SECOND HALF PUSH NOT ENOUGH AS SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS 80-70 DECISION AT JACKSONVILLE STATE

Wednesday, December 30

Jacksonville, Ala.

7:30 p.m.

UT Martin

3-3,1-1OVC

Jacksonville State

7-2,3-0OVC

UT Martin

Jacksonville State

SECOND HALF PUSH NOT ENOUGH AS SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS 80-70 DECISION AT JACKSONVILLE STATE

12/30/2020 11:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team shaved a 23-point deficit down to single digits in the final stages tonight but Jacksonville State was able to hold on for an 80-70 win at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Skyhawks (3-3, 1-1 Ohio Valley Conference) clamped down defensively over the final 20 minutes, outscoring the host Gamecocks by a 47-35 margin. Anthony Thomas helped ignite UT Martin's comeback as the freshman out of Silver Spring, Md. unleashed 15 of the team's 21 points during a spurt of 5:38. A Cameron Holden layup at the 1:01 mark made the score 74-65 but that was ultimately as close as the Skyhawks would get in the second half.

Holden led the charge for UT Martin with his second double-double in as many league games, tallying game-highs of 23 points and a career-best 11 rebounds. Thomas (15 points) finished only two points shy of his career-high scoring tally while La-Quiem Walker chipped in a career-best 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench. Kenton Eskridge distributed a career-high eight assists for the Skyhawks, who won the turnover battle (11 to eight).

Jacksonville State improved to 7-2 overall with a 3-0 OVC mark after Amanze Ngumezi posted team-highs of 20 points and eight rebounds. Jalen Finch and Darian Adams provided 18 and 16 points, respectively, for the Gamecocks.

"Jacksonville State made some shots and we had a couple of big turnovers in the first half that led to easy fast break points," UT Martin interim head coach Montez Robinson said. "I thought if we could have stayed under control in the first half, we would have been ok. In the second half, the guys came out and followed the gameplan. We just have to sustain our execution for 40 minutes and continue to play together."

Gallery: (12-30-2020) MBB at Jacksonville State

Making his first career start, Jonte Coleman got the Skyhawks started with a pair of three-pointers in the first 89 seconds of the game. It was a one-possession contest that swayed back-and-forth until a 10-0 Gamecock run made the score 26-14 at the 8:23 mark of the first half.

Jacksonville State took its biggest lead of the night (23 points) with 3:14 remaining in the half before taking a 45-23 advantage into the locker room. Walker's seven points led UT Martin while Adams tossed in 12 points to pace the Gamecocks.

Thomas' hot stretch helped get the Skyhawks back in the game in the second stanza. Holden converted a tough layup with a little over eight minutes to go to make the score 66-55 as UT Martin continued to fight. However, the Skyhawks could not trim their deficit to single digits until it was too late.

UT Martin's next contest will take place at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center as the Skyhawks host in-state OVC foe Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 2. The game – which is the backend of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team – is scheduled to tip off at 4 p.m.