The Skyhawk men faced a tough challenge as they hosted perennial OVC powerhouse Murray State on January 18. The Racers were true to their nickname as they jumped to a commanding lead early in the first half and never looked back, winning the game 96-70.

From the start, the Skyhawks struggled against the MSU defense while the Racers came out hot to take a 13-2 lead into the first timeout with 17:13 remaining in the first half.

Although the Skyhawks protected the ball well, turning it over only nine times, they had a hard time finding the basket from long range. As a team, UTM shot 25 percent from beyond the arc. The lead reached its peak in the final minutes of the first half as MSU took a 49-27 advantage into the locker room.

As the second half got under way, the style of play remained much the same as it had been in the first 20 minutes of action. The Racers’ high-scoring tandem of guard Darnell Hopkins and forward Shawn Witherspoon hit huge shots down the stretch.

The two combined for 41 points in the game. However, the game’s top offensive performance was displayed by Skyhawk Cleve Woodfork.

The junior center scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half, including all 15 of the team’s points during a four-minute span of the half. Woodfork added five rebounds to lead the team in that category as well.

The Skyhawks were able to win the turnover battle by forcing 11 Racer miscues. MSU’s hot shooting resulted in a 58 percent performance for the game.

The Racers shot 80 percent from the free- throw line and 40 percent from three-point range. UTM finished at 44 percent from the floor and 70 percent from the free-throw line.

Murray State led throughout the game, and twice held an advantage of 31 points, their largest of the game. The loss dropped the Skyhawks’ record to 4-12 overall and 1-4 in the OVC. Murray State improved to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in OVC play.

The Skyhawk men suffered their fifth conference defeat of the 2004-05 season at the hands of the Tigers of Tennessee State on January 20 by a score of 92-76.

Early in the first half the teams battled back and forth with neither leading by more than five points. The Skyhawks struck first, jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Tigers went on a run to claim the lead. For the next few minutes, the teams traded runs as the lead changed hands several times.

Then, after an Earl Bullock three-pointer tied the score at 19, TSU exploded for a 25-8 run to take the lead for good. With eight minutes remaining in the half, the lead was 33-21 for TSU.

After a media timeout, the Tigers offense continued at a torrid pace as they took a 57-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The second half saw an increase in defensive intensity on both ends of the floor. Scoring slowed considerably as most shots were contended by the defenders. After TSU stretched the lead to 24 points at 69-45 with less than 12 minutes left, the Skyhawks were able to cut into the margin from the free throw line. The aggressive play led to an increase in turnovers and fouls, slowing the overall pace of the game.

The more physical style also caused a few on-court altercations, one of which resulted in the ejection of UTM guard Tyler George with 6:35 remaining in the game.

The Tigers out shot the Skyhawks in the game, hitting 53 percent of their shot attempts to the Skyhawks’ 38 percent. TSU shot the same percentage from three-point range while the Skyhawks shot a dismal 9 percent from the outside.

UTM won the rebounding battle, 39-32. They had 17 turnovers to the Tigers’ 12. TSU’s Eric King led all scorers with 16 points. He was one of five Tigers who scored in double figures in the game.

Will Lewis led four Skyhawks in double figures with 15 points. Earl Bullock finished with 14 points, and Jared Newson and Cleve Woodfork added 13 each for the Skyhawks.

Lewis also recorded a double-double by pulling down 12 rebounds. The Skyhawks attempted 43 free throws in the game, making 28 of them. TSU hit 18 of 24 from the charity stripe.

After the game, Skyhawk coach Bret Campbell acknowledged that his team has some room for improvement.

“Our weaknesses were exposed by two very good teams this week,” Campbell said. “We have to be hitting on all cylinders to compete with teams like Murray State and Tennessee State.” With the loss, the Skyhawks’ record fell to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in OVC play. TSU improved to 9-10 and 4-1.