knocked down a three-pointer from the right wing with one second remaining in the second half to force overtime.

In the two overtime periods, UT Martin shot 57.1 percent (4-of-7) while doing most of its damage at the charity stripe – sinking 15 of its 19 free throw attempts down the stretch. As a result, the Skyhawks gave interim head coach Montez Robinson his first UT Martin victory and improved to 8-0 in home season-openers since joining the Division I level in 1992.

"I am just really excited to get this win for coach Anthony Stewart," Robinson said. "This team and everything we were trying to do is what he put together. It was an emotional day for us – I thought the guys came out from the tip and played like they wanted to win the game for him."

Holt's 24 points came on 6-of-9 shooting (including 3-of-4 from beyond the three-point arc) and a 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Cameron Holden registered 16 points, a team-best eight rebounds and two blocks off the bench while Jaron Williams (11 points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals) and Eman Sertovic (10 points) also scored in double figures for the Skyhawks.

Evansville (0-3) was led by Noah Frederking's 22 points while Jax Levitch compiled a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Shamar Givance and Thomasi Gilgeous-Alexander added 17 and 11 points, respectively.

"We have a tough bunch who are resilient and we have guys who are willing to take big shots," Robinson said. "Even though we were having a rollercoaster type of game, they never got outside of each other – they always stayed together. I was just really pleased with the energy and the effort."

Gallery: (12-2-2020) MBB vs. Evansville

UT Martin came out blazing, as buckets from Hannes Polla (layup), Ajani Kennedy (pull-up trey) and Holt (contested trifecta) provided the Skyhawks with an 8-0 advantage through four minutes of play.

A Sertovic three-pointer gave UT Martin its first double-digit lead of the evening at 20-10 before an Anthony Thomas fast break layup at the 8:55 mark of the first half extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 24-10.

The Purple Aces reeled off a 9-0 run late in the first half to trim UT Martin's halftime lead to 36-31. The Skyhawks showed incredible balance in the opening 20 minutes, as 10 different players scored between two and six points apiece. Frederking's 11 points paced Evansville at the break.

The Skyhawk lead was whittled to three points just 91 seconds into the second stanza but a quick 8-0 run – capped off by back-to-back treys from Holt and Sertovic – nudged UT Martin's advantage back out to double figures.

After a Kenton Eskridge pull-up jumper with 9:23 remaining in the second half made the score 64-51 in favor of the Skyhawks, the Purple Aces managed to go on a 10-0 run and eventually took their first lead of the game with 42 seconds to go. Evansville made a pair of free throws with 14 seconds remaining before Holt's three-pointer sent the game into overtime.

The lead changed hands five times and three more ties took place in the first overtime as four different Skyhawks (Holden, Holt, Sertovic, Jonte Coleman) each accounted for points over the five-minute period.

UT Martin essentially put the game away in the early stages of the second overtime stanza, scoring the first nine points of the period. Eskridge buried a big three-pointer from the left wing at the 2:27 mark while Holt went 7-of-8 from the free throw line over the final 59 seconds to help ice the victory.

The Skyhawks return to action this Saturday, Dec. 5 when they take on the No. 5 ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Tipoff time from Champaign, Ill. is set for 8 p.m. as the game will be televised nationally on the Big Ten Network.