Despite another high-quality effort tonight by Cameron Holden, the UTMn men’s basketball squad fell to Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) rival Tennessee State by a 74-62 margin.
A junior forward, Holden was responsible for team-highs in points (20), rebounds (8), assists (3) and steals (3). It marked the sixth time in eight games this season that the Forsyth, Georgia native has topped the Skyhawks in the scoring column.
Although Holden was UTM’s only double-digit scorer, four more Skyhawks tallied at least seven points. Jaron Williams (9), Kenton Eskridge (8), Ajani Kennedy (7), La-Quiem Walker (7) provided UTM with scoring threats but the Skyhawks fell to 3-5 overall with a 1-3 OVC record.
Tennessee State (2-6, 1-4 OVC) was led by Marcus Fitzgerald, Jr.’s 21 points. Mark Freeman tacked on 16 points and a game-high five assists for the Tigers, who shot 54.3 percent (25-of-46) and hit seven of their nine 3-pointers in the first half.
UTM put on a defensive clinic early, limiting Tennessee State to just six points in the first 11:52. In that span, the Skyhawks built up their biggest lead of the night at 15-6 – thanks to Holden scoring the team’s first seven points of the contest.
The Tigers soon heated up, using a 16-2 run to go ahead by a 22-17 margin until a Hannes Polla jumper in the paint closed UTM’s deficit to a single possession. Williams followed with five consecutive Skyhawk points but Tennessee State was able to take a 33-30 lead at the half.
Holden sported a game-high nine points for UTM at the break while Fitzgerald and Freeman each scored a team-best eight points for Tennessee State.
The Skyhawks came out fired up in the second half, scoring eight of the first 10 points to tilt the score back in their favor at 38-35. UT Martin’s balance was once again on display as Williams, Holden, Polla and Kennedy all accounted for points during the run.
Buckets by Holden and Williams kept the Skyhawk advantage at three but the Tigers clawed back to retake the lead with 12:36 remaining, courtesy of seven unanswered points.
Eden Holt canned a deep trifecta from the right wing at the 10:37 mark to trim UT Martin’s deficit to 51-48. However, that would be as close as the Skyhawks would get for the duration of the game as Tennessee State went on a 15-4 run to create some separation.
An Eskridge layup with 2:09 to go pulled UT Martin within seven at 69-62 but the Skyhawk comeback attempt was too late.
UTM faces a quick turnaround as it will head across town to take on Belmont on Saturday, Jan. 9. Tipoff time from the Curb Event Center is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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