The Skyhawk men’s hoop squad chipped away at a 23-point deficit in the second half against Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) opponent Belmont, but ultimately fell to the Bruins 70-80.
Junior forward Cameron Holden commanded the Skyhawks with a 23-point, 11-rebound double-double that led the Skyhawks in both categories. Freshman guard Anthony Thomas (15) and junior forward La-Quiem Walker (10) both reached double-digit scoring numbers off the bench.
Sophomore guard Eden Holt also turned in a solid effort, recording four points, seven rebounds (second on the team) and two steals (led team).
While the Gamecocks didn’t have any players notch a double-double, JSU had three players score into the double-digits, led by forward Amanze Ngumezi’s 20 points.
The Skyhawks got on the board first with a three-pointer by junior guard Jonte Coleman, who made his first-career start, in a little over 30 seconds of play. Coleman struck again from beyond the arc nearly a minute later to keep UTM up 6-3.
The Gamecocks took their first lead at the 16:42 mark with a three-pointer from guard Kayne Henry, but senior center Hannes Polla tied the two teams at 8-8 at 16:19 with a jumper in the paint. Ngumezi’s free throw to put JSU up 11-10 at 13:56 marked the moment where the Gamecocks clamped down on their lead and began pulling away.
Less than 20 seconds later, a three by guard Darian Adams put JSU up 14-10. The Skyhawks made attempts to tie it back up but to no avail. At 8:57, a dunk by forward Juwan Perdue extended JSU’s lead to double-digits at 24-14. The Skyhawks took a timeout at 8:44, but the Gamecocks were able to extend their lead to 41-18 at 3:14. At the end of the half, the Skyhawks found themselves down 45-23.
This 20-point deficit loomed over the Skyhawks to start the second half. A layup by Thomas at 12:23 marked the end of JSU’s 20+ point margin over the Skyhawks. UTM’s deficit fluctuated back-and-forth between a 17- and 14-point margin through much of the second half.
Against the odds, however, a layup by Holden at 1:01 cut UTM’s deficit down to 65-74, the first time the Skyhawks trailed by less than 10 points since the 10:19 point of the first half.
Unfortunately for the orange and blue, the comeback was too little, too late. A couple of free throws made by JSU with a little over 30 seconds to play extended that deficit to 11 points, sealing the victory for the Gamecocks.
UTM was vulnerable on the fast break, especially in the first half. Of JSU’s 17 fast break points scored, 13 were in the first half alone.
“Jacksonville State made some shots and we had a couple of big turnovers in the first half that led to easy fast break points,” UT Martin interim head coach Montez Robinson said, according to Sports Information. “I thought if we could have stayed under control in the first half, we would have been ok. In the second half, the guys came out and followed the gameplan. We just have to sustain our execution for 40 minutes and continue to play together.”
Men’s hoops will resume when they host conference opponent Belmont at home on Jan. 2.
Photo Credits / Sports Information
