RICHMOND, Ky. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team boasted a pair of players with double-doubles and today’s game-high scorer but a late cold spell cost the Skyhawks in a 78-66 setback to Prairie View A&M.
Issa Muhammad piled up 15 points (on 7-of-10 shooting) and a career-best 13 rebounds while Jacob Crews registered 13 points and 10 rebounds for UT Martin (3-2), who had two players secure a double-double in the same game against a NCAA Division I opponent since Feb. 4, 2017. Jordan Sears also pumped in game-highs of 23 points and five assists but the Skyhawks were outscored 19-8 over the final 7:45.
Prairie View A&M (3-2) also received double-doubles from two players as Brian Myles (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Andre Nunley (10 points, 10 rebounds) achieved that feat. Charles Smith IV equaled a team-high with 18 points while Chris Felix, Jr. and Nick Gazelas each scored 12 points.
An old-fashioned three-point play off a dunk by Curry gave UT Martin its first lead of the day a little over three minutes in. The Skyhawks soon picked up the pace, at one point scoring seven fastbreak points in a row to build up a 17-10 advantage with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Panthers scored eight of the next 10 points to creep within one point before Christian Fussell knocked down a three-pointer, extending UT Martin’s advantage out to 22-18 at the 5:33 mark.
Prairie View A&M briefly took a one-point lead before Sears (mid-range jumper) and Jalen Myers (two free throws) flipped the score back in favor of the Skyhawks at 30-27. However, the Panthers closed out the half on an 8-2 run to take a 35-32 lead at the intermission.
Sears owned a game-high 11 points at the break while Smith scored 10 points to lead Prairie View A&M.
Crews began the second half with a pair of treys in the first 2:08. Those buckets – plus another dunk from Curry and a layup from Sears – gave UT Martin a 42-39 advantage with 17 minutes to go.
The Panthers followed with a 12-1 run but back-to-back buckets by Crews and a Muhammad dunk made it a one-score contest (53-51) midway through the second half. That was the start of nine consecutive points from Muhammad, who tossed in his 15th point of the contest at the 7:45 mark to keep the Skyhawk deficit at a single point.
A 7-0 Prairie View A&M run followed until Sears swished a three-pointer coming out of a timeout with 4:31 left on the clock. However, the Panthers scored eight consecutive points over the next 3:41 and UT Martin could not get within single digits the rest of the way.
The Skyhawks return home for their next outing, hosting North Alabama on Wednesday, Nov. 22. Tipoff time from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 2 p.m.
