The UTM Skyhawk men’s basketball team needed an extra five minutes to knock off Ohio Valley Conference foe Morehead State in a 75-72 overtime thriller.
The win gives the Skyhawks (9-6, 1-1 OVC) their first conference win of the season and the first conference win in the Schroyer era.
“It was a really big win for us,” said UTM head coach Heath Schroyer. “We had every opportunity to lay down and fold and we didn’t. We made free throws and got key stops to find a way to gut out a win against a really good team. I can’t say enough about the resilience of our team.”
The game was back and forth from the opening tip to the final buzzer, including 13 ties and 17 lead changes.
In the closing minutes of the game, UTM held on to a slim lead before Morehead State would answer with points of their own. Marshun Newell made a pair of free throws to give UTM a two-point advantage with 34 seconds remaining, but Morehead State tied the game again with a Kareem Storey layup, sending the game into overtime.
From there the Skyhawks shot 4-6 from the field and held Morehead State to 1-6 shooting in the overtime period. The Skyhawks took that advantage and their first conference win this season.
UTM finished the game shooting 47 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3-point range. The Skyhawks’ leading scorer was Newell with 20 points, but backup came from Deville Smith and Arkeem Joseph, who each had 18 points.
Morehead State was led by Storey, who had 22 points off of 9-13 shooting.
The Skyhawks’ next game will be their first OVC road game this season when they travel to Cookeville to take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15.
