COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech helped tighten the Ohio
Valley Conference basketball race Saturday night with a 70-61
victory over UT Martin in Eblen Center, giving the Golden Eagles a
season sweep over the defending league champions.
With the victory, Tech (13-13/7-8 OVC) is one of four teams in a
tight battle for fourth place in the middle of the OVC standings.
The Golden Eagles are one game out of fourth in the win column with
three league games remaining. UT Martin saw its record fall to
4-21/1-14 OVC.
Frank Davis led all scorers with 19 points, hitting 4-for-8 from
long distance. Alfred Jones added 13 points and nine rebounds while
Elijah Muhammad scored 11 and grabbed six boards. Jud Dillard added
eight points and six rebounds. Sophomore Kevin Murphy finished with
nine points, snapping a streak of 18 consecutive games in double
figures.
Bassey Inameti (in photo) blocked a career-high six shots
in the contest.
Benzor Simmons topped UTM with 14 points while Terrance Coleman had
13 points and nine rebounds. Ron Spencer finished with nine points
and eight rebounds and MJ Brown also scored nine.
The game saw the score tied three times in the first half before a
12-0 Golden Eagle run put Tech on top to stay. Simmons hit a layup
and followed with one free throw with 8:40 to play in the opening
period and the Skyhawks were up, 20-19.
Davis drained a 3-pointer to nudge Tech out front, 21-19, and the
Golden Eagles never trailed after that. They built a lead as large
as 11 in tn the next three minutes, before heading to the half up
seven, 34-27.
The second half saw 37 fouls called between the two teams and 58
combined free throws, but Tech maintained its advantage despite
scoring just one basket in the final five minutes. The Golden
Eagles were 12-for-15 at the free throw line during that
stretch.
After pulling ahead by 14, Tech saw UTM rally to creep within five
points, 54-49, when Coleman made two free throws with 5:40
remaining. Murphy’s jumper started a 6-0 TTU run and the
Golden Eagles regained a double-digit lead.
UT Martin whittled it down to a seven-point game with 46 seconds
left when Spencer scored a layup to make it 66-59, but four free
throws kept the Skyhawks at bay.
Tech keeps busy with a game Monday at Tennessee State at 7:30 p.m.,
the team’s third game in a five-day span. Following that, the
Golden Eagles play a game Thursday at Austin Peay (rescheduled from
Feb. 9), then visit Appalachian State Saturday night for a Bracket
Buster contest at 6 p.m. CST.
The team has one home game remaining, hosting Jacksonville State on
Saturday, Feb. 27, in the regular season finale. For tickets, call
(931) 372-3940 or visit the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen
Center.