The UTM men’s basketball squad made a valiant comeback attempt this evening at Eastern Illinois (EIU) but the Skyhawks came up short, falling 95-83 in Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) action.
UTM (5-13, 1-6 OVC) sliced a 26-point first-half deficit to single digits with 8:34 left to play. The Skyhawks went on a 24-9 run behind 10 points from Parker Stewart to make the score 77-68 before the Panthers recovered to claim the home win.
The duo of Stewart and Quintin Dove each supplied game-highs of 27 points for UTM. Dove made 10 of his 14 shot attempts while hauling in a team-best eight rebounds, Stewart dished out a team-high four assists and Miles Thomas (13 points, seven rebounds) also enjoyed a solid outing for the Skyhawks in his return to the starting lineup.
EIU (10-9, 3-4 OVC) improved to 6-0 inside Lantz Arena thanks in large part to Josiah Wallace (22 points) and George Dixon (20 points, game-high nine rebounds). Mack Smith also added 17 points and Shareef Smith pitched in 10 points as the Panthers converted 59 percent (23-for-39) of their field goal tries in the opening 20 minutes.
“We keep digging ourselves a hole,” UTM head coach Anthony Stewart said. “You simply can’t win like that on the road. We have to find a way to string together two halves of basketball, not just be a second-half team. We have a short turnaround and a lot of work to do, but we will be ready to go on Saturday (at SIUE).”
The Skyhawks led early after a trifecta from Stewart and a layup by Dove on back-to-back possessions. However, UTM’s advantage dissolved after EIU used a 14-2 run to go on top 32-16 midway through the first half. After the Panthers went ahead 53-27, Stewart dialed up eight points during a 10-4 Skyhawk run to close out the half, making the score 57-37 at the intermission.
Wallace scored 20 points in the first half while Stewart (17) and Dove (12) both reached the double-digit scoring plateau for UTM.
The Skyhawks cranked up the defensive intensity at the outset of the second half, creeping within nine points after a pair of Stewart free throws. However, UTM went cold – going without a field goal over seven minutes as Eastern Illinois was able to overcome the Skyhawk run.
UTM continues its swing through Illinois on Saturday, Jan. 25 when it pays a visit to SIUE. Tipoff time from the Vadalabene Center is set for 4:30 p.m
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