The Pacer

Issue date: 2/20/07 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski/ UTM Sports Information

With 23 seconds left in the game, Skyhawk junior Gerald Robinson sank two free throws to give the host Skyhawks a 59-58 victory over Saint Peter's College Saturday night in the ESPNU BracketBusters game played in the Kathleen and Tom Elam Center.

Saint Peter's had a chance to win the game but with two seconds left in the game Todd Sowell missed a shot and Will Lewis came away with the rebound for the Skyhawks.

With the win, UTM improves to 8-22 on the year and remains undefeated in the BracketBusters. A year ago the Skyhawks posted a 69-62 victory over host Evansville in the BracketBusters. The win also put an end to the Skyhawks' two-game losing streak and sets the stage for next Saturday's regular season finale against arch-rival Murray State in the Elam Center. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

"It's certainly nice to get a W," said Bret Campbell, the Skyhawks' head coach.
"Unfortunately we have not had a lot of them this year."

Robinson finished the game with 20 points and 10 rebounds, his third double-double of the season. The junior college transfer hit 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Senior Cleve Woodfork also posted a double-double for the Skyhawks with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Freshman Spencer Harris recorded a season-high 10 assist in the contest.
Saint Peter's had three players net double-digit points, led by Akeem Gooding with 15 points. Raul Orta tossed in 13 points and Sowell finished the game with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Skyhawks led 30-25 at the half, but had to play catch-up most of the second half because Saint Peter's tied the game at 36-all with an Orta 3-pointer with 15:17 to play.

The game was tied at 39-, 44-, and 46-all before Robinson knotted it at 58-58 with his first free throw. He won the game with his second free throw.

"We battled and hung it there," said Campbell. "We had a chance to quit in the second half, but we hung in there and gave ourselves and opportunity. I was proud of our guys for doing that."

The win came on the heels of a 74-59 road loss to Eastern Illinois on Thursday, which was the Skyhawks' second consecutive setback.

The Skyhawks are currently last in the OVC, one-half game behind Eastern Illinois, with only the regular-season finale against Murray State remaining.

The Skyhawks and Racers have always shared a bitter rivalry as regional foes. Although they have perenially competed for the top spot in the OVC in recent years, the Racers have struggled this year with a 14-13 overall record and an 11-7 mark in conference play.

Coach Billy Kennedy's squad is coming off a 58-51 road win over Rider in the Bracketbusters event that improved their record to 3-0 in the event.

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