Despite a career-high scoring effort from redshirt sophomore guard Parker Stewart, a UTM en’s basketball rally came up just short in an 89-76 setback at defending Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) champion Murray State.
The Skyhawks (4-8, 0-1 OVC) trailed by as many as 18 points late in the first half but whittled their deficit to single digits with five minutes left to play. UTM remained within striking distance (80-72) with 2:11 remaining but the Skyhawks could not get over the hump.
Stewart put on a show during his OVC debut, pouring in a career-best 33 points. The Pittsburgh transfer sank nine shots – including five trifectas – and added a 10-for-10 effort from the free throw line to go along with a game-high four assists.
Quinton Dove scored all of his 14 points in the first half for UTM, who also received 12 points and a team-best seven rebounds from Derek Hawthorne, Jr. Eman Sertovic pitched in a career-high 11 points off the bench as the Skyhawks were able to get back in the game behind nine 3-pointers in the second half alone.
Murray State (8-5, 1-0 OVC) was paced by Tevin Brown’s 23 points while Jaiveon Eaves scored 19 points. Anthony Smith tallied a double-double (17 points and 12 rebounds) and KJ Williams rounded out the double-digit scorers with 12 points for the Racers, who were forced into 18 turnovers but shot 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the floor.
“Unfortunately, we had some communication breakdowns defensively in the first half and that hurt us early,” UTM head coach Anthony Stewart said. “You can’t do that against a good team like Murray State in this atmosphere. We fought back – the guys didn’t give up and executed down the stretch – but you can’t dig yourself a hole like we did in the first half.”
Hannes Polla accounted for the first four Skyhawk points of the game as UTM held the early advantage. The Racers tallied 10 unanswered points to create some separation before Dove was responsible for 11 of 13 Skyhawk points during one stretch. Stewart sank two free throws with 9:15 to go in the half to trim UTM’s deficit to 25-19 but Murray State immediately followed with a 14-3 run on its way to a 48-33 halftime lead.
Dove and Eaves paced their respective sides with 14 points apiece at the break as the Racers made seven of their 10 attempts from beyond the three-point arc in the opening 20 minutes.
The Skyhawks’ backcourt duo of Stewart and Sertovic carried the team for a long stretch in the second stanza. The pair combined to score 21 straight points over a span of 8:03 – including eight consecutive points by Sertovic in 96 seconds – to make the score 59-53 at the 11:13 mark. Hawthorne and Stewart splashed three-pointers on back-to-back trips down the floor to keep UTM within single digits (70-62) with 5:18 remaining. Yet another Stewart three-ball at the 2:11 mark was part of 15 straight points for the sophomore guard but Murray State made enough free throws down the stretch to hold on.
The Skyhawks wrap up a quick OVC road swing on Saturday, Jan. 4 when they pay a visit to Austin Peay. Tipoff from the Dunn Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.
