The Skyhawk men’s basketball squad opened the season on a positive note when they defeated the Evansville Purple Aces 93-87 in an emotional season-opening double-overtime win in the team’s first game since the passing of head coach Anthony Stewart. Interim head coach Montez Robinson earned his first win at the helm.
“I am just really excited to get this win for coach Anthony Stewart,” Robinson said. “This team and everything we were trying to do is what he put together. It was an emotional day for us – I thought the guys came out from the tip and played like they wanted to win the game for him.”
UTM held onto a lead for over 43 minutes of game time, extending that lead to 14 at its peak, before surrendering it back to Evansville towards the end of regulation.
Sophomore guard Eden Holt led the way for the orange-and-blue with a game-high 24 points. In addition, Holt kept the squad alive with a three-pointer with one second remaining in the second half, sending the two teams to their first overtime.
Despite scoring on four of seven shot attempts over two overtime periods, the Skyhawks did the bulk of their damage at the free throw line, sinking 15 of 19 attempts.
The Skyhawks wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard. A layup from senior center Hannes Polla, a pull-up trey from junior forward Ajani Kennedy and a contested trifecta from Holt gave the Skyhawks an early 8-0 lead.
Holt excelled in the shooting department, sinking six of his nine attempts. Beyond the arc, Holt scored on three of his four three-point attempts. At Holt’s side was junior guard/forward Cameron Holden, who recorded 16 points to go along with a stout defensive effort inclduing eight rebounds (team-best) and two blocks. Other double-digit scorers for the Skyhawks included junior forward/guard Jaron Williams (11) and sophomore guard Eman Sertovic (10).
The slumping Purple Aces (0-3) were commanded by guard Noah Frederking and his 22 points. Forward Jax Levitch put up a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
UTM ultimately outperformed the Purple Aces in field goal percentage (47% to 42.6%), three-point percentage (47.6% to 44.1%) and free-throw percentage (76% to 69%) while Evansville held the advantage in rebounds (41 to 38) and turnovers (19 to 15).
The Skyhawks wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, with a layup from senior center Hannes Polla opening up the Skyhawk offense early on. This was followed by a pull-up trey by Kennedy and a contested trifecta by Holt, putting the Skyhawks up 8-0 through the first four minutes.
A three-pointer by Sertovic elevated the Skyhawks to their first double-digit lead of the contest (20-10). With UTM up 24-10, Evansville countered with a 9-0 run towards halftime to cut the lead down to 36-31.
Early into the second half, the Purple Aces nearly caught up with the Skyhawks and decreased the deficit to just three points. UTM, with some help from Holt and Sertovic, pulled off an 8-0 run to regain their double-digit lead.
The Skyhawks managed to hold onto their lead until around 42 seconds left in regulation, when a 10-0 run by Evansville gave the Purple Aces their first lead of the contest. Holt’s late three-pointer sent the squads to overtime shortly after.
The first overtime period saw the lead change five times in the five-minute time frame, but the second overtime was where the Skyhawks pulled away. The first nine points of the second overtime went in UTM’s favor.
Junior guard Kenton Eskridge, with a big-time three-pointer with under three minutes to play, and Holt, with seven points from the charity stripe, helped the Skyhawks finish the game once and for all.
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