CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – It was a defensive grind for both sides tonight as the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team could not find a rhythm offensively in a 65-53 setback to Le Moyne.
The Skyhawks (2-4) won the turnover battle 16 to 12 and held the Dolphins to 35.8 percent (19-for-53) shooting, including an 8-of-29 effort (27.6 percent) from three-point range. However, UT Martin could only muster 17 made field goals and three 3-pointers.
Afan Trnka paced the Skyhawks in scoring for the first time this season, tallying 12 points. Tarence Guinyard reached double figures in the scoring column for the second time in as many games in the Island U Invitational, posting 10 points this evening. Lamine Niang (seven rebounds) and Josué Grullon additionally added eight points while the duo of Vladimer Salaridze and AJ Hopkins (eight rebounds apiece) helped UT Martin outrebound the Dolphins by a 48-46 margin.
Le Moyne (2-4) was led by AJ Dancler’s 16 points while Ocypher Owens (11 points), Dwayne Koroma (11) and Trent Mosquera (10) also scored in double digits.
Trnka gave the Skyhawks their lone lead of the game with a driving and-1 at the 17:49 mark, resulting in a 3-2 UT Martin advantage. The Dolphins soon went on a 12-4 run to take a 14-7 lead with 14 minutes to go before the intermission.
Trnka buried a deep three-pointer from the left wing at the 8:10 mark, snapping an 0-for-11 start from downtown for the Skyhawks. Both teams then went without a field goal until Hopkins swished a trifecta that knotted the score at 22-all with 2:18 remaining in the opening half.
Le Moyne was able to score six of the final eight points of the first half to claim a 28-24 advantage at the break. Trnka’s eight points led UT Martin while Salaridze accounted for a game-high six rebounds in the opening 20 minutes. Robby Carmody had a game-high nine points to pace the Dolphins, who shot just 26.9 percent (7-of-26) overall and 25 percent (4-for-16) from three-point land in the first half.
A pair of Guinyard free throws and a backdown bucket from Salaridze opened the second half scoring and tied the score at 28-all. Niang then scored four straight points for the Skyhawks but Le Moyne opened up a 40-32 lead with 14 minutes left to play.
Grullon knocked down a straightaway trey and a tough fadeaway jumper along the right baseline in a span of 89 seconds to will UT Martin back within a single possession (40-37) at the 12:08 mark.
The Dolphins then scored 10 of the next 12 points and the Skyhawks wouldn’t get any closer than nine points the rest of the way.
UT Martin returns to action on Wednesday, Nov. 27 when it travels to No. 9 Tennessee on SEC Network+. Tipoff from Knoxville is set for 3 p.m. CT.
