SUNDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 97, Kentucky Christian 42
@Georgia 120,
Morehead State 81
UT MARTIN 97, KENTUCKY CHRISTIAN 42
MARTIN, Tenn. - All 13 University of Tennessee at Martin players who saw action tonight scored as the Skyhawk men's basketball squad soared to a 97-42 victory over Kentucky Christian at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
UT Martin improved to 2-0 after leading for 37:50 of clock time, relying on a stout defense that forced 25 turnovers and held the Knights to 28.3 percent (15-of-53) shooting – including a 5-for-24 effort (20.8 percent) from three-point range.
Andrija Bukumirovic tallied his second double-double in a Skyhawk uniform, posting game-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds while shooting a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor. Dragos Lungu equaled Bukumirovic with 17 points on 7-for-9 shooting while Matas Deniusas concluded UT Martin's double-digit scorers with 11 points and six rebounds.
AJ Hopkins (nine points on 3-of-5 shooting from three-point land), Pedro Santos (eight points, six rebounds), Luca Colceag (eight points) and Ty Price (eight points) nearly cracked double figures in the scoring column this evening. Filip Petkovski added game-highs of four assists and four steals while the trio of Afan Trnka, Vladimir Khryapa and Lamine Niang each had multi-block performances.
An NAIA program out of Grayson, Ky., Kentucky Christian (0-4) was led by Markell Hood's 15 points. The Knights were outscored by a 53-13 margin in the second half after being held to 4-for-23 shooting (17.4 percent) with one 3-pointer in the final 20 minutes.
After Kentucky Christian scored the first five points of the contest, UT Martin responded with a 13-0 run to set the tone. A Lungu dunk off a turnover stretched the Skyhawk advantage out to 32-17 with seven minutes to go in the opening half before a Trnka triple at the 2:32 mark gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the first half at 40-22.
The Skyhawks settled for a 44-29 halftime lead as Bukumirovic's 13 points led all scorers at the break. Lungu added 12 points for UT Martin while the Knights were led by Hood's 12 points.
The Skyhawks then put the game away with 17 unanswered points to start the second half. Deniusas contributed six points during that stretch, which was capped off with a Trnka fast break layup that made the score 61-29 with 14 minutes remaining.
Kentucky Christian would not get within 30 points the rest of the way as a Santos trifecta with 35 seconds to go concluded the offensive flurry and gave UT Martin its biggest lead of the night at 97-42 – the final score of the contest.
GEORGIA 120, MOREHEAD STATE 81
ATHENS, Ga. - Morehead State Men's Basketball kept it close at Georgia for much of the first half, but the host SEC Bulldogs' three-point barrage proved to be too much in the end as MSU fell 120-81 at Stegeman Coliseum Sunday afternoon.
It marked a Homecoming game for MSU second-year head coach Jonathan Mattox, who attended Oconee County High School near Athens. MSU fell to 1-2 on the season. UGA moved to 3-0.
The Bulldogs finished 17-of-37 from three point range and shot 56 percent overall on their home floor. MSU shot 41 percent overall and hit eight three-pointers.
George Marshall paced MSU for the second straight game, finishing with 17 points. Forward Jon Carroll nearly had a double-double with 13 points and nine rebounds. He had 18 double-doubles last year in junior college. UGA out-rebounded MSU 43-39.
Point guard Josiah LeGree dished out a game-high seven assists. His total tied for the most by an Eagle against a Power 4 opponent since Jake Wolfe had seven versus Clemson in the NIT in 2023.
MSU trailed 22-14 with 14:27 left in the first half but UGA began to pull away with a 6-0 run. Carroll's layup with 9:24 left in the half had MSU within 32-26, but once again the hosts began to put distance on the scoreboard. UGA led 64-42 at the half. UGA's largest lead was just before the final horn at 120-79.
It marked the most points allowed by an MSU team since falling to UConn 129-61 on Dec. 23, 2005.