Thursday, February 1
Charleston, Ill.
7:30 p.m.
UT Martin
13-9,6-3OVC
76
at
59
Eastern Illinois
10-12,4-5OVC
1
2
F
UT Martin
33
43
76
Eastern Ill.
37
22
59
UT MARTIN MEN’S BASKETBALL ROLLS TO THIRD STRAIGHT OVC WIN, 76-59 AT EASTERN ILLINOIS
2/1/2024 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Jordan Sears led four University of Tennessee at Martin players in double figures scoring this evening as the Skyhawk men's basketball squad extended their winning streak out to three games courtesy of a 76-59 victory at Eastern Illinois.
Sears tallied a stat line of 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of playing time, doing most of his damage from the charity stripe (11-of-13). Desmond Williams came up big with 19 points – his most in 52 career games in a UT Martin uniform – behind five treys while also pulling down six rebounds.
Jacob Crews (12 points, 16 rebounds) corralled his sixth double-double of the season while KK Curry provided 10 points for the Skyhawks (13-9, 6-3 Ohio Valley Conference). Reigning OVC Player of the Week Issa Muhammad (eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals) additionally helped UT Martin to its second win in Groniger Arena in the last nine visits.
The Panthers (10-12, 4-5 OVC) were led by Tiger Booker, who scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. Corey Sawyer, Jr. also tacked on 10 points but Eastern Illinois was held to 27.3 percent shooting (9-of-33) – including an 0-for-13 effort from three-point range – in the second half. Overall, the Panthers shot 34.3 percent with a 5-of-26 performance (19.2 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.
"That's three games in a row where we've felt pretty good about our defensive effort," Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. "With the pace we play, we don't necessarily look at the opponents' score – we look at effective field goal percentage and points per possession. We knew it was going to be a fight tonight and the guys competed their tails off together."
Gallery: (2-1-2024) MBB at Eastern Illinois
UT Martin scored the first eight points of the game, capped off with Williams three-pointers from the right wing on back-to-back possessions. A fast break layup by Williams at the 16:09 mark forced Eastern Illinois to burn its first timeout of the contest.
Muhammad scored back-to-back buckets before a pair of Jordan Sears free throws with 12:40 remaining in the first half extended the Skyhawk lead out to double figures (20-9).
Following a David Kamwanga hook shot with 9:20 to go before the halftime break, the Panthers scored 19 of the next 21 points over a 7:14 stretch – flipping a nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
Sears then scored five consecutive UT Martin points before a Crews tip-in pulled the Skyhawks back within two points (35-33). Eastern Illinois was able to score on its final possession of the half, taking a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
Sears' nine points led UT Martin in the opening 20 minutes while Muhammad and Williams followed closely behind with eight points apiece. Booker tallied 20 points to lead the Panthers in the first half.
Williams once again had the hot hand early in the second half for the Skyhawks, swishing a pair of three-pointers in a 33-second span to give UT Martin a 41-39 edge with a little over 18 minutes to play.
Moments later, the Skyhawks went on a 9-2 surge which was wrapped up with a Sears three-ball that made the score 50-43 in favor of UT Martin. Sears accounted for 11 of 17 Skyhawk points during one stretch, eventually helping UT Martin go back on top by double figures with 7:27 to go.
The Skyhawks soon posted a 14-4 run to lead by as many as 19 points (74-55) with 2:07 remaining. Williams scored the first five points while Sears also chipped in five of the last seven points during the spurt that officially iced the victory.
UT Martin stays in the state of Illinois for its next outing, traveling to SIUE on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff time from Edwardsville is set for 3:30 p.m.
Sears tallied a stat line of 25 points, six rebounds and five assists in 37 minutes of playing time, doing most of his damage from the charity stripe (11-of-13). Desmond Williams came up big with 19 points – his most in 52 career games in a UT Martin uniform – behind five treys while also pulling down six rebounds.
Jacob Crews (12 points, 16 rebounds) corralled his sixth double-double of the season while KK Curry provided 10 points for the Skyhawks (13-9, 6-3 Ohio Valley Conference). Reigning OVC Player of the Week Issa Muhammad (eight points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals) additionally helped UT Martin to its second win in Groniger Arena in the last nine visits.
The Panthers (10-12, 4-5 OVC) were led by Tiger Booker, who scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the first half. Corey Sawyer, Jr. also tacked on 10 points but Eastern Illinois was held to 27.3 percent shooting (9-of-33) – including an 0-for-13 effort from three-point range – in the second half. Overall, the Panthers shot 34.3 percent with a 5-of-26 performance (19.2 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.
"That's three games in a row where we've felt pretty good about our defensive effort," Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. "With the pace we play, we don't necessarily look at the opponents' score – we look at effective field goal percentage and points per possession. We knew it was going to be a fight tonight and the guys competed their tails off together."
UT Martin scored the first eight points of the game, capped off with Williams three-pointers from the right wing on back-to-back possessions. A fast break layup by Williams at the 16:09 mark forced Eastern Illinois to burn its first timeout of the contest.
Muhammad scored back-to-back buckets before a pair of Jordan Sears free throws with 12:40 remaining in the first half extended the Skyhawk lead out to double figures (20-9).
Following a David Kamwanga hook shot with 9:20 to go before the halftime break, the Panthers scored 19 of the next 21 points over a 7:14 stretch – flipping a nine-point deficit into an eight-point lead.
Sears then scored five consecutive UT Martin points before a Crews tip-in pulled the Skyhawks back within two points (35-33). Eastern Illinois was able to score on its final possession of the half, taking a 37-33 lead into the locker room.
Sears' nine points led UT Martin in the opening 20 minutes while Muhammad and Williams followed closely behind with eight points apiece. Booker tallied 20 points to lead the Panthers in the first half.
Williams once again had the hot hand early in the second half for the Skyhawks, swishing a pair of three-pointers in a 33-second span to give UT Martin a 41-39 edge with a little over 18 minutes to play.
Moments later, the Skyhawks went on a 9-2 surge which was wrapped up with a Sears three-ball that made the score 50-43 in favor of UT Martin. Sears accounted for 11 of 17 Skyhawk points during one stretch, eventually helping UT Martin go back on top by double figures with 7:27 to go.
The Skyhawks soon posted a 14-4 run to lead by as many as 19 points (74-55) with 2:07 remaining. Williams scored the first five points while Sears also chipped in five of the last seven points during the spurt that officially iced the victory.
UT Martin stays in the state of Illinois for its next outing, traveling to SIUE on Saturday, Feb. 3. Tipoff time from Edwardsville is set for 3:30 p.m.
Team Stats
UTM
EIU
FG%
.391
.343
3FG%
.250
.192
FT%
.792
.667
RB
52
37
TO
13
11
STL
6
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
11
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
5
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
G/F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
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