The Skyhawks dropped to 9-12 on the season after falling in not one but two overtime decisions to the Tennessee State Tigers and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles this past week.
The men lost another week by a total of 5 points as they continue to trudge through a tough OVC schedule.
On Tuesday, the Skyhawks made the trip to Nashville where they lost 80-81 to the Tennessee State Tigers. A massive factor in falling short to the Tigers was a poor shooting night from the Skyhawks, a trend that is slowly becoming the norm for the Skyhawks. On the night, the Skyhawks shot just 21.9% from beyond the arc and dropped to just 31.8% on the season.
The top performer for the Skyhawks was Vlademir Salaridze, who led the team in both points and rebounds. Recording his seventh double-double of the season, Salaridze put up 18 points to go along with 12 rebounds.
Other contributors for the Skyhawks included Afan Trnka (15 points; 2 steals), Matija Žužić (12 points) and Carlos Cortijo (5 points; 6 assists).
Despite the shooting struggles the Skyhawks and Tigers went back and forth for a majority of the game, and after a strong defensive stand from the Skyhawks, came to a stalemate at 75 each.
In overtime, the Skyhawks got off to a hot start; scoring a quick four points before the lead was erased by two TSU 3-pointers.
On Thursday, the Skyhawks welcomed the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on a four-game losing streak. A streak that would come to an end as the Golden Eagles toppled the Skyhawks at home 89-85.
It was more of same for the Skyhawks offense, shooting just 25.6% from three against the Golden Eagles. Despite that, the Skyhawks found themselves in the same situation as Tuesday: in overtime, with a chance to add to the win column.
However, in crunch time the Skyhawks fell short as the Golden Eagles stepped up; shooting just 33.3% from the field in overtime, compared to Tech’s 57.1%.
Leading all players was Vladimer Salaridze who put up his best performance of the season with a career high 29-points to go along with nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks: a performance that would unfortunately be in vain.
Other contributors included Tarence Guinyard (17 points; 7 rebounds), Andrija Bukumirović (14 points; 8 rebounds) and Matija Žužić (12 points).
Tennessee Tech’s points off turnovers (16) and bench points (46) were ultimately the difference between victory and defeat between the two teams. Comparatively, the Skyhawks had six points off turnovers and exactly half the bench points.
The result is a 0-2 week for the Skyhawks that could have been a 2-0 week. This moves the Skyhawks to a 9-12 overall record and a 5-5 record in the OVC, which makes them tied for sixth in the conference.
Looking ahead, the Skyhawks travel to Cape Girardeau to face the 11-10 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 7:30 p.m. and to Little Rock to face the 13-7 Little Rock Trojans on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m.
