UT Martin found itself on the wrong side of another close conference game as they moved to 7-10 on the season. The Skyhawks lost 81-82 in the last moments of a back-and-forth affair on the road with the Lindenwood Lions.
After back-to-back close conference wins, the Skyhawks had a chance to build an early win streak in their conference schedule, but a late three from Lions G Nathan Johnson Jr. put those hopes to rest.
The biggest factor of the Skyhawks’ loss to the Lions was a poor performance from the foul line. A Skyhawk team that shoots 69.5% from the free throw line shot a mere 50% (13/26) against the Lions.
“-we missed a lot of shots from the line, even some from 80 to 90 percent shooters – sometimes it just happens like that,” said Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman on their struggles from the line.
Despite that, the Skyhawk offense flourished, shooting above average from both the field (45.8%) and from beyond the arc (45.2%).
G Tarence Guinyard led the team on offense and defense with a team-high 18 points and three steals while F Vladimer Salaridze led both teams in rebounding with 13, including five offensive rebounds, while adding 14 points of his own on offense.
After falling to 3-5 in games decided by five or less points, some small improvements could lead to more consistent winning for the Skyhawks who have plenty of room to grow as the team of newcomers continue to build chemistry.
The Skyhawks come back to Martin for their next matchup against the 5-11 Eastern Illinois Panthers on Thursday, Jan. 16 with tip-off set for 7:30 PM.
