Sophomore Jared Newson and Junior Jeremy Kelly contributed more than half of the Skyhawk's points in the 72-64 victory over the Morehead State Eagles last night.

Newson, the 6’5” guard/forward, led the scoring with 20 points and also had 13 rebounds on the night. Kelly, the 6’5” guard, followed suit with 18 points, four of which were three-pointers.

The win puts UTM's record at 7-12 overall and 2-6 in the OVC.

Although the Eagles scored first, the Skyhawks took the lead with 13:44 left in the first half, 15-13. UTM went unanswered for nearly five minutes, increasing their lead to 26-13.

The Skyhawks capitalized off of Morehead’s 11 turn-overs, scoring 13 of their 36 first half points off of them. UT Martin had twice as many assists, out rebounded, and had 6 fewer turnovers than the Eagles did in the half.

The second half started with the Skyhawks increasing their lead to 15, five minutes into the half, putting the score at 45-30.

The Eagles came back to within six with 8:29 left in the game on a quick layup by Morehead.

UTM answered right back with a three pointer by Jeremy Kelly, who also pulled to within one steal of tying Mitch Stentiford at number 10 (103) on the Skyhawk career steals list.

The closest Morehead came to catching UT Martin was two points, 58-56. The Skyhawks managed to stay out in front with a dunk by Junior forward Chris Carter, and three free-throws by Junior guard Tyler “Bibby” George.

After the technical foul against Morehead, for reasons still unknown by most players and fans on both sides, the Skyhawks maintained the lead, scoring ninepoints in the last two minutes, all off free-throws.

The Eagles missed four of their last five shots from the field, ending the game, 72-64.

Both teams had three players with points in double digits.

The Skyhawks had Newson with 20, Kelly with 18, and Sophomore center Cleve Woodfork with 13. Junior center Chad McKnight led the Eagles with 21 points, followed by Senior guard Chez Marks with 20 and Senior forward Ricky Minard with 13.

The win over Morehead keeps the momentum from last weeks victory over TSU, which ended a five game losing streak.

“Once you win for the first time like we did against Tennessee State (TSU), you get that taste and you learn how to start winning,” said Skyhawk Basketball Head Coach, Brett Campbell. “I think that win helped us, and that win against TSU will be big when we look back.”

The Skyhawks hope to keep the winning streak alive Saturday night when they face the Eastern Kentucky Colonels at 6 p.m. in the Elam Center.

“Eastern Kentucky is a quality basketball team and will come in here and give us all we want," Campbell said. The Colonels lead the all time series at 11-12.