THURSDAY'S SCORES
UT Martin 91, @Tennessee State 75
Little Rock 81, @Tennessee Tech 75
UT MARTIN 91, TENNESSEE STATE 75
NASHVILLE - Boosted by the return of senior forward Issa Muhammad, the University of Tennessee at Martin men's basketball team compiled its third straight win in the Gentry Center as the Skyhawks soared to a 91-75 victory over Tennessee State.
An Atlanta, Ga. native who missed the last four games due to injury, Muhammad came back with a vengeance – scoring a career-best 23 points to go along with a team-high nine rebounds.
Muhammad was joined in double figures by the UT Martin trio of Jacob Crews (19 points, seven rebounds), Jordan Sears (14 points, season-best seven rebounds, five assists and season-high five steals) and Kenny White, Jr. (13 points, three assists). The Skyhawks improved to 8-6 with a 1-0 mark in Ohio Valley Conference play after leading for 36:24 of clock time while outscoring the Tigers 44-20 in the paint and 21-7 on fast breaks.
Tennessee State (7-7, 0-1 OVC) was paced by Michael Shanks' 22 points. EJ Bellinger collected a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds while Jason Jitoboh (11 points) and Jaylen Jones (10 points) also helped guide the Tigers, who were previously 5-0 at home before tonight.
Crews got the Skyhawks going early, scoring six straight points in the span of 15 seconds to give UT Martin an 11-8 advantage. The Skyhawks went on a 10-2 run coming out of the under-16-minute media timeout, ignited by an old-fashioned three-point play by Sears.
A stepback triple from Crews at the 12:02 mark nudged UT Martin's lead out to 26-16 and forced Tennessee State to burn its second timeout of the contest.
After the Tigers pulled within five points, a straightaway three-pointer from Justus Jackson and a bucket inside by White pushed the Skyhawk advantage back out to double digits (35-25) at the under-8-media timeout.
A quick 11-2 spurt from UT Martin – capped off with back-to-back treys from Jackson – extended the Skyhawk lead to 46-31 with a little under four minutes to go before the halftime break.
Tennessee State wrapped up the first half with 10 of the final 13 points as UT Martin took a 53-46 advantage into the locker room. Muhammad was responsible for game-highs of 12 points and six rebounds at the half as the Skyhawks equaled a season-high for first-half scoring. Shanks had a team-best nine points for the Tigers.
Crews scored UT Martin's first four points of the second half before a Sears bucket inside once again pushed the Skyhawk lead out to double figures (59-49).
After Tennessee State trimmed its deficit to four points with 11:31 remaining, the UT Martin duo of Muhammad and White combined to score the next 12 Skyhawk points. As a result, UT Martin held a 73-62 advantage with just under nine minutes left to play.
The Tigers got within six points at the seven-minute mark but that was ultimately as close as they would get. The Skyhawks went on a 15-2 run as Sears poured in six of those points to ice the win. Fittingly, it was Muhammad who knocked down UT Martin's final bucket – a three-pointer from the left wing with 31 ticks left.
LITTLE ROCK 81, TENNESSEE TECH 75
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Little Rock men's basketball team opened Ohio Valley Conference action on Thursday with a 81-75 victory at Tennessee Tech. The Trojans had four players in double-digit scoring to win their first road game of the season.
Jamir Chaplin led all scorers with 25 points going 8-of-14 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. He also contributed six rebounds and a team-high three steals. KK Robinson knocked down 17 points, including going 5-of-7 from the three-point line, and contributed four assists, while Jaylen Crocker-Johnson recorded 13 points and a team-high nine rebounds and four assists. DeAntoni Gordon scored ten points and brought down a team-high nine rebounds.
Tennessee Tech won the tip and score first on a layup. The Trojans answered back with five-straight points all from Chaplin to take the 5-2 lead at the 17:31 mark.
After both teams scored points including back-to-back three-pointers by Robinson, the Golden Eagles went on a 7-0 run to regain a 12-11 advantage with 13:11 remaining in the half.
At the 12:15 mark, Tennessee Tech went on a 7-2 run to advance their lead to 17-13.
Both teams exchanged points, before Crocker-Johnson knocked down seven-straight points including a three-pointer to put the Trojans up 22-19.
The Trojans took a 32-24 lead off a three-pointer by Crocker-Johnson, before a foul and technical foul by Little Rock gave the Golden Eagles an opportunity to tie the game at 32.
Jordan Jefferson contributed four-straight points with 1:14 until the half, but Tennessee Tech score the remaining five points including a half court heave to take the 37-36 halftime lead.
Both teams exchanged points to open the second half, with Little Rock tying the score at 39 on two technical foul shots by Robinson and a made free throw by Crocker-Johnson.
Each team traded advantages until the 13:53 mark when four-straight points by Chaplin including a steal and dunk brought the Trojan lead to 51-48.
The Golden Eagles used a 10-4 run starting at the 13:12 mark to take the 58-55 advantage.
With 6:44 left in the game, Chaplin sparked a 7-0 run, scoring five of the points to bring the Little Rock lead to 66-62.
After points by both teams, Tennessee Tech used a 6-2 run to cut into the Trojan advantage 76-73. Little Rock held on for the 81-75 win.