UTM nets first OVC victory vs. Redhawks

~ Southeast lost a 17-point, first-half lead and eventually dropped the game 73-70

MARTIN, Tenn. -- The sun finally shined on the Tennessee-Martin men's basketball team.

And at Southeast Missouri State's expense.

UTM notched its first Ohio Valley Conference win of the season Tuesday night, rallying past the visiting Redhawks 73-70.

"It's disappointing," first-year Southeast coach Dickey Nutt said. "We had some guys play extremely hard, but right now we're not getting the depth we need playing with that sense of urgency. You take one play off and it kills you.

"They [UTM] haven't had any good fortune all year, but I knew we couldn't just show up and win. We were going to have to earn it."

One year removed from their first OVC regular-season title, the Skyhawks have bottomed out to become the conference's doormat.

But that wasn't the case for at least one night as UTM (4-19, 1-12) fought back from a 17-point first-half deficit.

The Skyhawks prevailed despite not starting their top three scorers. Two wound up playing extensively but Benzor Simmons, averaging 14 points, saw just nine minutes of action and did not score.

"We just kept fighting," first-year UTM coach Jason James said.

Southeast (7-17, 3-10) suffered its fifth straight OVC loss since rolling past visiting UTM 77-63 on Jan 21.

The Redhawks, losing for the eighth time in 10 games, remained eighth in the 10-team OVC, but saw their lead sliced to one game over ninth-place Tennessee State. The top eight finishers make the OVC tournament.

"You knew they weren't going to give up. You knew it would be a dogfight to the end," junior guard Sam Pearson said. "Unfortunately we didn't pull it off."

Southeast took advantage of UTM's makeshift starting lineup by getting off to a quick start.

Freshman guard Marland Smith hit his first five shots -- including three 3-pointers -- and scored 13 points as the Redhawks jumped ahead 22-8 less than seven minutes in.

Southeast built 17-point leads three times before UTM cut the deficit to 38-31 by halftime.

"We just let up on them," junior guard Anthony Allison said. "A team with no wins, they're not going to give up.

"Some guys just got too content. We thought they would roll over."

UTM kept coming in the second half and built eight-point leads twice, the last time with nine minutes left.

Southeast went ahead just one more time, on a basket by Smith with 3:59 to play that made it 64-63.

The Skyhawks regained the lead at the 2:42 mark and expanded it to 68-64 with two minutes remaining. Southeast never caught back up.

UTM hit 5 of 7 free throws in the final 35 seconds, while Southeast missed 2 of 3 in the last 1:25.

Southeast got within two points three times in the final 45 seconds, including on Allison's 3-pointer with 3 seconds left that made it 72-70.

The Skyhawks hit 1 of 2 foul shots with .9 seconds left before Allison's three-quarter court heave drew a bit of iron at the buzzer.

"You have to execute, play defense and rebound. We kind of got away from it," Pearson said. "We took some quick shots."

Allison scored a game-high 18 points to match the top total from his rookie Southeast season. He hit 3 of 4 3-pointers.

Smith scored 17 points while Pearson added 11 points and a career-high eight assists. Senior forward LaMont Russell grabbed 10 rebounds.

But the Redhawks got little inside offense as their primary frontcourt players combined for just 12 points. Southeast was outscored in the paint 30-20.

Junior guard Marquis Weddle paced UTM with 15 points, two below his team-leading average.

Southeast hit 10 of 18 3-pointers (55.6 percent), but saw UTM make 22 of 28 free throws compared to 8 of 13 for the Redhawks as UTM was the aggressor in the second half.

"The dribble drive hurt us. Defensively we couldn't hold them," Nutt said. "They outplayed us in the second half."

Sophomore backup forward Rae-Vonn Banks did not make the trip. The walk-on missed his second straight game due to an issue regarding his tuition for classes.

Southeast returns to action Thursday night, hosting third-place Eastern Kentucky as the Redhawks begin a stretch featuring four of their final five OVC games at the Show Me Center.