By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MACOMB, Ill. – The third and final game of the University of Tennessee at Martin’s three-game road swing did not go the Skyhawks’ way Saturday as Western Illinois protected its home court with an 81-64 win.
Leading the way for UT Martin (3-6) was junior guard KJ Simon, who collected 19 points, a game-high 12 rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist. It marked the first double-double as a Skyhawk and third of his collegiate career (also accomplishing that feat while playing at Troy).
Darius Simmons added 11 points for UT Martin while the frontcourt tandem of KK Curry and Chris Nix pitched in 10 points apiece. The Skyhawks won the rebounding battle (35-33) but were hampered by 15 turnovers – nine of which came in the first half.
Western Illinois (7-2) shot 52.6 percent (30-of-47) this afternoon and were paced by Will Carius’ 26 points. Tarnell Pearson and Trenton Massner additionally scored in double figures with 17 and 12 points, respectively.
The Leathernecks opened the contest on a 12-2 run before a Curry jumper and back-to-back buckets by Nix helped UT Martin shake off its slow start. Simon threw down a dunk at the 11:21 mark to pull the Skyhawks within five points at 16-11.
After Western Illinois went back ahead by 13 points with a little under nine minutes to go in the first half, UT Martin went on an 8-0 run thanks to two points each out of Curry (layup), Simon (dunk), Nix (layup) and Simmons (free throws).
A pair of free throws from Nix kept the Skyhawk deficit at five (26-21) with 4:48 remaining before the halftime break. Two minutes later, Josiah Morris converted an old-fashioned three-point play but the Leathernecks scored the final six points of the half to lead 37-24 at the intermission.
Nix accounted for a team-best eight points in the opening 20 minutes while Carius’ 12 points guided Western Illinois.
Curry scored four of UT Martin’s first six points in the second half before a Nix layup and Koby Jeffries jumper made the score 44-34 with 16:30 to go.
The Leathernecks came back with seven unanswered points but Mikel Henderson soon had the hot hand – draining a pair of triples in the span of 58 seconds to pull the Skyhawks back within 10 at 56-46.
Simmons splashed a trifecta at the 7:51 mark to get UT Martin’s deficit back down to single digits (65-57) for the first time in the second half. However, Western Illinois scored 15 of the next 19 points and the Skyhawks could not recover.
UT Martin will take the week off to focus on final exams before beginning a brief two-game homestand on Saturday, Dec. 11 against Middle Tennessee. Tipoff time from the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center is set for 8 p.m.
Graphic courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information