UTM defense shuts down Panthers at right times

A swarming defense presence bookended UT Martin’s 65-61 victory over Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Illinois at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center on Saturday.

The Skyhawks held the Panthers to 0-for-12 shooting with four turnovers in the opening 10:50, racing out to a nine-point lead in the opening half. UT Martin’s defense then took over late in the game, holding the Panthers to 1-of-6 shooting with four turnovers over the final 5:43 to end the contest on a 15-3 run.

In between, Eastern Illinois bounced back to lead by seven at the halftime break and eventually took a 58-50 advantage with 6:32 remaining.

Matas Deniusas scored 11 consecutive points in a 5:37 span down the stretch for the Skyhawks, including a go-ahead three-pointer with 59 seconds to go.

The freshman out of Vilnius, Lithuania, posted 19 points and a career-best nine rebounds, while Pedro Santos and Afan Trnka tallied 11 points apiece for the Skyhawks (11-4, 3-1 OVC).

Andrija Bukumirovi was a key factor in UT Martin’s defensive success, compiling a final stat line of seven points and career-highs of 14 rebounds, six blocks, four assists and four steals.

The Skyhawks shot 84.6 percent (22-of-26) from the charity stripe and limited Eastern Illinois to 6-for-23 (26.1 percent) shooting from the field in the second half.

The Panthers, 4-10 overall and 1-3 in OVC play, were guided by the bench duo of Zion Fruster (17 points, four assists) and Kooper Jacobi (16 points, seven rebounds). Meechie White additionally came away with 12 points and five steals in a game that featured 10 lead changes and seven tie scores.

“We’ve been really good in the last four minutes of games,” UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman. “I was outcoached for a lot of the game today, but I just love these guys. Their toughness and ability to making winning plays really showed up when it mattered down the stretch.”

Santos carried the Skyhawks early, scoring 11 of UT Martin’s first 13 points of the game. Deniusas followed with a trifecta at the 10:37 mark in the first half, extending the Skyhawk lead out to 16-7.

Eastern Illinois scored the next nine points, but a pair of Filip Radakovi free throws pushed UT Martin’s advantage back out to 25-19 with 6:41 to go before the halftime break. The Panthers responded with an 8-0 run and later scored seven unanswered points in a 61-second span to take a 41-34 lead into the locker room. Santos and Fruster each had game-highs of 11 points apiece to lead their respective squads.

An old-fashioned 3-point play by Deniusas and six straight points from Trnka opened the Skyhawk scoring in the second half. A Deniusas floater in the lane with 9:23 left to play gave UT Martin its first lead of the second half at 50-48.

Eastern Illinois came back with 10 consecutive points to match its biggest lead of the game at 58-50 with 6:32 to go. Deniusas soon went off, while the Skyhawk defense made plays left and right, including a pair of shot-clock violations before a Trnka steal with UT Martin clinging to a 63-61 lead with nine seconds to go.

Ty Price calmly knocked down a pair of huge free throws to make it a four-point game with 1.3 seconds remaining, icing the comeback victory for UT Martin.

The Skyhawks now head on the road for their next two outings, starting with a Thursday matchup at Morehead State. Tip-off from Ellis T. Johnson Arena is set for 6:30 p.m.