By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Martin swished 93.5 percent of its free throw attempts this evening, leading to a 76-70 victory over SIUE in Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball action.
The Skyhawks (7-13, 3-5 OVC) knocked down 29 free throws in 31 tries, marking their most makes from the charity stripe against a NCAA Division I opponent since they canned 30 at SIUE on Jan. 24, 2011. UT Martin held a lead for 26 minutes and shot 24-of-25 from the free throw line in the second half to ensure the win.
A total of four Skyhawks generated double-digit scoring performances tonight, led by KJ Simon’s 24 points. David Didenko collected 14 points in 19 huge minutes off the bench while Koby Jeffries secured 12 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Bernie Andre accumulated his second straight double-double (11 points, game-high 10 rebounds) for UT Martin, who led by as many as 14 points tonight.
SIUE (7-2, 1-5 OVC) also placed four scorers in double figures, led by Shamar Wright and Shaun Doss, Jr. with 15 points apiece. Ray’Sean Taylor and Cam Williams added 12 and 10 points, respectively, for the Cougars, who were held to 35.8 percent (24-for-67) shooting.
“Those first 16 minutes were about as ugly of a basketball game as you could draw up,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “I think part of that was our physicality and just both teams playing super hard defensively. I thought we gritted through that enough to weather the storm. In nonconference play we didn’t do a great job of getting to the free throw line and tonight obviously we showed that we are capable of making those shots.”
Jeffries scored on a strong take to the hoop on the game’s opening possession but it was SIUE who posted a 9-3 run to claim early momentum. The Cougars led by four points before Didenko got going as the 6-9 transfer from Georgia Tech made a pair of three-pointers in the span of 1:26.
UT Martin soon went on a 16-3 run, turning a three-point deficit into a 10-point advantage late in the first half. Simon was responsible for eight points while Mikel Henderson splashed a pair of three-pointers during the run. A Didenko layup with a little over two minutes to play before the halftime break padded the Skyhawk lead to 30-20.
Simon added a pull-up jumper before Jeffries swiped a steal and took it coast-to-coast for a fast break layup with under a minute to go to make the score 34-22 in UT Martin’s favor at the intermission.
Leading all scorers at the half was Simon (13 points) while Doss’s nine points guided SIUE at the break.
Chris Nix made a layup for the first bucket of the second half – providing the Skyhawks with their biggest lead of the evening at 14 points.
Andre kept UT Martin’s lead at 14 points (47-33) after a pair of free throws off a Cougar technical foul with 14:04 left to play. After SIUE pulled within single digits, an old-fashioned three-point play by Andre at the 10:10 mark extended the Skyhawk advantage out to a dozen.
The Cougars tallied five unanswered points but a Simon dunk and Andre trifecta nudged UT Martin’s lead back out to 13 points with a little over four minutes remaining.
The Skyhawks’ success at the free throw line did not allow SIUE to get back in the game as Jeffries made six of UT Martin’s final 10 free throws in the final 1:46.
A brief two-game homestand will conclude for the Skyhawks on Thursday, Jan. 27 as UT Martin hosts OVC rival Eastern Illinois. Tipoff time is set for 8 p.m. (following the conclusion of the women’s basketball game as part of a doubleheader at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center).
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information