Skyhawks Down SIUE For Sixth Consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Triumph

Thursday, January 15

Martin, Tenn.

7:30 p.m.

UT Martin

14-4,6-1OVC

SIUE

10-8,3-4OVC

SIUE

UT Martin

Skyhawks Down SIUE For Sixth Consecutive Ohio Valley Conference Triumph

1/15/2026 11:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – The staunch University of Tennessee at Martin defense once again showed out this evening as the Skyhawks picked up a 65-59 victory over SIUE in Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball action.

UT Martin (14-4, 6-1 OVC) ran its winning streak to six games tonight, holding the visiting Cougars to 17.4 percent (4-of-23) shooting from three-point range. The Skyhawks also outrebounded SIUE by a 47-34 margin and only trailed for 3:22 of clock time, moving to 8-0 on the season inside the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

Filip Radaković led UT Martin in scoring for the third time in the last five outings as the sophomore guard registered a game-high 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. The Skyhawk tandem of Andrija Bukumirović (14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks) and Matas Deniusas (11 points, game-high 11 rebounds, three assists, two blocks) also provided plenty of muscle as they became the first UT Martin duo to record double-doubles in the same game since Lamine Niang and Pedro Santos against Champion Christian on Dec. 14, 2025.

The Cougars (10-8, 3-4 OVC) featured balanced scoring as Darrion Baker paced the defending OVC Tournament champions with 15 points. Arnas Sakenis followed with 12 points while CJ Hall (11) and Tyler King (10) additionally tallied double digits in the points column.

"SIUE is a great defensive team and is hard to score against," Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "Points were at a premium – I thought we got some real open looks but just tightened up a little bit and didn't shoot as well as we normally do. We made some adjustments in the second half and were able to execute so I'm really proud of our effort – we were even-keeled throughout."

Santos scored UT Martin's first four points of the game as neither side led by more than three points for the first 14-plus minutes. Radaković accounted for four points during an 8-0 Skyhawk run that resulted in a 22-16 UT Martin advantage with a little under five minutes remaining in the opening half.

The Cougars tallied the final four points of the first half but the Skyhawks were able to cling to a 28-27 lead at the halftime break. Radaković garnered game-highs of nine points and seven rebounds while Baker's eight points paced SIUE in the first 20 minutes.

A mid-range floater from the left baseline on the first possession of the second half gave the Cougars a 29-28 lead but UT Martin reclaimed the lead for good on a Deniusas jumper in the lane on the next trip down the floor. Four different Skyhawks (Radaković driving layup, Deniusas trey, Afan Trnka trifecta and Bukumirović leaner in the paint) managed points during a 10-2 UT Martin surge that opened up momentum.

SIUE pulled within four points (47-43) with 6:34 left to play but that was as close as it would get the rest of the way. The Skyhawks responded with three-pointers from Bukumirović, Radaković and Filip Petkovski in an 84-second span to take their biggest lead of the contest (56-45) with 4:46 to go.

UT Martin is back at home on Saturday, Jan. 17 when it hosts the Lindenwood Lions. Tipoff time from the Elam Center is set for 3:30 p.m. as the second game of a doubleheader with the Skyhawk women's squad.