Miles Thomas led four UTM men’s basketball players in double figures scoring this evening but the Skyhawks could not find a rhythm in a 78-65 setback at Tennessee Tech.
Thomas, who redshirted the 2016-17 season at Tennessee Tech, went off for career-highs of 19 points and seven assists in his return to the Hooper Eblen Center. The junior from Chattanooga accounted for a game-high scoring total thanks to 6-of-9 shooting (including a pair of three-pointers) and a 5-for-6 effort from the free throw line.
Quintin Dove posted his seventh double-double of the season with 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds for UTM (8-18, 4-11 Ohio Valley Conference), who also received 13 points out of Derek Hawthorne, Jr. Additionally pitching in a career-best scoring effort was Hannes Polla, as the center from Lahti, Finland notched 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting in 10 minutes off the bench.
Tennessee Tech (8-20, 5-10 OVC) was led in scoring by Cade Crosland’s 15 points off the bench. Jr. Clay (14 points), Tujautae Williams (11) and Keishawn Davidson (10) also reached double-digits in the scoring column for the Golden Eagles, who won for the third time in their last four tries.
“We didn’t get enough stops that we needed at the end,” Skyhawk head coach Anthony Stewart said. “We had a couple chances but we didn’t get it done on the defensive end – I don’t think we took one charge tonight. We will look at the film and get ready for Jacksonville State on Saturday.”
Both sides struggled offensively early, as the opening points of the game were not scored until the 17:36 mark of the first half. That was a layup by Dove, which gave UTM its only lead of the contest. Tennessee Tech soon opened up a 14-3 advantage and led by as many as 17 points before an old-fashioned three-point play by Thomas ignited an 8-0 Skyhawk run. UTM was able to whittle its deficit down to 31-22 at the break after holding the Golden Eagles to just one field goal in the final 6:45 of the half.
Thomas’ 12 points led all scorers in the first half while Dove registered 11 rebounds in the first 20 minutes alone. Williams had seven points to pace Tennessee Tech in the opening half.
The Skyhawks managed to shoot 64.3 percent (18-of-28) in the second half but could not overcome their deficit. Polla gave UTM a boost with six points in the span of 2:07 as the Skyhawks shaved a 48-33 deficit all the way down to 48-42 with 10:37 remaining. However, the Golden Eagles quickly went back on top by double figures and UTM would not get any closer than seven points the rest of the way.
As mentioned earlier, the Skyhawks travel to Jacksonville State on Saturday, Feb. 22 for the final road game of the regular season. Tipoff time from Pete Mathews Coliseum is set for 4 p.m.
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