The UTM men’s basketball team gave a valiant effort today against one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) but in the end it wasn’t enough as the Skyhawks fell 79-69 to Morehead State.
It was an emotional environment from the start as Hannes Polla was recognized for his career contributions during a virtual Senior Day ceremony which included a video tribute from his UTM teammates and a half-dozen family members.
The Skyhawks (7-15, 5-13 OVC) trailed by 20 points just under the midway point of the second half but kept battling, eventually getting within single digits late in the game. However, Morehead State hit a season-best 50 percent of its 20 three-point attempts to hang on for the win.
Cameron Holden just missed out on his seventh double-double of the season, recording team-highs of 13 points and nine rebounds. UTM also received a lift out of Jonte Coleman as the junior guard from Champaign, Illinois, pumped in a career-high 10 points in just 13 minutes while the Skyhawks made their second-half surge.
Kenton Eskridge (nine points, team-best five assists), Ajani Kennedy (nine points), Eman Sertovic (nine points), Polla (eight points) and Anthony Thomas (seven points) additionally contributed to a well-balanced UTM offensive attack.
Morehead State (17-7, 14-3 OVC) was keyed by Skyelar Potter’s game-high 20 points. Johni Broome (14 points, nine rebounds), James Baker (13 points) and DeVon Cooper (13 points) also scored in double digits for an Eagle squad that has now won 13 of their last 14 decisions.
“We played probably about 32 minutes today,” Skyhawk interim head coach Montez Robinson said. “In the first half, we had a chance to keep it at about three to five points but we had a couple of turnovers that led to big baskets. We didn’t put together enough stops in the first half. Our guys could have laid down in the second half but our guys kept competing and I was proud to see that.”
Fittingly, Polla got UTM on the scoreboard with a hook shot just 72 seconds into the contest. The Skyhawks soon received three-pointers out of Eskridge, Thomas, Kennedy and Sertovic to take a 16-15 advantage at the 13-minute mark of the first half.
Morehead State answered with an 11-2 run and eventually led by a 41-30 margin with 1:52 remaining before the halftime break. Holden then made a layup and Sertovic followed with his third trifecta of the half to trim UT Martin’s deficit to only six but the Eagles took a 45-35 advantage into the locker room.
Sertovic’s nine points guided the Skyhawks in the first 20 minutes while Potter posted a team-best 10 points for Morehead State in the opening stanza.
Both sides swapped buckets through the first 2:36 of the second half until a 10-1 Eagle run created some separation. Morehead State took a 64-44 advantage at the 9:55 mark but UTM didn’t quit fighting. Coleman sank a fast break trey with 7:08 left to play to cap off a 7-0 Skyhawk run. A hustle play by Coleman turned a steal into a fast break layup by Vinnie Viana to make the score 68-57 with 4:28 remaining.
The duo of Coleman (seven) and Holden (five) combined for UTM’s final dozen points in a 1:44 stretch. Coleman converted a mid-range jumper which pulled the Skyhawks within eight with 1:19 to go but that was as close as UTM would get the rest of the way.
UTM goes on the road for its last two regular season contests, starting with a Thursday, Feb. 25 matchup at SIUE. Tip time from Edwardsville, Ill. is scheduled for 5 p.m.
