| Skyhawks balanced in big win | | Posted: Monday, November 7, 2011 7:02 pm
| The UT Martin men’s basketball team earned a 90-72 exhibition victory in front of 2,783 fans in the fourth annual “Character Counts” game Friday at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
Junior college transfer Eli York led the Skyhawks in scoring with 21 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor.
The West Covina, Cal., native also added six rebounds, five steals and three assists in 26 minutes off the bench, much to the delight of the 1,800 kids from local elementary, middle and high schools who earned the field trip because of good behavior.
“We signed Eli because of his athleticism and because he’s good around the basket and he showed that today,” UT Martin head coach Jason James said. “Today was kind of an outburst – he played really well for us.”
Freshman Myles Taylor poured in 17 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds in 21 minutes, while Mike Liabo nailed four 3-pointers and ended with 17 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists. Troy King (15 points, seven rebounds, four assists) and Martez Harris (10 points in 18 minutes) also contributed to the Skyhawk attack.
As a team, UT Martin shot 52.6 percent from the floor (30-for-57) and forced Webster into 23 turnovers while out-rebounding the Gorloks by a 41-34 margin.
Cody Bradfisch scored a game-high 24 points for Webster, a Division III school out of Webster Groves, Mo., who competes in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
York brought energy off the bench in the first half, scoring six out of the Skyhawks’ seven points during a stretch of 3:40. UT Martin went ahead by seven points on a Liabo trey at the 7:56 mark and led 41-38 at the halftime break. King (10 points) and Liabo (nine points) led the Skyhawks in the first half.
Published in The Messenger 11.7.11 | | | | |
