EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The No. 8 seed University of Tennessee at Martin men’s basketball team went toe-to-toe with No. 4 seed Little Rock before ending its season with an 82-77 setback in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Ohio Valley Conference Basketball Championship.
The Skyhawks (14-19) trailed by as much as nine in the second half before mounting a comeback by stringing together a myriad of runs down the stretch and ultimately retaking the lead with 9:46 to play in the contest. From there the game went back-and-forth in a matchup which featured 12 lead changes and nine ties in the quarterfinal affair.
While UT Martin built its lead out to as large as five points in the final 10 minutes of the contest, Little Rock turned around and posted a 6-0 run of its own to turn the tide. Then in the final two minutes the Trojans pushed their advantage out to as much as six points and held off a late run by the Skyhawks to survive and advance into Friday night’s tournament semifinal.
Four different players scored in double figures for the Skyhawks with guards Tarence Guinyard and Afan Trnka pacing the team with 17 points each while combining for nine of the team’s 21 assists. Senior Vladimer Salaridze joined the tandem with a stat-stuffing performance off the bench by adding 15 points, six rebounds, four steals, two assists and two blocks for the Skyhawks. Rounding out the quartet in double-figures was Andrija Bukumirović who chipped in 14 points and five rebounds – including a 6-for-7 shooting performance from the field.
“I just love this team,” UT Martin head coach Jeremy Shulman began. “The finality of this being our last game is a lot to handle and that’s what is hard. I thought our guys competed their tails off and executed but just couldn’t quite get it done. I love these guys and that’s the hardest thing, knowing that we don’t get to play again tomorrow, next week or the week after. Our guys believe in each other, they believe in our system and they believe in UT Martin. It’s these guys character, belief and ability to play for each other which I am so proud of. I love the future of our program and think the future is super bright.”
Little Rock (19-13) received over 60 percent of its scoring production from the tandem of Mwani Wilkinson (29 points) and Johnathan Lawson (21 points). They were joined in double figures by Tuongthach Gatkek who recorded a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.
