TUESDAY'S SCORES
@UT Martin 79, UNC Asheville 68
@South Florida 60,
Austin Peay 51
UT MARTIN 79, UNC ASHEVILLE 68
MARTIN, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball squad nearly led for the entire game this evening against UNC Asheville, dialing up a 79-68 triumph over the Bulldogs at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The Skyhawks held a lead for 39:14 of clock time, leading by as many as 19 points over a UNC Asheville squad that was tabbed to finish second in the Big South Conference preseason poll. UT Martin connected on 53.2 percent (33-for-62) of its field goal attempts – its second-highest mark of the season – and held a distinct advantage in points in the paint (48 to 26) and fast break points (15 to 4).
KJ Simon went off for a career-best 30 points on 13-of-22 shooting, becoming the first Skyhawk since Derek Hawthorne, Jr. (against Southeast Missouri on Feb. 29, 2020) to pour in at least 30 points in a game. A junior guard from Orlando, Fla., Simon additionally contributed four rebounds, four steals two assists and a block.
Making his first start since Nov. 24, Chris Nix accumulated 12 points, a career-high 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocks for his first double-double in a UT Martin uniform. Bernie Andre tallied a season-best 14 points and seven rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench for the Skyhawks, who improved to 4-7 overall.
The Bulldogs (6-5) placed four scorers in double figures, led by Quay Kimble’s 20 points. Trent Stephney (11), Tajion Jones (10) and Coty Jude (10) also posted double-digit scoring efforts but the swarming UT Martin defense held UNC Asheville to just 39.7 percent shooting (23-of-58).
“This group is really about the process and tonight was big for us because not only did we put our best 40 minutes together but we beat a really good team,” Skyhawk head coach Ryan Ridder said. “It was fun to watch our guys compete and we had different guys step up tonight. I’m fired up for them to experience that feeling of victory tonight.”
A Koby Jeffries driving layup just 17 seconds into the contest officially kicked off the scoring for UT Martin. A trifecta from Simon nudged the Skyhawk lead out to 13-7 at the first media timeout.
Another triple from the left hand of Simon doubled up the Bulldogs (18-9) at the 13:40 mark of the first half. David Didenko canned a three-pointer with 10:48 remaining before the halftime break to give UT Martin its first double-digit lead of the contest at 27-17.
After an Andre fast break layup boosted the Skyhawk lead to a dozen, UNC Asheville went on a 17-4 run to take its only lead of the game (34-33) with 5:53 to go before the halftime break. That lead was short-lived as UT Martin unleashed 12 unanswered points to close out the first half with a 45-34 advantage.
Simon’s 17 points led all scorers at the intermission while Kimble posted 11 points to pace the Bulldogs in the opening 20 minutes.
The Skyhawks carried over an impressive streak into the second half. By the time that UNC Asheville converted a layup at the 15:29 mark, UT Martin had held the Bulldogs without a field goal for a span of 10:24. That defensive intensity allowed the Skyhawk lead to balloon out to 19 points after Simon soared to the rim for a fast break layup with 13:35 left to play.
Simon soon pumped in six straight UT Martin points, reaching the 30-point plateau with 7:46 to go in the contest.
KK Curry made a driving layup at the 5:32 mark to keep the Skyhawk lead at a comfortable 16-point margin but UNC Asheville had one last run in them – scoring nine of the next 11 points. With the Bulldogs closing within single digits at 73-64, Nix came up huge – muscling up for a pair of layups in traffic to essentially ice the victory.
SOUTH FLORIDA 60, AUSTIN PEAY 51
TAMPA, Fla. - After trailing by 14 in the second half, the Austin Peay men’s basketball team rallied back to tie the game but was unable to overcome cold shooting down the stretch in a 60-51 loss at South Florida on Tuesday night.
The Govs trailed by 14 early in the second half before clawing its way back to tie the game with eight minutes remaining. After rallying to tie the game at 40, South Florida embarked on a 10-0 over a four-minute span to extend its lead back to double-digits. APSU cut its deficit down to six with 39 seconds left but missed its final three shots to drop its second straight contest.
It was a tough shooting night for the Govs inside the Yuengling Center, shooting just 31.4 percent from the field and 24.1 percent from behind the three-point line. Austin Peay had two score in double figures, led by junior Cameron Copeland with 12 points. The reigning OVC newcomer of the week was 5-of-9 from the field and 2-of-5 from behind the three-point line.
Behind Copeland was redshirt senior Tariq Silver with 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field. Silver was 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line to go along with one rebound and two assists in 28 minutes. The duo of Carlos Paez and Elijah Hutchins-Everett each scored six with Hutchins-Everett tallying five rebounds and one steal.
Off the bench it was another stellar performance from senior Corbin Merritt, registering five points and a team-high six rebounds. Along with Merritt, sophomore Noel Scott recorded five points on 2-of-5 shooting from the field with five rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
The Govs forced the Bulls to commit 16 turnovers, scoring 12 points off of turnovers. South Florida outrebounded Austin Peay, 41-33 with a 10-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The Govs had 14 points in the paint compared to USF’s 26.
It was a first half to forget for the Govs shooting just 20.8 percent from the field and going 2-of-12 from long distance. USF held a 3-2 lead five minutes into the game as APSU and USF went a combined 2-of-12 from the field. The offense continued to stall for APSU, going scoreless for over nine minutes as the Bulls held an 11-2 lead at the halfway point.
A corner three from Merritt ended the scoreless streak as the Govs trailed 11-5 with seven minutes to play in the first half. To end the first half, Carlos Paez went on a personal 5-0 run as the Govs trailed 22-16 heading into the locker room.
Starting the second half, South Florida embarked on a 10-2 run to gain its largest lead of the game at 32-18 with 16:11 remaining. The Govs battled back as the Bulls were held scoreless for three minutes, leading to a 5-0 run for APSU and cutting its deficit down to five near the midway mark of the second half.
The Govs made three of their next four field goals to cut the USF lead down to one. The run from the Govs was highlighted by an and-one from junior Alec Woodard. APSU tied the game with eight minutes remaining thanks to a corner three from Tariq Silver. However, South Florida battled back embarking on a 10-0 run to regain a double-digit lead.
Down the stretch, APSU was outscored 20-11 as the Bulls made six of their final eight field goals to secure the nine-point victory. The Govs defense held USF scoreless from the field the final 4:27 but the Bulls iced the game from the free-throw line going 12-of-15 during the final eight minutes of play.