Skyhawks stand alone atop OVC

Look who’s No. 1.
Two road wins over the weekend put UT Martin all alone atop the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 5-1 league record. The Skyhawks are 13-4 overall.
UTM beat Southern Indiana 73-56 in Evansville on Saturday, following a 76-68 comeback win over Morehead State at Morehead, Ky., on Thursday.
UTM broke a 16-game losing streak at Morehead State, its last win there coming in 2005.
UT Martin’s next two outings will take place at the Elam Center, starting with a Thursday matchup against SIUE.
The men’s game will serve as the back end of a doubleheader with the women’s squad and will tip off at 7:30 p.m.
UTM 73, So. Indiana 56
Sophomore guard Filip Radakovic registered the second double-double of his UT Martin career to help the Skyhawks to Saturday’s triumph over Southern Indiana.
“Tonight’s game was so physical, and I’m proud of our guys for stepping up,” UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman said. “We find a way, no matter what style of game it is. I thought we guarded the heck out of it and dominated on the boards in the second half.
“We’re getting tougher, but we have a lot left to prove. There’s a whole lot of basketball left to play, and we’re still working to get better.”
Radakovic poured in a career-best 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a 9-for-10 effort from the free throw line. He also equaled a career-high with 10 rebounds for his first double-double since Dec. 15, 2024, against Champion Christian.
Andrija Bukumirovic was also a game-changer as he posted 19 points, eight rebounds and two blocks.
The freshman duo of Filip Petkovski (nine points on 4-of-4 shooting) and Vladimir Khryapa (seven points in 18 minutes) also gave UT Martin valuable offensive production.
The Skyhawks nailed five of their 10 tries from 3-point range in the first half and followed that by shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) overall in the second half.
For the game, UT Martin also connected on 80 percent (16-for-20) of its free throw attempts.
The Screaming Eagles (3-13, 0-6 OVC) were led by Amaree Brown’s 17 points while Ismail Habib added 14 points.
Southern Indiana shot 29.4 percent (15-of-51), was outscored 36-12 in the paint and was out-rebounded by a 45-28 margin.
UTM 76, Morehead St. 68
A trademark hard-nosed defense once again propelled UT Martin as the Skyhawks erased a 16-point deficit in a 76-68 triumph at Morehead State.
The Skyhawks trailed 40-24 with 1:18 to go in the first half but turned up the defensive intensity in the final 20 minutes, limiting the Eagles to 25 percent (7-of-28) shooting — 0-for-9 from 3-point range — in the final 20 minutes.
Andrija Bukumirovic tallied a game-high 18 points to lead five UT Martin scorers in double figures.
Afan Trnka pumped in a season-best 14 points on 4-of-5 shooting (3-for-3 from 3-point range), while Filip Radakovic produced 13 points, five rebounds and a team-high four assists.
The freshman duo of Matas Deniusas (seven rebounds) and Pedro Santos (3-of-5 shooting) each scored 10 points for the Skyhawks, who flipped the game with a 20-4 run in a span of 5:01.
Morehead State (7-9, 3-2 OVC) was led by 13 points and 13 rebounds from Jon Carroll.
The Eagles also received 13 points from Vince Dawson III and 12 points out of Tamaury Releford.