UT MARTIN 104, NORTHWESTERN STATE 79
NATCHITOCHES, La. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team recorded the first Division-I postseason victory in the history of the program with a dominant 104-79 win at Northwestern State in the first round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
            
The Skyhawks (19-12) now advance to the second round of the CIT on Saturday, March 21 at USC Upstate out of the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Spartans are 24-11 on the season after knocking off James Madison by a 73-72 margin at home on Tuesday.
            
UT Martin did not trail for the entire contest, thanks in large part to a sizzling effort from three-point range. The Skyhawks drilled a school-record 16 three-pointers in 28 attempts, besting the previous mark of 15 trifectas made against Morehead State on Dec. 17, 2007.
            
Alex Anderson set the tone for UT Martin’s long-range accuracy, as he was a perfect 6-of-6 from three-point land in the first 12:25 of the game. He concluded his evening with seven trifectas as part of a career-high 30 points for the junior out of Memphis.
            
Deville Smith also made school history tonight, racking up a triple-double of 21 points and career-highs of 12 rebounds and 11 assists. He became the first Skyhawk to amass a triple-double since Lester Hudson became the first player in Division-I history to accumulate a quadruple-double on Nov. 13, 2007 against Central Baptist.

Marshun Newell (18 points, career-high four steals), Twymond Howard (16 points, seven rebounds) and Javier Martinez (14 points on 7-of-7 shooting, seven rebounds) also reached double-figures for UT Martin, who handed out 20 assists against only six turnovers this evening.
            
“It was a track meet but I think our seniors really set the tone,” said Skyhawk head coach Heath Schroyer after leading the program to its first postseason win since a 47-43 win over Central Missouri in the 1982 NCAA Division-II Tournament. “We’ve had a couple of conversations with the seniors this last week about how you want to finish, playing as long as you can and how this is part of your legacy.”
            
Northwestern State (19-13) was led by 34 points and 10 rebounds out of Jalan West. Tony Dobbinson (12 points), Marvin Frazier (10) and Sabri Thompson (10) also reached double-figures in the scoring column for the Demons, who entered the game as the top scoring team in the nation but were held below their 84.1 points per game average.
            
The Skyhawks came out on fire, tallying the first eight points of the game. UT Martin stretched its lead out to double-figures (13-3) when Howard swooped in for a fast break layup at the 16:42 mark. A straightaway three-pointer by Anderson less than 30 seconds later provided the Skyhawks with an 11-point advantage at 16-5.
            
Another Anderson trey – his fourth in less than eight minutes into the game – gave UT Martin a 24-13 lead. Northwestern State followed with a 10-2 run to get within three points and would later inch within one point after back-to-back jumpers by Zeek Woodley.
            
UT Martin quickly struck with eight unanswered points to stretch its lead back out to nine with 5:29 to go before the halftime break. A pair of Newell free throws at the 4:07 mark extended the Skyhawk lead out to 14 points (49-35) before UT Martin settled for a 52-44 advantage at the halftime break.
            
Anderson’s 21 points led all scorers at the break, as the Skyhawks shot 61.5 percent (8-for-13) from three-point range. West tallied 16 points to lead the Demons in the first 20 minutes.
            
UT Martin opened the second half with 15 unanswered points, beginning with three-pointers by Smith, Newell and Anderson. A step-in 18-foot jumper by Anderson at the 13:27 mark pushed the Skyhawk lead out to 75-49 at the 13:27 mark.
            
An emphatic drive and left-handed dunk by Smith gave UT Martin a 30-point advantage (87-57) with nine minutes remaining. Another Smith dunk with just under seven minutes to go kept the Skyhawk lead at 30 points.
            
The closest the Demons would get the rest of the way would be 23 points with 5:14 left in the contest. In the waning moments, Skyhawk freshman CJ Davis canned a three-pointer from the right corner to break the school record with 18 seconds to go.