MARTIN, Tenn. – For the second game in a row, Jacob Crews carried the University of Tennessee at Martin as the 6-8 junior poured in a career-best 35 points to help the Skyhawks claim a 77-72 win over Little Rock in Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball action.
Hailing from Hilliard, Fla., Crews was 9-of-17 from the floor and 4-for-8 from three-point range. He knocked down 13 of 16 attempts from the free throw line on the way to the highest scoring tally by any UT Martin player this season (passing Jordan Sears’ 34 points against North Alabama on Nov. 22). The Daytona State College transfer also added seven rebounds as the Skyhawks improved to 10-8 overall and 3-2 in the OVC standings.
Sears produced a stat line of 14 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals for UT Martin, who also received 12 points and a game-high nine rebounds out of Issa Muhammad. The Skyhawks won the rebounding battle (42-34), held a 26-10 advantage in points in the paint, led for 26:42 of clock time and knocked down 27 of its 32 free throw tries (84.4 percent).
The Trojans (8-10, 2-3 OVC) were paced by Jamir Chaplin’s 22 points while KK Robinson and Bradley Douglas added 19 and 18 points, respectively. The UT Martin defense limited Little Rock to 33.3 percent (11-for-33) shooting over the final 20 minutes.
“That was a physical game and I’m happy for us to get back on track,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “I’ve been saying all year that Jacob Crews is a winner – he comes to work every day and does what it takes to help our team win. We feel really good about our team when we’re locked in and ready to go like we were today.”
Muhammad scored the first four UT Martin points of the contest before Crews pumped in the next 11 points, which included a trio of three-pointers. An old-fashioned three-point play by Sears at the 12:39 mark gave the Skyhawks their biggest lead of the day at 20-11.
Little Rock responded with 12 unanswered points and eventually led by as many as six points before UT Martin closed out the half strong. The Skyhawks went on a 13-3 run over a 4:06 span, keyed by five points off the bench from Jalen Myers.
A Trojan three-pointer just before the halftime buzzer led to a 41-40 UT Martin advantage at the break. Crews’ 16 points (on 5-of-6 shooting) led all scorers while Douglas (12 points) and Robinson (10) both scored in double figures for Little Rock in the first 20 minutes.
A 10-2 Trojan run in the early stages of the second half resulted in a 52-47 Skyhawk deficit but UT Martin replied with 14 consecutive points. Crews was responsible for 10 of those points – seven of which came from the charity stripe. His final free throw during the surge provided the Skyhawks with a 61-52 lead with 9:26 remaining.
Little Rock briefly took a one-point lead with 4:50 left to play but Crews came right back with UT Martin’s next four points. The Skyhawk defense took over from there as the Trojans only converted one field goal over the final 3:29.
UT Martin heads to defending OVC regular season champion Morehead State for its next outing, taking on the Eagles on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 6:30 CT.
