SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS HEADED TO OVC FINAL FOUR AFTER DRAMATIC 81-75 TRIUMPH OVER SIUE

Thursday, March 2

Evansville, Ind.

9 p.m.

UT Martin

19-13

SIUE

19-14

SIUE

UT Martin

SKYHAWK MEN’S HOOPS HEADED TO OVC FINAL FOUR AFTER DRAMATIC 81-75 TRIUMPH OVER SIUE

3/2/2023 11:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Tennessee at Martin rallied from a double-digit deficit with under four minutes to play to post a thrilling 81-75 victory against SIUE in the Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinals held at the Ford Center.

Amidst plenty of adversity that included two-time All-OVC guard KJ Simon sidelined with a season-ending injury and down a pair of players after ejections for defending a wounded teammate in the first half, the Skyhawks ended the contest with seven healthy bodies. Even Jordan Sears – who was masterful in a career-high 33-point performance – left the game for three minutes in the second half after an injury. However, UT Martin found a way to get it done, wrapping up the night on a 17-1 run while holding the Cougars to 0-of-their-last-7 shooting down the stretch to improve to 19-13 overall.

Sears was the maestro in the Skyhawk comeback as the All-OVC first teamer recorded 24 points in the second half alone. His old-fashioned three-point play with 36 seconds remaining gave UT Martin a lead it would not relinquish the rest of the way. The sophomore from Daytona Beach, Fla. ended his spectacular evening with an 8-of-13 effort from the field while going 15-for-16 from the free throw line. He also added a team-high four assists, two steals and a block in 35 minutes.

Koby Jeffries came up huge with 14 points in 24 minutes off the bench while Desmond Williams contributed 11 points – including a clutch trey with 1:15 to go and a pair of free throws with 17 seconds remaining to extend the Skyhawk lead out to two possessions. KK Curry also excelled for UT Martin, hitting a pair of three-pointers while tallying a career-high three blocks to go along with two steals.

SIUE (19-14) was led by Damarco Minor's 32 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Lamar Wright also managed 22 points but the fresh Skyhawk legs outscored the Cougars by a 20-2 margin in fast break points.

"Fighting through adversity is what our team embodies," UT Martin head coach Ryan Ridder said. "We did some things tonight that we haven't done all year defensively. Most of our practices are predicated around late-game situations and getting stops – our guys didn't panic in the huddle. I thought our defensive effort, specifically that last four to six minutes, was really special. The season was on the line and our team came together – we're excited for our guys to live to see another day."

Gallery: (3-2-2023) MBB vs SIUE (OVC Quarterfinals)

The Skyhawks trailed 5-0 before a pair of Sears free throws at the 16:19 mark got UT Martin on the scoreboard. SIUE soon took a six-point lead with 14 minutes to go before the halftime break but the Skyhawks responded with a 22-6 run, claiming a double-digit advantage (31-21) after Williams stroked a stepback three-pointer with six minutes to go in the opening half. Rifen Miguel was a giant factor in the comeback, scoring seven points on 3-of-3 shooting in four minutes.

The Cougars later scored 11 unanswered points and eventually took a 36-35 lead into the locker room at halftime. Sears' nine points guided UT Martin while Minor had 14 points at the half for SIUE.

Two Sears free throws and a Parker Stewart trifecta in the first 93 seconds of the second half evened the score at 40-all. The Cougars went on to post the next seven points of the game and the Skyhawk deficit remained at seven before a Curry three-pointer and Stewart free throw pulled UT Martin back within a single possession (50-47) with 13:16 to go.

However, SIUE pushed its lead back out to 10 points and maintained that advantage with 3:50 remaining after a Minor three-pointer made the score 74-64.

That's when the game-changing 17-1 run started as Sears got things going with seven consecutive Skyhawk points (three-pointer, driving layup, two free throws). Trailing 75-71 with 1:36 to go, Jeffries found Williams for a deep trey from the right wing that found nothing but net and got UT Martin within one point with 1:15 left.

The swarming Skyhawk defense forced a shot clock violation on the Cougars' next trip down the floor. Sears went full-steam ahead to the rim on UT Martin's next play and was fouled while converting the layup, making the freebie to put the Skyhawks ahead 77-75 with 36 seconds to go.

An enormous Curry block on the other end led to Williams' two free throws. Yet another UT Martin stop then resulted in two Sears free throws with five seconds remaining that provided the final score of 81-75.

The Skyhawks face a quick turnaround as they will take on No. 2 seed Tennessee Tech in the OVC Championship semifinals on Friday, March 3. Tipoff is set for 9:30 p.m. on ESPNU.