COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Tech looks to shine in the
national spotlight Thursday night when it plays host to the UT
Martin Skyhawks on ESPNU. Much of the attention coming into the
game is focused on UTM's preseason OVC Player of the Year Lester
Hudson, but Tech would love to steal the spotlight from the
high-scoring Skyhawk senior.
The game tips off in Eblen Center at 8 p.m., following a 5 p.m.
women's contest.
The Golden Eagles and coach Mike Sutton hope to gain the advantage
early after splitting the two games against the Skyhawks last
season, including a loss in Eblen Center.
Tech is 8-7 overall with a 2-3 record in the conference after
dropping a pair of games to Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky on
the road by a combined seven points. Tech fell in the last minute
to the MSU Eagles, 64-62, on Thursday night before taking a tough,
85-80 loss to the Colonels in Richmond on Saturday night.
The Skyhawks split their two games last weekend with a win over
Tennessee State after dropping the contest to Austin Peay. The loss
to the Governors ended a six-game winning streak. So far this
season UT Martin is 9-6 overall and 2-3 in the OVC.
During the winning streak, the Skyhawks picked up wins over former
OVC member Middle Tennessee as well as Central Arkansas.
Hudson has been the leading scorer for the Skyhawks every game this
season with a season high 41 in the win over Central Arkansas. He
has scored at least 20 points in every game -- his season low was
20 points on two occasions, both at SEC members South Carolina and
Tennessee. Averaging 26.7 points a game, Hudson is second in the
nation in scoring average behind only Stephen Curry of
Davidson.
But UT Martin has other scoring options, including Marquis Weddle
who is averaging 13.2 points a game. Olajide Hay is third on the
team with 9.0 points a game in the eight games he has played in.
Delrico Lane is leading the squad with 65 assists and is second in
steals with 35. Hudson sits atop the Skyhawk stats with 37
take-aways.
Brett Campbell is in his 10th season as the helm of the UT Martin
program after serving on the staffs at Austin Peay, Central
Florida, Birmingham Southern and Kennesaw State.
Tech got a career-high from junior Frank Davis against Eastern
Kentucky with 24 points including seven three-pointers. The game
marked the second time this season that Davis hit six consecutive
three-point attempts to tie the school record.
Davis is just one of four Golden Eagles in double-figures this
season. Junior Will Barnes is averaging 11.5 a contest with senior
Daniel Northern right on his heels with 11.4 a game. Davis is
putting up 11.0 a game while fellow junior DJ Lindsay is scoring
10.9 ppg.
In last year's first contest, Tech traveled to Martin and lit up
the scoreboard posting a 100-95 win over the Skyhawks at the Elam
Center.
Amadi McKenzie and Anthony Fisher scored 21 points each and Davis
netted 20 points to lead the Golden Eagles. McKenzie added nine
rebounds and four assists to his totals. Davis was 6-for-8 from
3-point range and also had five assists and five steals.
Northern posted his league-leading ninth double-double with 14
points and 13 rebounds, and also blocked four shots. Barnes scored
11 for his third consecutive double-figure performance, and Rashaud
Nixon added 10.
UT Martin, which came into the contest tied with the Golden Eagles
in the standings, was led by Weddle with 30 points, including
8-for-16 3-pointers. Hudson had 27 points, seven rebounds and eight
assists, and Benzor Simmons added 18 points.
The second time around, Tech held Hudson, one of the nation's most
prolific scorers, to nine points, his only game of the season shy
of double digits, but UT Martin found enough firepower elsewhere to
pull off an 82-79 Ohio Valley Conference victory, avenging the loss
in Martin.
Northern posted a double-double to lead Tech with 19 points and 11
rebounds. Fisher also scored 19 points and dished out seven assists
for the Golden Eagles. McKenzie finished with 17 points and nine
rebounds, while Barnes added 13 points.
Tech yielded the lead in the final two minutes. UT Martin got 29
points from Weddle and a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds
from Gerald Robinson.
For tickets, visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen
Center (931-372-3940), or click here.