UT Martin Men’s Basketball Takes Tough Road Loss To Little Rock

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team held a halftime lead tonight but Little Rock charged back to hand the Skyhawks a 75-57 setback at the Jack Stephens Center.

UT Martin (9-14, 5-7 Ohio Valley Conference) led for 15:57 of clock time compared to the Trojans’ 19:10 in a matchup that featured nine lead changes and five tie scores. The Skyhawks held a 36-35 advantage through 20 minutes of play but were limited to 26.1 percent shooting (6-for-23) in the second half.

For the eighth time this season, Josué Grullon paced UT Martin in scoring as the junior guard nearly missed a double-double with 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Tarence Guinyard pitched in 11 points while Vladimer Salaridze (three steals), Afan Trnka (3-of-3 from three-point range) and Matija Žužić (trio of treys) each scored nine points apiece while Filip Radaković distributed a career-best five assists.

Little Rock (14-9, 8-4 OVC) received 20 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals out of Tuongthach Gatkek. The Trojans also placed Mwani Wilkinson (16 points), Johnathan Lawson (14) and Jordan Jefferson (11) in double figures scoring.

“I thought we played a heck of a first half and got a little disconnected in the second half,” Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. “We need to get better at finishing around the basket – we really struggled with that tonight against the most physical team and best defensive team in the league. We’ll go back to the drawing board – it’s a grind and we look forward to playing at home next week.”

UT Martin got off to a quick start as Guinyard threw down a dunk just four seconds into the game and Žužić drained a triple 62 seconds later to give the Skyhawks a 5-0 lead. Back-to-back three-pointers by Trnka and Grullon kept the UT Martin advantage at five points (21-16) with 10:19 left in the opening half.

Neither side would lead by more than three points over the final 10:07 as the Skyhawks clung to a 36-35 advantage at the halftime break. Grullon and Jefferson guided their respective squads with game-highs of 11 points apiece.

After two Guinyard free throws and a Trnka trifecta gave UT Martin a 41-37 edge, the Trojans went on a 19-3 run to create some separation. A Grullon three-pointer immediately afterwards temporarily halted Little Rock’s momentum and got the Skyhawks back within single digits.

Following a layup from Carlos Cortijo with just under six minutes to go, the Trojans scored 12 unanswered points and UT Martin could not recover.

The Skyhawks are back at home for their next two games, starting with a Thursday, Feb. 6 matchup against Lindenwood. UT Martin and the Lions will tip off at 7:30 p.m. (following the conclusion of the women’s basketball game) as part of a doubleheader at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

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