In the second game of a four-game homestand, the UTM Skyhawks were defeated by the Jackson State Tigers on Friday 68-64.
The loss drops the Skyhawks to a 1-6 record, and extends their current losing skid to three games. Jackson State, meanwhile, rises to a 2-4 mark on the year thus far. The Tigers outplayed UTM in the paint, scoring 20 points to the Skyhawks’s 14 from inside, but the Skyhawks held the advantage in turnover efficiency with 12 points off turnovers to JSU’s three.
Coach Jason James was unavailable for comment after the game.
The four-point loss, the smallest margin of defeat for UTM this season, marked a milestone in Coach James’ career, his one hundredth career loss in five seasons as a head coach.
UTM was out to an early lead, but fell behind quickly. After a field goal by JSU center Brandon West tied the game at seven points with 14:27 left in the first half, the Skyhawks would not lead again for the remainder of the game. West made eight of his twelve field goal attempts on the night, and totaled 17 points; in addition, he recorded 14 rebounds, giving him a double-double for the game.
Junior forward Myles Taylor, still hobbled from a torn ACL last season, pulled down nine rebounds and recorded 17 points, including making 9 of 11 free throws on the night.
Meanwhile, UTM’s redshirt junior guard Terence Smith led the team with 23 points. Many of those points came from beyond the 3-point arch, as Smith drained five of his nine trey attempts, as many three-pointers as the entire Jackson State team combined.
Both teams had issues with penalties with a total of fifty personal fouls. One player, JSU’s West, fouled out with one second remaining in the second half. Three other players, including Taylor, reached four personal fouls and three more tallied three fouls each.
The Skyhawks rallied late in the second half, only to miss several crucial free throws to sink their chances of victory. UTM was 10-for-19 from the line in the second half, in contrast to Jackson State’s 10-for-15.
The Skyhawks’ four-game homestand continues on Monday with a visit from Lipscomb, who lost by 30 points to UTM’s’ OVC rival Belmont on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the JSU Tigers do not play again until November 27th, when they travel to Mississippi State.
