Wednesday, November 27
Knoxville, Tenn.
3 p.m.
UT Martin
2-5,0-0OVC
35
at
78
Tennessee
7-0,0-0SEC
1
2
F
UT Martin
20
15
35
Tennessee
35
43
78
UT Martin Battles But Falls At No. 6 Tennessee
11/27/2024 6:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team received 15 points out of Josué Grullon this afternoon but No. 6 Tennessee was too much for the Skyhawks, posting a 78-35 win in front of 17,314 fans at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Today's performance was the sixth time in seven games that Grullon has scored at least 15 points to begin his UT Martin career. The junior guard from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was the only Skyhawk in double figures scoring as he was followed by Stefano Faloppa (seven points) and Matija Žužić (six points). Vladimer Salaridze was responsible for a team-best four assists and a game-high three steals for UT Martin (2-5).
Three Volunteers registered double-digit scoring days, led by Chaz Lanier's 18 points. Felix Okpara had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds with four blocks while Zakai Zeigler narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine assists. Igor Milicic, Jr. added a game-high 13 rebounds as Tennessee improved to 7-0.
"I'm proud of our guys – we knew we were going against an outstanding team," Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "After watching film, I think Tennessee might be the best team in the country. We knew we might be a little overmatched in a game like this but I thought our guys competed, we played extremely hard and battled until the end. We didn't make enough shots and a lot of that is a testament to Tennessee's defense."
Gallery: (11-27-2024) MBB at Tennessee
A Žužić trifecta at the 18:01 mark got UT Martin on the scoreboard and also evened the score at 3-all. Grullon scored the Skyhawks' next five points to shave UT Martin's deficit to 12-8 at the 14:34 mark before the Volunteers pushed their advantage out to double figures with 9:49 remaining before the halftime break.
Grullon and Faloppa hit back-to-back three-pointers to help the Skyhawks stay within 10 points (30-20) with two minutes remaining in the opening half. Tennessee then scored the final five points of the half to take a 35-20 halftime advantage. Grullon (10 points) and Lanier (11) led their respective squads in scoring as UT Martin held the Volunteers to 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from three-point range in the initial 20 minutes.
Tennessee scored the first nine points of the second half before Žužić canned a trey with 15:36 remaining. Carlos Cortijo (floater in the paint) and Grullon (three-pointer) followed with buckets on back-to-back Skyhawk possessions but the Volunteers scored 21 of the next 24 points over the next seven-plus minutes.
Grullon snapped UT Martin's field goal drought with a jumper in the paint at the 4:02 mark while Filip Radaković followed with a pair of free throws. However, Tennessee concluded the contest with 11 unanswered points in the final 3:15.
The Skyhawks round out their six-game road swing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, traveling to Charleston Southern for a 6:30 p.m. CT tipoff.
Today's performance was the sixth time in seven games that Grullon has scored at least 15 points to begin his UT Martin career. The junior guard from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic was the only Skyhawk in double figures scoring as he was followed by Stefano Faloppa (seven points) and Matija Žužić (six points). Vladimer Salaridze was responsible for a team-best four assists and a game-high three steals for UT Martin (2-5).
Three Volunteers registered double-digit scoring days, led by Chaz Lanier's 18 points. Felix Okpara had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds with four blocks while Zakai Zeigler narrowly missed a double-double with 11 points and nine assists. Igor Milicic, Jr. added a game-high 13 rebounds as Tennessee improved to 7-0.
"I'm proud of our guys – we knew we were going against an outstanding team," Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "After watching film, I think Tennessee might be the best team in the country. We knew we might be a little overmatched in a game like this but I thought our guys competed, we played extremely hard and battled until the end. We didn't make enough shots and a lot of that is a testament to Tennessee's defense."
A Žužić trifecta at the 18:01 mark got UT Martin on the scoreboard and also evened the score at 3-all. Grullon scored the Skyhawks' next five points to shave UT Martin's deficit to 12-8 at the 14:34 mark before the Volunteers pushed their advantage out to double figures with 9:49 remaining before the halftime break.
Grullon and Faloppa hit back-to-back three-pointers to help the Skyhawks stay within 10 points (30-20) with two minutes remaining in the opening half. Tennessee then scored the final five points of the half to take a 35-20 halftime advantage. Grullon (10 points) and Lanier (11) led their respective squads in scoring as UT Martin held the Volunteers to 27.3 percent (6-for-22) from three-point range in the initial 20 minutes.
Tennessee scored the first nine points of the second half before Žužić canned a trey with 15:36 remaining. Carlos Cortijo (floater in the paint) and Grullon (three-pointer) followed with buckets on back-to-back Skyhawk possessions but the Volunteers scored 21 of the next 24 points over the next seven-plus minutes.
Grullon snapped UT Martin's field goal drought with a jumper in the paint at the 4:02 mark while Filip Radaković followed with a pair of free throws. However, Tennessee concluded the contest with 11 unanswered points in the final 3:15.
The Skyhawks round out their six-game road swing on Tuesday, Dec. 3, traveling to Charleston Southern for a 6:30 p.m. CT tipoff.
Team Stats
UTM
UT
FG%
.226
.476
3FG%
.194
.270
FT%
.714
.800
RB
24
49
TO
18
11
STL
7
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
15
FGM
6
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
2
FGM
1
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballSkyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 27
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 26
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 25
Thursday, April 10
Skyhawk Sports Talk - Season 2, Episode 24
Thursday, April 10