Superb Defense Gets Skyhawks Back On Track Against Tennessee Tech

Thursday, February 26

Martin, Tenn.

7:30 p.m.

UT Martin

21-9,13-6OVC

Tennessee Tech

13-17,8-11OVC

Tennessee Tech

UT Martin

Photo by: Stasi Solbrig/UTM Athletics

Superb Defense Gets Skyhawks Back On Track Against Tennessee Tech

2/26/2026 11:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – A stifling defensive effort from the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team resulted in a convincing 64-49 triumph over Ohio Valley Conference foe Tennessee Tech at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

The Skyhawks held the Golden Eagles to 0-for-13 shooting with 10 turnovers in the first 13:55 of the game, wrapping up the contest with their second fewest points allowed by a NCAA Division I opponent this season (only trailing 44 points at Western Illinois on Jan. 31). Overall, UT Martin limited Tennessee Tech to 25 percent shooting (11-of-44) with a 21.7 percent clip (5-for-23) from three-point range to go along with 16 turnovers.

Lamine Niang came off the bench to tie a game-high with 12 points tonight, shooting 6-of-8 from the floor with a pair of blocks in 20 minutes to become the 10th different Skyhawk to lead UT Martin in scoring in 2025-26. Filip Radaković added 10 points while Vladimir Khryapa produced a career-best nine points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point land. Andrija Bukumirović hauled in a game-high eight rebounds to pace the Skyhawks, who improved to 21-9 overall (13-6 OVC) on the way to officially clinching a top-four seed and first-round bye in next week's OVC Championship tournament.

The Golden Eagles (13-17, 8-11 OVC) received 12 points apiece out of Mekhi Cameron and Dani Pounds as the latter also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Nearly half (22 points) of Tennessee Tech's scoring output came from the free throw line.

"We talk about next man up and being ready all the time," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "We had a lot of people in foul trouble and Lamine was awesome – he had some bigtime moves offensively and got better throughout the game defensively. Tennessee Tech had been on a roll and we got sped up a lot in the first half. It was a much more enjoyable second half because we got back to doing things our way."

An AJ Hopkins layup at the 6:38 mark of the opening half gave the Skyhawks their first double-digit lead of the night (14-4). The Golden Eagles made their first field goal of the game on the next possession, starting a 17-4 run that briefly resulted in a Tennessee Tech lead late in the first half.

UT Martin bounced back to take a 23-22 advantage into the locker room thanks to a straightaway Khryapa triple with 48 seconds remaining before the intermission. Niang's eight points led the way for the Skyhawks while Cameron scored 10 first-half points for the Golden Eagles, who shot 21.1 percent (4-of-19) and 2-for-12 (16.7 percent) from beyond the three-point arc in the first 20 minutes.

After Tennessee Tech scored the first points of the second half, Niang slammed home an alley-oop dunk 16 seconds later - his fourth jam of the night - to give UT Martin a lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way. The Golden Eagles closed to within one point (33-32) with a little under 14 minutes to go but the Skyhawks responded with a game-changing 21-4 run, capped off with a Filip Petkovski three-pointer that made the score 54-36.

Afan Trnka buried a three-pointer with 1:44 left to play that gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the evening at 64-42 as the Skyhawks won going away.

UT Martin concludes the regular season on Saturday, Feb. 28 when the Skyhawks host OVC foe Tennessee State. Tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 1 p.m. on ESPNU.