Skyhawks Fall To Morehead State In Defensive Battle

Saturday, February 7

Martin, Tenn.

3 p.m.

UT Martin

19-6,11-3OVC

Morehead State

13-12,9-5OVC

Morehead St.

UT Martin

Skyhawks Fall To Morehead State In Defensive Battle

2/7/2026 7:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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MARTIN, Tenn. – Playing its fifth game in the last 10 days, the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball squad struggled offensively in a 61-55 setback to Morehead State at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

The Skyhawks shot 25.8 percent (16-of-62) from the floor, including a 6-for-39 effort (15.4 percent) from three-point range. UT Martin's trademark gritty defense kept them in the game as the Skyhawks took their biggest lead of the day (39-32) with 9:47 left to play but the Eagles responded with an 18-4 run and UT Martin could not bounce back.

Matas Deniusas guided the Skyhawks (19-6, 11-3 Ohio Valley Conference) with a team-high 15 points with game-highs of nine rebounds and four steals. Andrija Bukumirović and Damien King also scored in double digits with 13 and 10 points, respectively.

Morehead State (13-12, 9-5 OVC) was led by George Marshall's 16 points and nine rebounds. Chase Dawson added 11 points and a game-high four assists as the Eagles shot 88.9 percent (16-of-18) from the free throw line.

"I thought we played our tails off but we just didn't have our legs tonight," UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. "We had a lot of wide-open looks and missed several layups at the rim. Defensively, we got away from the scouting report in the second half and every detail matters – we have to clean that up. We'll get some rest and bounce back."

It was a defensive battle early as neither side was able to extend its lead past two points until the 11:06 mark of the first half. Bukumirović scored eight of nine Skyhawk points during one stretch to help UT Martin take a 20-16 advantage with 4:30 left to play before halftime.

Deniusas followed with four straight Skyhawk points but Morehead State scored five of final six points of the opening half to take a 23-22 advantage at the break. Deniusas (nine points, eight rebounds) led UT Martin while Anouar Mellouk's six points paced the Eagles in the first 20 minutes.

King scored four points in a quick 6-0 Skyhawk spurt that gave the Skyhawks a 30-26 lead with just under 16 minutes remaining. A Deniusas triple pushed UT Martin's lead out to seven points at the aforementioned 9:47 mark but Morehead State tallied eight unanswered points to reclaim the lead.

Afan Trnka nailed a trey from the left corner to even the score at 43-all with 5:59 left to play but the Eagles responded with a 7-0 run. The Skyhawks were able to trim an eight-point deficit down to three on three separate occasions down the stretch but that was ultimately as close as they would get the rest of the way.

UT Martin, who still has a one-game lead in the OVC standings, goes on the road for a pair of matchups next week. The Skyhawks start their trip with a Thursday, Feb. 12 matchup at Lindenwood with tipoff time set for 7:30 p.m.