Skyhawk men fall to OVC foe Tennessee State University

The Skyhawk men's basketball team were grounded against a tough Tennessee State University team 72-59 on January  26, at the Elam Center.

With the loss, UTM remains win less in the OVC, falling to 0-9 in the conference. TSU improves to 5-4.

TSU's star forward, junior Robert Covington, made the first buckets of the game sinking two free throws.

These opening points were crucial for the Tiger's momentum, because the skyhawks proved to be a worthy opponent in the first half.

Early in the game, TSU went on a 6-0 run, setting the score at 10-6 with the Tigers leading. However that did not stop the Skyhawks.

Mike Liabo came on strong and answered with 5 points of his own, which put the Skyhawks back on top 11-10.

With seven minutes remaining in the first half, the Skyhawks became hot from the charity stripe. Dane Smith went 1-2,  Myles Taylor went 1-2,  

Mike Liabo was perfect from the line, shooting 4 of 4.

 Despite this hot streak at the line, the Skyhawks only shot 51 percent overall in the first half.

With 2:12 left in the half, the Skyhawks heald a three point advantage, 25-22.

However, TSU played a strategic game of cat and mouse which allowed them to control the clock for the remainder of the half.

TSU melted the clock on two possessions, and they were able to sink both buckets for 4 points. At the half, the Skyhawks were very much still in this grueling contest with the score sitting at 26-25 in TSU's favor.

As the second half went underway, TSU quickly took control of the game, and never looked back.

TSU's Patrick Miller, had a total of 17 points, 15 of those coming in the second half.

With 15:39 on the clock, TSU held a slight advantage, 35-31.

Smith,  continued to shoot well,  ending up with 13 on the day. His leadership allowed for some UTM rallies throughout the game, however, as time ticked away, TSU began to solidify their win.

The Tigers went on a 9-0 rally setting the score at 44-31, and it was Gary Love's lone three point shot for the evening that broke the Tiger's hot streak.

Miller really heated up and he came on with 6 points in a matter of four minutes.

With 1:13 remaining, TSU led by 15.

The Skyhawks fought back to cut the lead to 10, but that was the closest they would be for the remainder of the night.

 "Tennessee State was getting the same shots - they were just making them. Our defense was ok in the first half but they got a lot of open looks that they missed." Head Coach Jason James said.

"They went to the free throw line early and got their confidence a little bit and they were rolling from there. When you have guys who can shoot and they see the ball go in a couple times, now they get to feeling better about shooting.," James said. "We saw that with Patrick Miller a little bit - they were hard to guard when they're making shots."

TSU had three players in double figures. Miller had 17,  Covington dropped in 11, and Kellen Thornton dished in 14.

The Skyhawks had four players tap into double digits. Smith led the team with 13, Liabo added 11, Myles Taylor sunk 11 and Corderio Maclin had 10.

The Skyhawks will return to action on February 2,  where they will host Jacksonville State in the Elam Center.