A total of five UTM men’s basketball players scored at least a dozen points as the Skyhawks ran away with a 95-60 triumph over the Bethel Wildcats at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Cameron Holden pumped in a game-high 21 points in only 21 minutes off the bench for UTM, including a 15-of-17 performance from the free throw line. His 15 makes were just two shy of the school record set by Mitch Stentiford against Southeast Missouri on Jan. 3, 1984 and were the most for any Skyhawk since Benzor Simmons converted 16 free throws at SIUE on Jan. 24, 2011.
Jaron Williams pitched in 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting and freshman Anthony Thomas scored all 17 of his points in the second half this afternoon for UTM. Eden Holt tallied 14 points while Ajani Kennedy’s 12 points and game-best 11 rebounds were good enough for the first double-double of his Skyhawk career. Eric Rustin (seven blocks, six rebounds in 16 minutes) and Kenton Eskridge (seven points, six rebounds, game-high four assists, two steals) also provided valuable minutes for UTM, who improved to 2-0 to start a season for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
“It feels good to play basketball,” Skyhawk interim head coach Montez Robinson said. “It’s good for our guys from a mental aspect – this is an outlet for them and for these guys to get back on the court and relieve some of that energy and stress, that’s amazing. We’ve only had five days of practice in the last month but our guys are staying active and still trying to build some chemistry with one another. As a coaching staff, we’re still trying to figure out lineups and who can do what in different situations. It’s a working process.”
Bethel (4-4) was led by Myron McKinney’s 14 points and 10 rebounds while Kamron Rose also provided 11 points off the bench. The Wildcats fell victim to an air-tight UTM defense that induced 20 turnovers to go along with a 17.6 percent shooting performance (3-of-17) from three-point land.
Kennedy scored the first five points of the contest for the Skyhawks before a driving dunk by Williams capped off a 9-0 run to give UTM a 14-5 advantage early. Rustin sank a pair of free throws at the 13:52 mark of the first half to give the Skyhawks their first double-digit lead of the day at 18-8.
Over a near seven-minute stretch, Holden scored 12 of UTM’s 14 points as the Skyhawks extended their lead. Bethel managed to get back within 10 points with 2:41 left to play before the break but UT Martin used a 9-0 run to claim a 45-26 lead at halftime.
Holden (13) and Holt (10) already collected double figures in the scoring column at the intermission while McKinney’s six points topped the Wildcats.
The trio of Williams (eight), Kennedy (five) and Holt (four) combined to score 17 of the Skyhawks’ first 21 points of the second half before Thomas heated up. The 6-7 guard out of Silver Spring, Md. went off for 17 of UTM’s final 29 points, including nine consecutive Skyhawk points during a 1:52 span. His trifecta with 49 ticks remaining provided UTM with its biggest lead of the afternoon (95-58) as the Skyhawks emerged victorious in their first taste of competition in 13 days.
UTM starts Ohio Valley Conference play on Friday, Dec. 18 when it heads to Cape Girardeau, Missouri for a showdown against the Southeast Missouri Redhawks. Tipoff time from the Show Me Center is set for 6:30 p.m.
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