The Skyhawk men’s basketball team broke open a close game in the second half as they defeated Webster University, 94-72, Saturday night in the Elam Center.

Senior Jared Newson led the Skyhawks with 23 points, while fellow senior Jeremy Kelly overcame foul trouble to contribute 21 points. Kelly spent most of the first half on the bench after picking up three early fouls.

The Skyhawks shot a blistering 59 percent from the floor for the game while holding Webster to 40 percent shooting.

Webster held an early lead at 26-24 after a free throw by Ben Monnig with 7:02 remaining in the first half before the Skyhawks pulled away to lead at the break, 44-37. The lead only grew from there and reached 22 points several times in the second half. Webster never came closer than six points down early in the second half.

Webster was led by Corey Kuhn, who scored 16 points for the Gorloks, who fell to 0-4 with the loss.

Jason Thompson led the Skyhawks with his first double-double of the young season, tallying 10 points on five-of-six shooting and pulling down 10 rebounds.

The Skyhawks made 59 percent of their shots to Webster’s 40 percent, but UTM head coach Bret Campbell was cautious about his team’s performance.

“We can’t pretend to be the Phoenix Suns,” Campbell said. “In this league, the way you win is defense and rebounding.

The Skyhawks return to action Thursday, December 1 when they host Arkansas State.

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in the Elam Center.

The OVC slate opens Saturday, December 3 when the Skyhawks host Southeast Missouri State. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.

Kelly also was named OVC Player of the Week for his performance in last Saturday’s game at Louisville. Kelly led all scorers with a career-high 31 points and collected nine rebounds in the Skyhawks’ 78-61 loss.

The Louisville native also connected on five of ten three-point attempts to keep the hopes of a Skyhawk upset alive.

Kelly is averaging 26.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game this season while displaying impressive accuracy in all three shooting areas.