LEAD SLIPS AWAY IN FINAL MINUTES AS SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS A TOUGH ROAD OUTING AT ARKANSAS STATE, 70-64

Tuesday, November 22

Jonesboro, Ark.

5 p.m.

UT Martin

3-4,0-0OVC

Arkansas State

3-2,0-0Sun Belt

UT Martin

Arkansas St.

LEAD SLIPS AWAY IN FINAL MINUTES AS SKYHAWK MEN’S BASKETBALL DROPS A TOUGH ROAD OUTING AT ARKANSAS STATE, 70-64

11/22/2022 8:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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JONESBORO, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball squad led for over 15 minutes of the second half this evening but Arkansas State staged a late comeback to hand the Skyhawks a 70-64 setback at First National Bank Arena.

In an evenly matched game that was competitive throughout, UT Martin (3-4) went on a 9-1 run midway through the second half and saw its lead stretch out to eight points with 7:29 remaining. The Skyhawks weathered multiple Red Wolves' comeback tries and still held a lead with under a minute to play but Arkansas State ended the contest with eight unanswered points.

Parker Stewart topped UT Martin in scoring for the second straight game as the graduate out of Union City, Tenn. poured in 15 points thanks to a 5-of-10 effort from beyond the three-point arc. KJ Simon made his return after a one-game injury absence and scored 14 points with a team-high three assists in 23 minutes off the bench. Jordan Sears (12 points, six rebounds, team-best three steals) completed the double-digit scorers for the Skyhawks, who shot 11-for-25 (44 percent) from three-point range.

The Red Wolves (3-2) were led by 17 points and seven assists out of Caleb Fields while Markise Davis posted 15 points. Malcolm Farrington scored 14 points – including the go-ahead three-pointer with 40 seconds remaining that gave Arkansas State the lead for good – and Omar El-Sheikh (11 points, 11 rebounds) also heavily contributed to the Red Wolves' attack.

Arkansas State scored the first four points of the game before Desmond Williams got UT Martin on the scoreboard with a straightaway three-pointer at the 16:20 mark. The Red Wolves would go on to lead by six points until Rifen Miguel helped the Skyhawks get on track. The 6-8 senior forward from Luanda, Angola tossed in back-to-back buckets in the span of 30 seconds before a fast break dunk from Simon gave UT Martin its first lead of the contest (16-15) with 9:11 to go in the first half.

Simon drained a three-pointer 49 seconds later to keep the lead intact for the Skyhawks. Sears followed with five consecutive UT Martin points, capped off with a trifecta that gave the Skyhawks a 24-23 advantage at the under-4 media timeout.

Arkansas State accounted for six of the next seven points before a deep three-pointer from Miguel and a free throw by Sears made the score 29-29 at the half.

Sears' nine points led all scorers at the break while Miguel and Simon each had seven points apiece off the bench. Fields' eight points guided the Red Wolves, who committed eight turnovers and were limited to 28.6 percent (2-of-7) shooting from three-point range in the opening 20 minutes.

After Arkansas State scored the first four points of the second half, UT Martin went on a 9-0 run. Stewart knocked down a step-back three-pointer from the left wing to start the surge, which also featured an old-fashioned three-point play by Sears and three points from Chris Nix.

The Skyhawks' next two field goals came via three-pointers from Stewart and Josh Endicott but the Red Wolves battled back to tie the score midway through the second half. Simon then went on a personal run of his own, generating six points in a 68-second stretch to make the score 54-48 in UT Martin's favor. A Williams three-pointer from the left wing at the 7:29 mark gave the Skyhawks their largest lead of the contest at 57-49.

Arkansas State came back with an 11-3 run over a stretch of 3:43 to even up the score at 60-60. UT Martin trailed by a 62-61 margin with under 90 seconds to play but Stewart buried a go-ahead triple from the right wing, giving the Skyhawks a 64-62 advantage. However, that would be the last points of the game for UT Martin as the Red Wolves completed their comeback.

The Skyhawks return to the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on Monday, Nov. 28 when they take on McNeese. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.