The Skyhawks defeated 17-9 SIUE and 8-18 Eastern Illinois over the weekend, giving the Skyhawks two more sweeps on the season and an even record in the OVC.
The Skyhawks first win came in a 76-71 comeback victory over the Cougars on Thursday; the fifth win in a row for the Skyhawks over SIUE.
Following a win over Western Illinois, the Skyhawks took the fight to SIUE, keeping pace with the third seed in the OVC through the first half before taking control in the second and outscoring the Cougars by 11 points.
Leading the Skyhawks is junior guard Tarence Guinyard who continues his high level of play with another 20-point game tallying 23 points and two steals. Guinyard led the Skyhawks to their second sweep of the season with the win over the Cougars.
Other contributors for the Skyhawks include Matija Žužić (12 points; 5 rebounds), Afan Trnka (ten points; two steals) and Josué Grullon (11 points).
Both teams would finish with a field goal percentage of around 41% on the night, but when it came to the second half, the Skyhawks shot 36.7% from the field compared to the Cougars’ 31.3% from the field.
The bigger story was the Cougars going cold from the three-point line in the second half; shooting just 11.8% from three, a great fall from the 72.7% mark they hit in the first half.
The Cougars would pull within four points with a minute and a half remaining in the game before the Skyhawks would close the door on a flailing SIUE team and winning 76-71
Saturday, The Skyhawks toppled the 8-19 Eastern Illinois Panthers; surviving a 21-point run to defeat the Panthers 72-68.
A Skyhawk team that was already in a grove found an extra gear against Eastern Illinois with elite hustle and grit to win on the road.
The Skyhawk bench lapped the competition, outscoring the Panthers by 23-points. Leading off the bench was senior forward Vladimer Salaridze who tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Skyhawks.
Leading the Skyhawks was sophomore guard Afan Trnka who recorded a season-high in both points and assists for the Skyhawks with 18 and nine respectively.
Trnka’s nine assists is the most by a Skyhawk this season, followed by Cortijo Carlos who totaled seven in a win over Kentucky Christian Earlier in the season.
Other contributors for the Skyhawks included junior guard Tarence Guinyard (13 points; seven rebounds) and Cortijo Carlos (five assists).
The Skyhawks opened on a 14-2 run, led by early buckets from Guinyard and Salaridze, that sparked a 23-10 lead for the Skyhawks early in the first half.
The Skyhawks would extend this run to a 41-24 lead over the Panthers going into the second half.
The Panthers would step things up in the second half, outscoring the Skyhawks by 13 points, even going up by six on the Skyhawks with five minutes remaining.
The Skyhawks would respond with a run of their own power by Salaridze who would score seven of the next ten points for the Skyhawks to secure 66-64 lead with a minute and a half to go.
Following some free throws from Trnka and Žužić, the Skyhawks would hold the lead to take home another road win and their third straight win as they begin another homestead.
Next week, the Skyhawks welcome the 13-14 Tennessee State Tigers to Martin on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. before leaving for Cookville to take on the 13-14 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
