By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team made a late comeback attempt Thursday evening but ultimately it wasn’t enough as the Little Rock Trojans claimed an 88-74 win at Simmons Bank Arena.
KJ Simon posted a game-high 24 points to go along with a team-best seven rebounds, two blocks and an assist for the Skyhawks (8-6, 0-1 Ohio Valley Conference). Parker Stewart added 13 points with team-highs of seven rebounds and four assists while Desmond Williams (13 points), Jordan Sears (12 points) and KK Curry (11 points) gave UT Martin five double-digit scorers tonight.
Little Rock (5-9, 1-0 OVC) was led by double-doubles from Myron Gardner (23 points, 10 rebounds) and DeAntoni Gordon (16 points, 12 rebounds). Jordan Jefferson tacked on 19 points for the Trojans, who were making their OVC debut.
“Little Rock is big and physical,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “We had some good looks that we typically make but that has to do with their length. We just really couldn’t get things going and I thought we allowed some of our offensive woes to transition into the defensive side of the ball. To give up 88 points and put them on the free throw line 38 times – it’s going to be tough to win a road game like that.”
Things couldn’t have started any better for UT Martin as Simon slammed home a dunk off the jump ball six seconds into the contest. Curry converted a fast break layup 36 seconds later to give the Skyhawks a quick start.
Little Rock responded with a 10-2 run before Stewart (driving layup) and Williams (three-pointer) equaled the score at 11-all with 14:36 to go in the first half.
Following a Simon trey at the 11:44 mark, the Trojans unreeled seven unanswered points. Curry soon scored four consecutive points for UT Martin but another run from Little Rock – this time an 8-0 surge – led to a 46-29 halftime deficit for the Skyhawks.
Simon’s eight points paced UT Martin at the break as the Skyhawks shot 30 percent (9-of-30) and 15.4 percent (2-for-13) from three-point range in the first 20 minutes. Gardner and Jefferson had 16 and 15 points, respectively, to guide the Trojans at the intermission.
The Skyhawks scored seven of the first nine points in the second half, capped off with a pair of Sears free throws that made the score 48-36 with a little over 18 minutes remaining.
Little Rock once again went on an extended run, scoring seven unanswered points over a two-minute stretch. Soon thereafter, the Trojans used a 13-4 surge to create some separation.
UT Martin didn’t give up, chipping away at its deficit behind a 16-0 run. Simon drilled three treys during that span as his final trifecta shaved the Little Rock lead to 78-67 with just under three minutes to go. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Skyhawks would get the rest of the way.
A New Year’s Eve matchup against Morehead State is on tap for UT Martin as tipoff from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 3:30 p.m. (following the conclusion of the women’s game as part of an OVC doubleheader).
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information