Skyhawks Fall At North Alabama Despite Game-High Scoring Tally From Grullon

Monday, November 11

Florence, Ala.

6 p.m.

UT Martin

2-1,0-0OVC

North Alabama

3-0,0-0ASUN

Team	1	2	F
UT Martin	41	28	69
North Ala.	44	43	87

Skyhawks Fall At North Alabama Despite Game-High Scoring Tally From Grullon

11/11/2024 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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FLORENCE, Ala. – Josué Grullon registered a game-high 24 points for the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team this evening but a strong second half by North Alabama resulted in an 87-69 setback at CB&S Bank Arena.

The Skyhawks (2-1) trailed by just a 44-41 margin at the halftime break but the host Lions shot 53.3 percent (16-for-30) in the final 20 minutes.

Just hours after he was crowned as Ohio Valley Conference Newcomer of the Week, Grullon shot 8-for-17 from the floor – including a 5-of-12 effort from three-point range. He swished three of his four attempts from the charity stripe while adding three rebounds, three assists and a steal in 27 minutes.

Afan Trnka also chipped in 10 points and a game-high four assists for UT Martin while Vladimer Salaridze narrowly missed his second double-double of the young season with nine points, a game-best 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals.

North Alabama (3-0) was led by Jacari Lane's 22 points as he was one of six Lions in double figures scoring. Canin Jefferson tallied 12 points while Corneilous Williams (double-double with 10 rebounds), Dallas Howell, Will Soucie and Donte Bacchus each scored 10 points apiece.

Gallery: (11-11-2024) MBB at North Alabama

Trnka (five) and AJ Hopkins (four) combined to score the Skyhawks' first nine points of the game as UT Martin held an early lead with under 16 minutes to go in the opening half. A pair of Grullon triples capped off an 8-0 Skyhawk run and provided UT Martin with a 22-18 advantage at the under-8-minute media timeout.

A layup by Grullon and a trifecta from Salaridze kept the Skyhawks ahead by four points before North Alabama briefly took a three-point lead. Two more three-pointers from Grullon flipped the score back in favor of UT Martin at 41-39 with two minutes to go before the halftime break. However, the Lions scored the final five points of the half.

Grullon's 14 points led all scorers while Lane had 12 points to top North Alabama, who shot 25 percent (4-of-16) from three-point land in the opening half.

North Alabama accounted for the first 12 points of the second half until a Grullon free throw at the 15:28 mark.

The Skyhawks faced a 74-51 deficit with nine minutes remaining but kept fighting, using a 14-4 run to make the score 78-65 after a Salaridze trifecta with 4:49 left to play. However, that was as close as UT Martin would get the rest of the way.

A six-game swing of road or neutral-site contests continues on Saturday, Nov. 16 when the Skyhawks travel to Farmville, Va. to take on Longwood. Tipoff is set for noon on ESPN+.