The UTM men’s basketball squad erased a 13-point deficit today in an impressive 73-68 victory in the 2020-21 season finale at Lantz Arena.
The Skyhawks conclude the season with an 8-16 overall record and 6-14 mark in Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) play under interim head coach Montez Robinson.
UTM snapped a five-game skid in Charleston this afternoon, winning for the first time in Lantz Arena since Feb. 19, 2015. The win also gave the Skyhawks a season sweep over the Panthers for the first time since the 2014-15 campaign.
Cameron Holden poured in a career-high 27 points and added a team-best eight rebounds while senior Hannes Polla registered a career-high 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting) and six rebounds in his final collegiate game for UTM.
Eman Sertovic (11 points, career-high four assists) and Jaron Williams (10 points) gave the Skyhawks four double-digit scorers for the first time the Belmont game on Jan. 2.
Eastern Illinois (9-18, 6-14 OVC) was forced into 19 turnovers and shot 12 percent (3-of-25) from three-point range – including an 0-for-11 effort in the second half. Jordan Skipper-Brown accounted for 18 points and a game-high nine rebounds while Marvin Johnson added 17 points.
“These guys gutted it out – we didn’t want to go out without a win,” Robinson said. “We wanted to control the tempo and pace offensively and on the defensive side, our zone was working well with good rotations and shifts. There’s no quit in this team – they’ve fought all year through adversity. I’m really proud of my team.”
Holden gave UTM its first lead of the game with a free throw nearly a minute into the contest before back-to-back straightaway mid-range jumpers by Polla extended the Skyhawk advantage out to 9-3 at the 16:07 mark.
After a steal and fast break dunk by Anthony Thomas padded UT Martin’s lead out to 20-11 with 12:36 remaining in the opening half, the Panthers went on a 19-0 run. Eastern Illinois took its biggest lead of the afternoon (40-27) with 3:17 to go before the halftime break.
The Skyhawks produced six unanswered points going into the locker room, as Holden provided all six of the aforementioned points. As a result, UTM whittled its deficit down to 40-33 at the intermission.
Holden had a game-high 17 points at the break while Johnson’s 11 points paced Eastern Illinois in the first 20 minutes.
The Skyhawks opened the second stanza on an 11-2 run as Williams generated five points before a Sertovic jumper gave UTM a 44-42 lead with 16:45 to go.
Williams buried back-to-back pull-up jumpers in the span of 44 seconds before Thomas swished a trifecta to push the Skyhawk advantage out to 55-47 at the 11:29 mark.
The Panthers got within three points (56-53) with 9:42 remaining but Polla stepped up with back-to-back buckets to help UTM make it a three-possession game.
The closest Eastern Illinois would get is three points as a layup with 19 seconds to go made the score 71-68. However, Sertovic calmly sank a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession, allowing the Skyhawks end their season on a high note.
