It was only fitting that the two seniors sent the UTM out on a winning note in the 2019-20 season finale as the Skyhawks dialed up an 87-78 triumph over Southeast Missouri (SEMO) in Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) men’s basketball action.
After an emotional Senior Day ceremony before tipoff, UTM’s Derek Hawthorne, Jr. and Quintin Dove stole the show. Hawthorne went off for a career-best 30 points in addition to nine rebounds and four assists while Dove poured in 27 points despite playing a majority of the game in foul trouble.
Eman Sertovic (nine points, career-best eight rebounds) and Miles Thomas (eight points, career-high nine assists) narrowly missed double-doubles for UTM. Isaac Aguiar also tallied a career-best nine rebounds to tie for the team lead, logging a career-high 30 minutes in the process for the Skyhawks, who set a season-high in field goal percentage (.545) against a Division I opponent.
SEMO (7-24, 3-15 OVC) was led by Skyler Hogan’s 19 points while Sage Tolbert posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Alex Caldwell (13 points, eight assists) and Isaiah Gable (11 points) additionally paced the Redhawks.
“I’m very proud of my team,” UTM head coach Anthony Stewart said. “This game meant something to them – they practiced like they wanted to win their last game and they came out and played like it. Our seniors have been the consummate team players – they are on time to graduate, which is very important. They’re class acts.”
A mid-range jumper by Sertovic exactly one minute into the contest opened the game’s scoring. Southeast Missouri then found a rhythm and led by as many as nine points (24-15) just under the midway point of the first half. Hawthorne was responsible for the final six points during an 8-1 run that helped eliminate the Skyhawk deficit and settle for a 36-36 score at the break – which was the fifth tie of the opening 20 minutes.
Dove (12 points) and Hawthorne (11) guided UTM offensively in the first half, as the Skyhawks shot 58.3 percent (14-of-24) in the early stages. Hogan’s 11 points led the Redhawks in the first half.
A free throw by Dove at the 19:22 mark of the second half resulted in UTM’s first lead since the opening bucket of the contest. Hawthorne then took over, tossing in 12 straight Skyhawk points over a 4:55 span. Five different UTM players scored during a 15-4 run as an Aguiar layup with 8:54 left to play pushed the Skyhawk advantage out to 64-56. Southeast Missouri rallied to even the score at 65-all with 6:31 remaining but UTM recovered and led by as many as 11 points late.
The Skyhawks conclude the 2019-20 season with a 9-20 overall record and 5-13 mark in OVC play. Dove ends his remarkable All-OVC career coming up just shy of becoming the program’s 19th all-time 1,000-point scorer with 997 points over two seasons. Hawthorne tallied 703 points, 322 rebounds, 114 assists and 70 steals in 59 career games over his two years in a UTM uniform.
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