Balanced Scoring Guides Skyhawks To 97-42 Rout In Home Opener

Sunday, November 9

Martin, Tenn.

6:30 p.m.

UT Martin

2-0,0-0OVC

Kentucky Christian

0-2

Ky. Christian

UT Martin

Balanced Scoring Guides Skyhawks To 97-42 Rout In Home Opener

11/9/2025 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – All 13 University of Tennessee at Martin players who saw action tonight scored as the Skyhawk men's basketball squad soared to a 97-42 victory over Kentucky Christian at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

UT Martin improved to 2-0 after leading for 37:50 of clock time, relying on a stout defense that forced 25 turnovers and held the Knights to 28.3 percent (15-of-53) shooting – including a 5-for-24 effort (20.8 percent) from three-point range.

Andrija Bukumirović tallied his second double-double in a Skyhawk uniform, posting game-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds while shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor. Dragos Lungu equaled Bukumirović with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting while Matas Deniusas concluded UT Martin's double-digit scorers with 11 points and six rebounds.

AJ Hopkins (nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point land), Pedro Santos (eight points, six rebounds), Luca Colceag (eight points) and Ty Price (eight points) nearly cracked double figures in the scoring column this evening. Filip Petkovski added game-highs of four assists and four steals while the trio of Afan Trnka, Vladimir Khryapa and Lamine Niang each had multi-block performances.

An NAIA program out of Grayson, Ky., Kentucky Christian (0-4) was led by Markell Hood's 15 points. The Knights were outscored by a 53-13 margin in the second half after being held to 4-for-23 shooting (17.4 percent) with one 3-pointer in the final 20 minutes.

"I was so proud of our guys tonight, especially in the second half," Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "We really defended and shared the ball with 13 players playing double-digit minutes, which is not easy to do. It was such a collective effort and another step for us as we build."

After Kentucky Christian scored the first five points of the contest, UT Martin responded with a 13-0 run to set the tone. A Lungu dunk off a turnover stretched the Skyhawk advantage out to 32-17 with seven minutes to go in the opening half before a Trnka triple at the 2:32 mark gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the first half at 40-22.

The Skyhawks settled for a 44-29 halftime lead as Bukumirović's 13 points led all scorers at the break. Lungu added 12 points for UT Martin while the Knights were led by Hood's 12 points.

The Skyhawks then put the game away with 17 unanswered points to start the second half. Deniusas contributed six points during that stretch, which was capped off with a Trnka fast break layup that made the score 61-29 with 14 minutes remaining.

Kentucky Christian would not get within 30 points the rest of the way as a Santos trifecta with 35 seconds to go concluded the offensive flurry and gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the night at 97-42 – the final score of the contest.

The Skyhawks play their next four games at road or neutral sites, beginning with a Wednesday, Nov. 12 matchup at Bradley. Tipoff time from Peoria, Ill. is set for 7:30 p.m.