Skyhawks Fall In Pensacola Invitational Championship Game; Deniusas and Lungu Named To All-Tournament Team

Sunday, November 23

Pensacola, Fla.

4:30 p.m.

UT Martin

4-2,0-0OVC

Southern Miss

4-3,0-0Sun Belt

UT Martin

Southern Miss.

Skyhawks Fall In Pensacola Invitational Championship Game; Deniusas and Lungu Named To All-Tournament Team

11/23/2025 8:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Stats PDF

PENSACOLA, Fla. – A slow start cost the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team today as the Skyhawks dropped a 70-60 decision to Southern Miss in the Pensacola Invitational championship contest.

UT Martin shot 63.2 percent (12-for-19) in the second half and saw seven different players sink a three-pointer this evening but the Skyhawks could not overcome a 41-22 halftime deficit.

Freshman Damien King scored all of his team-best 11 points in the second half while adding career-highs of three assists and three steals in just 20 minutes of playing time. Dragos Lungu added 11 points in only 15 minutes while Lamine Niang tacked on a season-best eight points in 15 minutes for UT Martin (4-2), whose bench outscored the Golden Eagles by a 35-17 margin.

Southern Miss (4-3) was led by 14 points apiece out of Tylik Weeks and Djahi Binet. Isaac Taveras additionally scored 10 points as the Golden Eagles, who won their third straight decision.

After Southern Miss got off to a 10-2 start, Andrija Bukumirović pulled the Skyhawks to within five points after splashing a three-pointer. The Golden Eagles soon posted 10 unanswered points before Lungu pumped in six of UT Martin's next seven points.

Afan Trnka knocked down a turnaround jumper in the paint with six seconds to go before the halftime break for the final points on both sides of the first half. Lungu's 11 points led all scorers at the half while Curt Lewis and Israel Hart both accounted for nine points apiece for Southern Miss.

King generated the Skyhawks' first five points of the second half before Matas Deniusas sank a three-pointer to trim UT Martin's deficit to 45-30. A Filip Petkovski trey with 8:35 remaining made it a 12-point game (57-45) and Ty Price went off for five points in a 62-second span late in the game but the Skyhawks could not get back within single digits the rest of the way.

Following the conclusion of the game, Deniusas and Lungu were each named to the nine-man Pensacola Invitational All-Tournament Team. Deniusas averaged 12.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 100 percent (8-for-8) from the free throw line while Lungu averaged 11.0 points on 69.2 percent (9-of-13) shooting to go along with 4.5 assists per outing.

UT Martin will play at home for the first time in over two weeks when it hosts Brescia on Tuesday, Nov. 25. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.