NORMALLY RELIANT OFFENSE FAILS SKYHAWK MEN'S BASKETBALL IN 75-61 LOSS TO JACKSONVILLE STATE

Saturday, February 8

Martin, Tenn.

4 p.m.

UT Martin

7-16,3-9OVC

Jacksonville State

10-15,5-7OVC

Jacksonville State

UT Martin

NORMALLY RELIANT OFFENSE FAILS SKYHAWK MEN'S BASKETBALL IN 75-61 LOSS TO JACKSONVILLE STATE

2/8/2020 10:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team suffered through its worst offensive performance of the season as the Jacksonville State Gamecocks handed the Skyhawks a 75-61 defeat at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

UT Martin was able to place four starters in double figures scoring but shot 36.1 percent (22-of-61) from the floor today, including a 9-of-32 effort (28.1 percent) from beyond the three-point arc. That resulted in a season-low 61 points for the Skyhawks, which was 16 points below their season scoring average heading into the contest.

Parker Stewart delivered a stat line of 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds for UT Martin, who falls to 7-16 (3-9 Ohio Valley Conference). Derek Hawthorne, Jr. snared the second double-double of his Skyhawk career with 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four assists and a pair of steals. The frontcourt tandem of Miles Thomas (13 points, eight rebounds) and Quintin Dove (10 points) rounded out UT Martin's double-digit scorers.

Jacksonville State (10-15, 5-7 OVC) boasted a pair of high scorers in De'Torrion Ware (22 points) and Kayne Henry (20 points). The Gamecocks connected on 63.3 percent (19-for-30) of their field goal tries in the second half on their way to a 44-24 advantage in points in the paint.

"We had a bad start in the first half, primarily on offense," Skyhawk head coach Anthony Stewart said. "We didn't play great defensively but we held Jacksonville State to 32 points. But I was really disappointed with our execution on offense. Our guys have to translate what we work on in practice to the game and we didn't do that today."

A Stewart three-pointer began the scoring for UT Martin and gave the Skyhawks their only lead of the day at the 18:19 mark of the first half. After a Ja'Darius Harris fast break layup evened the score at 8-all, the Gamecocks went on a 10-0 run to create some separation. Three-pointers by Stewart and Thomas on back-to-back trips down the floor pulled UT Martin within four points (20-16) with eight minutes to go in the first half but Jacksonville State was able to stretch its lead out to 32-20 at the break.

Stewart's six points in the opening 20 minutes led the way for the Skyhawks, who committed 10 first-half turnovers. Henry tossed in a game-high 12 points for the Gamecocks in the first stanza.

After Stewart splashed a trifecta from the left wing on UT Martin's first possession of the second half, Jacksonville State managed to stretch its lead out to 43-27 at the 15:31 mark. The Skyhawks fought back as Hawthorne scored the final five points of an 8-0 UT Martin run as it closed to single digits with 12 minutes remaining. However, that was as close as the Skyhawks would get the rest of the way.

UT Martin now faces a split week in OVC play, as it travels to Southeast Missouri on Thursday, Feb. 13 before hosting Eastern Illinois on Saturday, Feb. 15.

Gallery: (2/8/2020) MBB vs. Jacksonville State