Lindenwood converted a go-ahead four-point play with 16 seconds remaining to hand the University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team another excruciating setback, falling 52-51 at the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.
The loss was the sixth setback by either one point or overtime in Ohio Valley Conference play for the Skyhawks, who are now 9-15 overall and 5-8 in the league standings.
UT Martin led by a 50-46 margin with 1:06 remaining before the visiting Lions ended the game with six of the final seven points.
Tarence Guinyard led the Skyhawks in scoring for the 10th time this season, scoring 11 points in 17 minutes off the bench. Making his first start since Dec. 3, Lamine Niang produced a stat line of nine points, 11 rebounds and a career-best five blocked shots while Afan Trnka (nine points) and Andrija Bukumirović (eight points, career-high 12 rebounds) also chipped in notable efforts for UT Martin, who overcame an eight-point halftime deficit to lead by as many as seven points in the second half.
Lindenwood (11-13, 6-7 OVC) was led by Clayton Jackson’s 16 points off the bench while eight-time OVC Freshman of the Week Jadis Jones had a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds. However, it was Reggie Bass who was the hero as his three-pointer tied the contest and ensuing free throw wound up being the eventual game-winning score.
“This was our ninth loss within four points or overtime,” Skyhawk head coach Jeremy Shulman said. “It is what it is. I feel for this team – we had some guys out today but hats off to Lindenwood. It’s frustrating – we’re competing our tails off and trying to get every little tiny edge we can possibly get. I thought we guarded the heck out of it today and we did a good job on the glass but at times we couldn’t make open shots.”
The Lions led for most of the first half before back-to-back buckets from Niang gave UT Martin its first lead of the night at 19-18 with 5:46 remaining before halftime. Lindenwood followed with 11 unanswered points but Trnka ended the Skyhawk scoring drought with a driving layup to shave UT Martin’s deficit to 29-21 at the intermission.
The Skyhawks opened the second half on a 13-4 run, claiming a 34-33 lead after five consecutive points by Guinyard. A Trnka free throw with 9:20 left to play stretched UT Martin’s lead out to 43-36 – its biggest advantage of the evening.
Trnka swished a pretty turnaround jumper in the lane with 1:06 to go to make it a two-score game at 50-46. The Lions responded with a floater in the paint on the ensuing possession but Josué Grullon came up with a steal on Lindenwood’s next trip down the floor. After a Skyhawk free throw with 21 seconds left made the score 51-48, Bass pulled up from deep range on the left wing and recorded the four-point play.
UT Martin had two looks at a potential go-ahead bucket in the last three seconds but the Lion defense held on a pair of three-point attempts.
The Skyhawks will look to recover on Saturday, Feb. 8 when they host OVC rival Western Illinois. Tipoff from the Elam Center is set for 3:30 p.m. on Talk and News WCMT 100.5 and 1410.
(Photo Credit: UTM Athletics)
