MOREHEAD, Ky. (Interstat) — Tennessee-Martin erased an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Morehead State 76-68 in an Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball game Thursday at E.T. Johnson Arena. The Skyhawks trailed 43-32 at the break but outscored the Eagles 44-25 in the second half. Andrija Bukumirović led Tennessee-Martin with 18 points. Filip Radaković added 13 points and four assists, while Afan Trnka scored 14 points. Morehead State was led by Tamaury Releford with 12 points. Vince Dawson and Jon Carroll each added 13 points for the Eagles. Tennessee-Martin improved to 12-4 overall. Morehead State fell to 7-9. Attendance was 1,018.

HALDEMAN, Ky. (Interstat) — A dominant second-half defensive performance propelled the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks to a 76-68 comeback victory over the Morehead State Eagles in an Ohio Valley Conference men’s basketball game Thursday night at E.T. Johnson Arena. Trailing by 11 points at halftime, the Skyhawks (12-4, 3-0 OVC) flipped the script after the break, holding the Eagles to just 25 points on 8-of-28 shooting from the field over the final 20 minutes. Tennessee-Martin’s own offense, led by a trio of international standouts, found its rhythm to outscore Morehead State 44-25 in the second half and secure its third consecutive conference win. The game’s pivotal shift occurred early in the second period. After Morehead State’s Jon Carroll opened the half with a layup to extend the Eagles’ lead to 45-32, Tennessee-Martin unleashed a decisive 17-2 run. The surge was fueled by defensive stops and efficient scoring. Afan Trnka of Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina, hit a three-pointer and drew a foul, and Pedro Santos of Porto, Portugal, followed with another three. Matas Deniusas contributed a layup, and by the under-16-minute media timeout, the Skyhawks had seized a 49-47 lead, a margin they would not relinquish. Morehead State (7-9, 1-2) struggled mightily against Tennessee-Martin’s adjusted defensive pressure in the second half, committing seven turnovers and shooting a frigid 1-for-9 from three-point range after intermission. The Eagles, who had built their halftime lead on the strength of 43 points and 50% shooting, saw their offensive flow completely disrupted. Tennessee-Martin was led by forward Andrija Bukumirović of Sjenica, Serbia, who scored 18 points, including a crucial three-pointer late in the game, and added a block and a steal. His frontcourt partner, Filip Radaković of Belgrade, Serbia, orchestrated the offense with a team-high four assists while adding 13 points. Guard Afan Trnka provided a critical spark off the bench with a game-high 14 points, all in the second half, to spearhead the comeback. Morehead State’s effort was led by Jon Carroll of Tallahassee, Florida, and Vince Dawson of Georgetown, Kentucky, who each scored 13 points. Tamaury Releford of Fort Smith, Arkansas, came off the bench to add 12 points and a block, but the Eagles could not sustain their first-half efficiency. The Skyhawks won despite being out-rebounded 16-11 on the offensive glass and tallying only six total assists. Their defense, which forced 11 Eagles turnovers and limited Morehead State to an offensive rating of 111.4 on 61 possessions, proved to be the difference. Tennessee-Martin shot 47.2% from the field for the game and capitalized at the free-throw line, making 18 of 27 attempts. The victory extends Tennessee-Martin’s strong start to OVC play, while Morehead State drops its second conference game in three outings. An announced crowd of 1,018 watched the contest, which exceeded the pregame statistical projection that gave the Skyhawks a narrow 50.7% chance to win. The combined point total of 144 also surpassed the over/under line of 137.5. Tennessee-Martin travels to face Southern Indiana on Saturday, while Morehead State returns to E.T. Johnson Arena to host Southeast Missouri State the same day. The two teams are scheduled to meet again in a rematch on Feb. 7 in Martin, Tennessee.

HALDEMAN, Ky. (Interstat) — A surging Tennessee-Martin squad looks to continue its strong start to Ohio Valley Conference play when it visits a struggling Morehead State team on Thursday night at E.T. Johnson Arena. The Skyhawks (11-4) have won three straight, including a 65-61 league victory over Eastern Illinois on Saturday. They sit near the top of the early OVC standings. The Eagles (7-8), meanwhile, are looking to build momentum after a narrow 73-72 road win at SIU Edwardsville snapped a two-game skid. Tennessee-Martin’s success has been fueled by balance and defense. In the win over Eastern Illinois, Matas Deniusas led the way with 19 points, while Afan Trnka added 11. Key to their recent run, however, has been the all-around play of guard Andrija Bukumirović. Over his last five games, he is averaging 13.8 points and has shown a knack for defensive disruption, recording six blocks against Eastern Illinois and a 28-point outburst in a win at Tennessee Tech last month. Morehead State will counter with its own standout in Jon Carroll. The guard is coming off a 17-point, three-assist, three-block performance in the win at SIU Edwardsville and has scored in double figures in four of his last five contests, including an 18-point, nine-rebound effort in a loss to Lindenwood. The Eagles will need Carroll and fellow scorer Chase Dawson, who also had 17 points last game, to be efficient against a Skyhawks defense that has held opponents to 65 points or fewer in three of its last four wins. Morehead State’s season has been marked by inconsistency, with its last four games decided by an average of just 5.5 points. Thursday’s contest is the first of two regular-season meetings between the programs this season. They are scheduled to meet again in Martin on Feb. 7. The game tips off at 7:30 p.m. EST as part of a full slate of OVC action.