MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team registered its third straight home victory this afternoon, leading for nearly 37 minutes of clock time in a 76-67 triumph over Lindenwood.
The Skyhawks (12-9, 5-3 Ohio Valley Conference) led by as many as 15 points in the first half as four UT Martin players scored in double figures. Jacob Crews (20 points on 6-of-9 shooting) dialed up his 10th game with at least 20 points this season while Issa Muhammad put together a monster performance of 14 points, 17 rebounds, a career-high five blocks and three assists. It marked the first Skyhawk double-double with at least five blocks since KJ Simon (21 points, 12 rebounds, five blocks) against Southern Indiana on Jan. 28, 2023.
The backcourt tandem of Jordan Sears (16 points, six rebounds) and Desmond Williams (11 points) additionally provided some scoring punch for UT Martin. Koby Jeffries also tallied nine points with season-highs of five rebounds and three assists for the Skyhawks, who shot an even 50 percent (12-of-24) from three-point range and won the rebounding battle by a 45-33 margin.
The Lions (7-14, 1-7 OVC) also saw four players score in double figures, led by Keenon Cole’s 15 points. Darius Beane (14), Jaylon McDaniel (11) and Jeremiah Talton (11) also helped guide Lindenwood, who shot 37.7 percent (26-for-69) from the floor.
“For the second straight game, we’re seeing growth on the defensive side of the basketball,” UT Martin head coach Ryan Ridder said. “It’s always going to look different every game and we found a way to win. We had a lot of contributions from different guys and Issa had himself a day – he absolutely dominated.”
The Lions scored the first four points of the contest but the Skyhawks charged back with a 7-2 run with five of those points coming from Sears. At one point, four consecutive UT Martin buckets came from downtown before an old-fashioned three-point play out of Crews at the 11:14 mark – giving the junior from Hilliard, Fla. nine points in the game and the Skyhawks a 19-10 advantage.
Jeffries then reeled off five straight UT Martin points and Jalen Myers followed with the next five Skyhawk points, pushing the lead out to 29-16 with 6:16 remaining in the opening half.
After a pair of Jeffries free throws made the score 33-18 in favor of UT Martin, Lindenwood went on a 14-6 run to close out the first half – trimming the Skyhawk lead to 39-32. Crews (nine points) and McDaniel (eight) led their respective squads in scoring in the first 20 minutes.
The Lions got within five points with 16:31 to go but Williams answered with a big trifecta on UT Martin’s ensuing possession. A little over a minute later, a three-pointer by Sears nudged the Skyhawk lead back out to double digits at 52-42.
Lindenwood kept battling and once again made it a five-point contest with 13 minutes left to play. UT Martin responded with a 7-0 run as Crews accounted for the final five points of the spurt.
A powerful dunk from Muhammad at the 9:23 mark gave the Skyhawks a 13-point advantage (64-51). The Lions would not get any closer than six points for the remainder of the game as Muhammad buried a pair of clutch free throws with 53 seconds remaining to prevent Lindenwood from the chance to make it a one-possession game.
A four-game road stretch is now on the horizon for UT Martin, starting with a trip to Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Feb. 3. Tipoff time from Charleston, Ill. is set for 7:30 p.m.
