By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - For the second consecutive contest, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team ran into a team that simply could not miss a shot as the Governors of Austin Peay defeated the Golden Eagles, 83-69 Saturday evening.
Just two days after seeing Murray State hit on over 50 percent of its 3-point attempts and shots from the field, Tech witness the Governors go ballistic as well. Austin Peay connected on just over 58 percent of its attempts from behind the arc while drilling nearly 68 percent from the floor.
A night like that is nearly impossible to combat, but with just under four minutes to play, the Golden Eagles found themselves down, not out. Tech got to within 11 after trailing by as many as 17 points, but the Govs simply could not miss down the stretch, hitting 11 consecutive free throws and several clutch buckets.
Senior Jeremiah Samarrippas led Tech's efforts on the night, scoring a team-high 17 points while dishing out seven dimes in 36 minutes of action. Junior guard Jordan Johnson added 14 points, in a season-high 34 minutes and Dwan Caldwell put up 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, despite seeing limited floor time with four fouls. Dennis Ogbe contributed 11 points in just 17 minutes after also being limited due to foul trouble.
Travis Betran led all scorers with 20 points and forward Will Triggs grabbed a double-double with 17 points and 13 rebounds. Christ Horton and Zavion Williams each just missed out on double-doubles as Horton scored 12 points and collected nine boards while Williams scored 18 points and dished out nine assists.
The Golden Eagles will return to the court on Thursday, Jan. 30 when they play host to Tennessee State in a 7 p.m. contest. Tech defeated the Tigers earlier this month in Nashville to open up Ohio Valley Conference play 1-0. The game will be the team's Gold Rush as all fans are encouraged to wear gold to the game. T-shirts will be given out the first 1,500 fans.
