SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS PUSHES HOME WINNING STREAK OUT TO FIVE GAMES, OUTLASTING CHICAGO STATE 75-74 IN OVERTIME

Sunday, December 11

Martin, Tenn.

2 p.m.

UT Martin

5-5

Chicago State

3-8

OT 1

Chicago State

UT Martin

SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS PUSHES HOME WINNING STREAK OUT TO FIVE GAMES, OUTLASTING CHICAGO STATE 75-74 IN OVERTIME

12/11/2022 6:29:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team built a large halftime lead before staving off a furious Chicago State rally, holding on for a 75-74 overtime triumph this afternoon at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

Chris Nix delivered the Skyhawks' first double-double of the season today as the junior from Bellevue, Tenn. posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and a career-best four assists. He was 5-of-9 from the floor while nabbing five offensive rebounds to go along with a blocked shot in a career-high 37 minutes, earning the second double-double of his UT Martin career.

Parker Stewart rattled off a team-best 22 points – including seven of the Skyhawks' nine points in overtime – to go along with five rebounds and three assists. KJ Simon added 13 points while Desmond Williams recorded 12 points, three assists and a career-best five steals for UT Martin (5-5), who led for 41:16 of clock time on the way to its fifth straight home victory.

Chicago State (3-8) was led by Wesley Cardet, Jr.'s game-high 25 points while Jahsean Corbett hauled in 23 points and 10 rebounds. Brent Davis additionally scored 12 points for the Cougars, who were forced into 16 turnovers and were held to 27.6 percent shooting (8-of-29) from three-point range.

"You have to take wins how you can get them and I am happy for our guys for finishing out the game on top," Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. "In the second half, Chicago State was coming downhill at us and had us on our heels but at the end of the day, we found a way to protect our home court. Parker went to work in overtime and made big play after big play. I thought Chris was an animal in the first half – he was tremendous after a great week of practice."

UT Martin coasted to a 47-25 halftime advantage after connecting on 54.5 percent (18-for-33) of its field goal tries in the opening 20 minutes. Buckets by KK Curry (layup), Simon (three-pointer) and Nix (jumper in the paint) allowed the Skyhawks to take a 7-2 lead in the first 94 seconds of the contest.

The Cougars briefly took a one-point advantage before a 9-3 UT Martin run, capped off with a Jordan Sears floater at the 13:23 mark.

Soon thereafter, the Skyhawks used a 25-5 run to create some separation. Stewart began the surge with five consecutive points before Simon scored six points during a 13-0 run. Williams then pumped in five straight points for UT Martin as it opened up a 41-20 lead with 3:28 remaining in the first half.

A layup by Nix with six seconds to go before the halftime break gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the day at 47-25. Stewart (12 points) and Simon (11) were already in double figures in the scoring column at the half with Nix (nine points) trailing closely behind. Cardet, Jr. had 13 first-half points to pace Chicago State.

The Cougars began the second half on an 11-3 run before a stepback trey from Williams made the score 53-36 in favor of UT Martin with 15:11 left in regulation.

Nix converted a tough layup in traffic at the 13:40 mark to keep the Skyhawk advantage at 17 points. However, Chicago State accounted for 17 of the next 19 points – closing to within a single possession (59-57) with 7:32 remaining in the second half.

Koby Jeffries buried a big three-pointer from the left corner on UT Martin's next trip down the floor before Williams' third trifecta of the day nudged the Skyhawks ahead by a 65-59 margin with five minutes to go in regulation.

The Cougars ended the second half on a 7-1 run, tying the game at the 1:06 mark to send the game into overtime – the first such contest in Ridder's two seasons as UT Martin head coach.

Stewart swished a contested three-pointer 40 seconds into the overtime period. The graduate guard out of Union City, Tenn. broke a 71-71 tie with a floater at the 2:56 mark and a pull-up jumper with 2:16 remaining to give the Skyhawks a 75-71 edge.

UT Martin held Chicago State to 1-of-3 shooting while forcing a turnover from that point forward – thwarting the potential go-ahead shot in the waning seconds.

The Skyhawks are up against a quick turnaround as they will host regional NAIA foe Bethel on Tuesday, Dec. 13 in the annual "Character Counts" game. The matchup will tip off at 11 a.m. at the Elam Center.