Skyhawks Drop Decision To Tennessee State In Regular Season Finale

Saturday, February 28

Martin, Tenn.

1 p.m.

UT Martin

21-10,13-7OVC

Tennessee State

21-9,15-5OVC

Tennessee St.

UT Martin

Skyhawks Drop Decision To Tennessee State In Regular Season Finale

2/28/2026 6:11:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team got behind early and could not recover today, falling 67-42 to Ohio Valley Conference regular season co-champion Tennessee State at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

The Skyhawks conclude the regular season with a 21-10 record and 13-7 mark in league play, entering next week's OVC Championship in Evansville, Ind. as the No. 4 seed.

UT Martin was led in scoring today by freshman Matas Deniusas, who tallied 13 points to go along with five rebounds in 26 minutes. Pedro Santos snared a game-high six rebounds for the Skyhawks, who had a season-low scoring output today.

Tennessee State (21-9, 15-5 OVC) was led by the duo of Aaron Nkrumah (20 points) and Travis Harper II (16 points). The Tigers were held to 29.4 percent (5-of-17) shooting from three-point range but held a 23-2 advantage in fast break points.

"Hats off to Tennessee State – Coach Nolan Smith has done a great job this season," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "This game doesn't define us – it's time for us to turn the page to a brand new season at the OVC Tournament. I love my team and we'll spend this week getting better before heading to Evansville."

Following a pregame ceremony honoring Skyhawk seniors Bobby Mays (manager), Luca Colceag, AJ Hopkins and Lamine Niang, early buckets from Deniusas, Filip Radaković and Andrija Bukumirović knotted the score at 6-all in the first five minutes of the contest. The Tigers then went on a 13-0 run before a Hopkins three-pointer ended UT Martin's drought.

An 11-3 Tennessee State run resulted in an 18-point Skyhawk deficit before four straight points by Deniusas ended the half and made the score 35-21. Deniusas had nine points to guide UT Martin while Nkrumah posted 16 points in the opening half.

Three Bukumirović free throws opened the scoring for the Skyhawks but the Tigers scored 11 of the next 13 points. UT Martin posted eight unanswered points late in the contest but ultimately it was too late for the Skyhawks to make a comeback.

UT Martin will make its OVC Championship tournament debut on Thursday, March 5 when they face the winner of the No. 5 SIUE/No. 8 Eastern Illinois first-round matchup. Tipoff from the Ford Center is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.