COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee State appeared to be in
cruise control for much of the game Thursday night at Tennessee
Tech, owning leads as large as 15 points. However, the Tigers
needed some timely free throw shooting in the final two minutes to
break a late tie and escape Eblen Center with a 77-74 Ohio Valley
Conference victory as the Golden Eagles missed their tying try at
the buzzer.
The Golden Eagles stormed back with a 15-0 run, including eight
points by freshman Kevin Murphy, over the final six minutes, to
jolt the crowd and make it a two-minute contest.
Tennessee State regained the lead on a layup by Jarrell Houston and
then made 8-for-14 at the free throw line to cling to the victory.
A 3-pointer by Frank Davis with 8.5 seconds to go cut it to a 76-74
TSU lead.
After Wil Peters made one free throw for a 77-74 lead, Tech
rebounded the second and got one final chance but Zach
Bailey’s 3-point try from the right corner was off the
mark.
With the victory, the Tigers (9-17/7-9 OVC) clinched a spot in the
OVC Tournament and no worse than the No.7 seed.
The Golden Eagles, meanwhile, have put all of their eggs in one
basket, so to speak. After their non-conference game Saturday at
Ball State, Tech (11-16/5-12 OVC) will wrap up the regular season
next Saturday with a game at Jacksonville State.
Tech and JSU (11-16/5-12 OVC) will go head-to-head for the No. 8
seed and final spot in the tournament. The winner gets to play
another day, while the loser’s season will be finished.
After the first 20 minutes of battling, Tennessee State held a
five-point lead at halftime, 36-31. The Tigers took the lead early
after back-and-forth scoring through the first five minutes.
Jarrell Houston converted a three-point play with 15:05 to go to
lift TSU ahead by a 9-8 score, keying a 10-0 run that ended with
the visitors on top, 17-8. Houston scored seven of the points in
the run.
That nine-point lead grew to as much as 15 points, when Gershom
Jorgan made a jumper with 8:55 remaining for a 30-15 TSU lead.
Frank Davis hit a 3-pointer and Tech scored the next seven points
to pull the margin back down into single digits, 30-22, with 5:51
to play. TSU went back up by nine on a layup by Wil Peters, before
Tech closed with a 5-1 run into halftime.
Tennessee State seemed to control the game through most of the
second half, taking its lead from four (40-36) back into double
digits. The Tigers marched to their largest lead of the night at 15
points, 67-52, with 6:32 remaining when Darius Cox put together a
three-point play.
But the Golden Eagles caught fire, piecing together their 15-0 run
to tie the game at 67-67 for the final two minutes of action.
Gerald Robinson was the top scorer for TSU with 19 points, in
addition to four assists and three steals. Houston finished with 17
points and six rebounds while Darius Cox recorded a double-double
with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Lonnie Funderburke contributed six
points and eight rebounds, helping TSU to a 42-35 edge on the
glass.
Murphy topped Tech with 19 points,, while Frank Davis finished with
17 points and three steals. Daniel Northern also scored in double
figures with 12, and led Tech with five rebounds.
The Golden Eagles take a break from conference play Saturday with a
visit to Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., for a 1 p.m. CST
ESPN Bracket Buster game against the Cardinals.