Red Wolves rebound with 18 point win over Skyhawks

 

Two nights after performing like "show ponies" according to head coach John Brady, the Red Wolves finished where they couldn't Tuesday and defeated Tennessee-Martin 63-45 for their first win of the season.

    Behind a 21-point game from junior Trey Finn and 13 points from junior Marcus Hooten, the Red Wolves (1-2) doubled their shooting percentage in the second half after shooting only 25.9 percent from the field in the first segment of play.

    "I believe we were more patient as a team offensively," Finn said. "We didn't settle for jump shots, we took it down to the shot clock like Coach Brady wanted us to do and just worked the ball around and fed the post."

    After starting the game trailing the Skyhawks (0-3) 6-2, the Red Wolves went on 9-0 before the UTM grabbed momentum back for its own 10-2 run. The teams swapped leads five times in the first half before the Red Wolves took the final lead change with just a minute left in the half.

    In a sloppy first half, the Red Wolves committed nine turnovers to UTM's eight. ASU would cut that in half with five in the second period.

    "It's amazing when you make a few shots how it changes the complexity of your team. It keeps them playing. Making a few in the second half uplifted our team," Brady said.

    From the field the Red Wolves took the same amount of shots, 27, in both halves, but made 16 in the second compared to seven in the first.

    "This was by far our best rebounding game," said Brady. ASU grabbed 41 rebounds on the night, 16 offensively and 25 defensively. Finn had the most with 10, which earned him a double double.

    "Tomorrow, we're going to let him lay up in a hammock all day and fan him. [Other than going to class] that will be the extent of his day," Brady joked.

    Brady played all of his starting five players, with the exception of Malcon Kirkland, for more than 30 minutes. ASU's bench only earned seven points, while UTM's scored 22.

    "I wanted to play some guys tonight that I need to see play and feel what it's like to be a good basketball team and finish the game. I wasn't concerned about minutes for everybody. Because we don't have the depth that we did really because of one player," Brady said, referring to the dismissal of Martavius Adams.

    "I really wanted to win this game tonight and finish the game in the right way."

    Now the Red Wolves will take the momentum from their first win on the road, where they will play Ohio University on Nov. 22 and eighth ranked Louisville on Nov. 22.

    ASU's next home game will be against Southeast Missouri State on Nov. 29.