Tennessee-Martin tops Eastern Illinois 84-77

Jan 23, 2014, 11:46 pm

MARTIN, Tenn. -- Mike Liabo scored 20 points and Terence Smith added 19 as Tennessee-Martin defeated Eastern Illinois 84-77 on Thursday night.

Tennessee-Martin (7-15, 2-5 Ohio Valley) trailed 47-36 with less than 16 minutes to play in the second half. But the Skyhawks went on a 19-7 run to take a 55-54 lead with 9:18 remaining.

Myles Taylor hit a jumper with 2:40 left to give Tennessee-Martin a 72-71 lead and the Skyhawks never trailed again, making a 3-pointer, a layup and seven of eight free throws down the stretch to help seal the victory.

Tennessee-Martin shot 50 percent from the field and hit 11 of 23 from beyond the arc. Dee Oldham added 12 points for the Skyhawks and Khristian Taylor had 11.

Chris Olivier led Eastern Illinois (6-13, 3-5) with 20 points while Sherman Blanford added 15.