Playing its third game in the last five days, the UTM men’s basketball team ran out of gas today as the Skyhawks fell by a 76-60 margin to SIUE.
Freshman Anthony Thomas posted 22 of his career-best 24 points in the second half today for UTM, eclipsing his previous game-high of 21 set at Belmont on Jan. 9. The 6-7 guard from Silver Spring, Maryland, knocked down nine of his 14 shot attempts (including a trio of three-pointers) and went a perfect 3-for-3 from the free throw line.
Jaron Williams contributed 13 points while tying a career-high with six rebounds for the Skyhawks (5-10, 3-8 Ohio Valley Conference). Ajani Kennedy pulled down a team-best seven rebounds as UTM outscored the visiting Cougars 21-8 in second-chance points.
SIUE improved to 6-6 overall with a 4-2 OVC mark as Mike Adewunmi (20 points) and Sidney Wilson (18) each scored in double figures. The Cougars shot 56 percent (14-for-25) and made 10 of its 11 free throw attempts over the final 20 minutes while blocking 10 shots for the contest.
“If you would have told me we would have shot 4-for-24 from three-point range, I would have called you crazy,” Skyhawk interim head coach Montez Robinson said. “All week, we had been shooting pretty well – maybe we shot it too well in yesterday’s practice and today’s shootaround. SIUE stayed in a zone but we just had a bad shooting night – that was unexpected.”
SIUE jumped out to an 8-2 lead as a Kenton Eskridge pull-up jumper was UTM’s only offense for nearly the first five minutes. Another Eskridge mid-ranger jumper at the 10:40 mark sliced the Skyhawk deficit to just four points at 14-10.
The Cougars answered with eight of the next nine points, opening up a 22-11 advantage. UTM began to attack the rim and suddenly the Skyhawks were back within five points (22-17) after buckets in the paint by Williams, Thomas and Cameron Holden.
However, SIUE closed out the first half on an 8-3 run to take a 35-24 halftime lead. Williams’ six points ranked as a team-high for the Skyhawks while Cam Williams tallied eight points off the bench to pace the Cougars.
UTM would not get within single digits at any point in the final 20 minutes. Eskridge drilled a three-pointer from the left wing just 76 seconds into the second half to make the score 37-27. SIUE responded with a 13-2 run before Thomas canned a trifecta at the 12:24 mark to temporarily halt the Cougar momentum.
Thomas was responsible for 12 consecutive Skyhawk points over a 4:47 span down the stretch. He then tacked on UTM’s final five points of the game but the Skyhawks could not manage to make any headway.
UTM steps away from official competition for the next four days before resuming its homestand on Thursday, Feb. 4 against Jacksonville State. Tipoff time from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is scheduled for 8 p.m.
