RICHMOND, Ky. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad led by as many as 17 points in the second half this evening before staving off an Eastern Kentucky rally in an 80-74 triumph to kick off the EKU Classic multi-team event.
The Skyhawks led for 34:24 of clock time tonight but it came down to a one-possession game for most of the final five minutes. Facing the nation’s leading scoring offense who was the Atlantic Sun Conference preseason favorite and ranked 17th in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 poll, UT Martin clamped down defensively – holding the Colonels to 1-of-7 shooting to close out the win. In the process, the Skyhawks improved to 3-1 and ended Eastern Kentucky’s 12-game home winning streak – the longest for the program in 33 years.
Jacob Crews narrowly missed his second straight double-double as the Hilliard, Fla. native racked up team-highs of 20 points and nine rebounds. Jordan Sears scored 18 points on an efficient 8-of-12 shooting while Issa Muhammad (14 points, eight rebounds, game-highs of four assists and three steals) and Justus Jackson (14 points, three treys in only 16 minutes) played big late for UT Martin.
The Colonels (2-1) placed all five starters in double figures scoring but were limited to just 36.7 percent shooting (29-of-79). Leland Walker (21 points), Isaiah Cozart (13), Devontae Blanton (12), Michael Moreno (11) and Tayshawn Comer (11) each contributed double-digit scoring performances but Eastern Kentucky only tallied seven fastbreak points – 33 shy of its NCAA-best average.
A Muhammad hook shot at the 17:33 mark of the first half provided the Skyhawks with their first lead of the evening. The Colonels’ fourth trey of the first 4:26 gave Eastern Kentucky a 12-7 advantage but UT Martin answered right back with a 12-0 run which featured buckets from five different Skyhawks.
Crews dropped in three treys over a 4:29 span, helping UT Martin retain a three-possession lead. A fast break layup from KK Curry and a right-wing three-pointer by Jackson pushed the Skyhawk advantage out to 40-29 with two minutes to go before the halftime break.
A Colonel three-pointer at the 1:53 mark snapped an 0-for-10 skid from long distance. Muhammad (dunk), Crews (pull-up 15-foot jumper) and Jalen Myers (putback from an offensive rebound) added field goals in the final 106 seconds of the opening half as UT Martin took a 46-36 lead into the locker room.
Crews registered game-highs of 18 points and six rebounds for the Skyhawks in the first half as UT Martin shot 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from downtown. Walker scored 10 points in the opening 20 minutes to top Eastern Kentucky.
The Colonels scored on the opening possession of the second half but Muhammad knocked down back-to-back shots to nudge the Skyhawk lead back out to a dozen points.
After Eastern Kentucky pulled within single digits with just under 15 minutes remaining, Sears canned back-to-back trifectas to ignite an 11-2 run. A stepback trey by Jackson from the right wing extended the UT Martin lead to 65-48 – its biggest of the evening – at the 12:25 mark.
The Colonels used an 8-0 run to shave their deficit to 65-56 but Jackson answered with huge plays on back-to-back trips down the floor. The 6-1 guard out of Surprise, Ariz. scored on a floater down the right side before converting an old-fashioned three-point play to make the score 70-56 midway through the second half.
Eastern Kentucky pulled within two points (72-70) at the final media timeout but Sears scored on mid-range jumpers on back-to-back possessions to give the Skyhawks a 76-70 edge. The Colonels made it a two-point game with a minute remaining but Muhammad scored the final four points of the contest – tipping in a shot on a hustle play before throwing down an emphatic dunk with six seconds to go that officially punctuated the victory.
UT Martin closes out its participation in the EKU Classic on Sunday, Nov. 19 when it takes on Prairie View A&M at noon CT.
