After a first half that saw the Skyhawks (6-11, 4-9 OVC) and Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles (2-18, 2-11 OVC) combine for 81 points, both squads were held to under 30 points as the Skyhawks edged out a slim 66-64 win over their Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) opponent.
Senior forward Jaron Williams led the offense with a 20-point performance in which he went 6-10 from the field and a perfect 6-6 at the charity stripe. Following suit behind Williams was junior guard Kenton Eskridge, who scored 12 points and recorded a team-high six assists. UTM’s backcourt was commanded by junior forward Ajani Kennedy and his team-high seven defensive rebounds.
The Golden Eagles relied on a three-pronged offensive attack in guard Keishawn Davidson (15 points), guard Jr. Clay (14 points) and forward Austin Harvell (14 points). Harvell also anchored the backcourt with a team-leading numbers in defensive rebounds (seven), steals (two) and blocks (two).
TTU started off the contest with a 4-0 run before a three by sophomore guard Eman Sertovic interrupted the momentum. After snagging a brief 5-4 lead thanks to a jumper by Williams, TTU countered with an 11-5 run to go up 15-8 at the 15:38 mark. A jumper by junior forward Cameron Holden knotted up the score 17-17 at 12:27, prompting both squads to go tit-for-tat over the next five minutes until a three by junior guard Vinnie Viana once again tied the two teams, this time at 26-26.
After exchanging three-pointers, the Golden Eagles took the upper hand with a 12-10 run to close out the first half. TTU posted impressive numbers from the field (52%) and beyond the arc (46.7%) while the Skyhawks lagged behind with percentages of 42.4% and 35.7%, respectively.
Clay kicked off second-half scoring with a a jumper at 19:29, but Williams countered with a jumper of his own less than 30 seconds later. Williams was responsible for the Skyhawks’ first five points of the second half, helping UTM regain the lead (45-43) at 18:23. Neither side could pull away through much of the half until the Skyhawks secured an eight-point (65-57) lead at 4:52.
Davidson’s jumper at 1:49 put TTU within a point within the Skyhawks at 64-65. Following the jumper, Davidson stole the ball off Holden and deferred to Clay. However, Clay’s missed three-pointer prevented another lead change. The final point of the contest came from a free throw by Eskridge with only six seconds to play. However, the Golden Eagles were afforded a chance to take a last-second lead with the a three-pointer, but Clay’s last-second attempt fell flat, and UTM came out victorious.
The Skyhawks’ bench was crucial, as UTM managed 20 points off the bench compared to TTU’s eight. Though the Skyhawks were repeatedly brutalized by TTU’s 20 points on the fast break, UTM was able to make better uses of second-chance opportunities 12 points off offensive rebounds.
“I’m really ecstatic about our team’s effort,” UTM interim head coach Montez Robinson said. “It was a gutsy performance down the stretch – we had to put together some stops and execute offensively. The guys have been doing a great job taking to coaching and I thought our execution of the gameplan was really good today.”
The Skyhawks will end their six-game home stand with a bout against fellow OVC opponent Austin Peay (11-7, 7-5 OVC) on Feb. 8.
Photo Credit / Sports Information
