MARTIN, Tenn. – A trio of University of Tennessee at Martin players had big outings this evening as the Skyhawk men’s basketball team rolled to an 84-58 triumph over defending Ohio Valley Conference tournament champion Southeast Missouri.
UT Martin won its sixth consecutive game against the visiting Redhawks in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center, using a stingy defensive effort to improve to 11-9 (4-3 OVC). The 58 points allowed were the fewest by any Skyhawk NCAA Division I opponent in 2023-24 as Southeast Missouri shot 36.9 percent (24-for-65) – including a 3-of-19 effort (15.8 percent – lowest by any NCAA Division I opponent this year) from the free throw line.
Jordan Sears led all scorers with 20 points – his 10th game with at least 20 points in 2023-24. Jacob Crews tossed in 19 points with seven rebounds while Issa Muhammad (14 points, game-high 11 rebounds) hauled in his fourth double-double of the season for UT Martin, who never trailed throughout the entire game.
Koby Jeffries added nine points and a game-high three assists as the Skyhawks held a 48-26 edge in points in the paint while outrebounding the Redhawks by a 44-31 margin.
Southeast Missouri (7-13, 2-5 OVC) received 14 points out of Josh Earley and 10 points from Rob Martin.
“We practiced really hard this week and we were ready to go tonight,” UT Martin head coach Ryan Ridder said. “I’m happy for those guys because they earned the right to play well tonight and that’s what they did. That was a collective effort – we were relentless and it was a fun way to play basketball. Great things happen when you play together.”
Desmond Williams got the Skyhawks cranked up early, scoring on a pair of driving layups to help UT Martin go on top by an 8-4 margin a little over three minutes into the contest.
The Skyhawk advantage hovered at a single possession for nearly seven minutes of clock time before UT Martin went on a 19-1 run to gain all momentum. Koby Jeffries poured in seven points while Sears manufactured back-to-back old-fashioned three-point plays during the Skyhawk spurt.
UT Martin’s defense did not concede a Redhawk made field goal for a 7:22 stretch, eventually extending its lead out to 41-16 after a Crews dunk with 3:28 to go in the opening half.
By the halftime break, the Skyhawks doubled up Southeast Missouri by a 44-22 margin. Sears’ 12 points were a game-high tally in the first 20 minutes while Adam Larson’s six points led the way for the Redhawks.
Southeast Missouri wouldn’t get any closer than 18 points in the second half. UT Martin’s duo of Crews (12) and Sears (seven) combined to score 19 out of 21 Skyhawk points during one stretch before Muhammad had back-to-back buckets to boost UT Martin’s lead out to 71-48 at the under-8-minute media timeout.
David Kamwanga converted a tough and-1 layup at the 4:11 mark as his free throw completed a three-point play that pushed the Skyhawks ahead by 25 points (75-50). A little over a minute later, Jalen Myers knocked down a pair of free throws to give UT Martin its biggest lead of the night at 80-52 with 2:57 remaining.
The Skyhawks close out a short homestand on Saturday, Jan. 27 when they play host to Lindenwood. Tipoff time is set for 3:30 p.m., following the women’s game at 1 p.m.
