A spirited crowd brought energy to the Elam Center and played a role in the Skyhawks’ 80-77 overtime victory over a tough Arkansas State team on Thursday night.

A new student group known as Skyhawk Nation made its debut in support of the Skyhawk basketball team and definitely made its presence felt throughout the game, but especially in the overtime period.

“Skyhawk Nation was unbelievable,” UTM head coach Bret Campbell said. “I thought that was the best student support we’ve had here in the seven years I’ve been here.“

“It really helped us get through tough times when the game was on the line,” Campbell said.

The very fact that the game was on the line late in the second half may be a tribute to the crowd. After shooting 24 percent from the floor in the first half and trailing 30-19 at the break, the Skyhawks came out firing.

Just over seven minutes into the half, they had cut the Indians’ lead to 43-36.

They were in total control of the game until about five minutes into the second half when the Skyhawks began their run.

A three-pointer by Jim Jones gave the Indians a 43-30 lead with 14:42 remaining, but by the media timeout three and a half minutes later the Skyhawks had used a 12-3 run to whittle the lead down to four points at 46-42.

The margin hovered between four and seven points for several minutes before the Skyhawks pulled even on a basket by Zerek Knight with 4:20 remaining.

Although it was Knight’s only basket of the game, it was a huge one for the Skyhawks. They claimed their first lead of the game when Jared Newson scored to put UTM on top, 65-64 with only 1:39 remaining in regulation.

With the Skyhawks leading by three in the closing seconds of the second half, the crowd reached its loudest point. As the clock wound down, Tipler launched a three-pointer that went in for the Indians and forced overtime with the score tied at 69.

Although stunned, the Skyhawks and the crowd were ready for overtime. The atmosphere returned to the volume of the final minutes of regulation, and the Skyhawks scored six unanswered points.

Several different players contributed offensively for the Skyhawks in overtime as their four field goals were made by three players.

Ferrell, Jared Newson, and Jeremy Kelly scored from the floor while Justin Flatt added key free throws down the stretch.

A jumper by Ferrell with 2:24 left put the Skyhawks ahead 75-69. ASU got as close as 79-77 after a basket by Tipler, but Ferrell added a free throw to finish the scoring.

When a desperation shot by ASU’s Lorenzo Hampton fell short, the celebration could begin.

“The crowd was a sixth man for us tonight. They were huge,” Campbell said.

Another key to victory for the Skyhawks was a drastic improvement in field goal percentage in the second half.

After a miserable performance in the first twenty minutes, the Skyhawks connected on 58 percent of their attempts in the second half, including 80 percent in overtime.

They also enjoyed a nine-point advantage from the free-throw line, although their percentage was not stellar at 58 percent.

Newson made 11 of 16 shots from the floor to finish with 27 points and added 11 rebounds for his first double-double of the season. Kelly added 16 points and seven assists and McKale Jones scored 11 points off the bench, going 5-for-5 from the free throw line.

“One thing we knew after the first half is that we could not play much worse,” Campbell said.

“There was a silver lining in that we were still in the game after shooting so poorly. We probably should have been down 29. The difference was the defensive end. We stepped up defensively, played a smaller lineup and created some turnovers,” he said. The win improved the Skyhawks’ record to 2-1 on the season as they prepared for Saturday’s game against SEMO.