By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Anyone hoping to discover who might be the standout players for Tennessee Tech this season didn't really learn much Thursday night when the Golden Eagles hosted Bluefield College in an exhibition game in Eblen Center.
Except maybe that the pool of possibilities runs deep.
Coach Steve Payne sent 14 different players onto the floor and 13 contributed to the scoring as the Golden Eagles cruised to a 93-54 victory.
Not only was the scoring evenly distributed, playing time was also dished out liberally by Payne, with 13 players each hitting double digits in his minutes played.
Junior newcomer Charles Jackson got the attention of Tech's fans with a double-double of 10 points and 15 rebounds in 18 minutes. He was one of five Golden Eagles to score in double figures.
Senior center Dwan Caldwell led the way with 12 points, going a perfect 6-for-6. Junior Anthony Morse added 11 points and seven rebounds while seeing the most playing time at 20 minutes. Juniors Josiah Moore and Torrance Rowe each chipped in with 10 points, with Moore getting six boards.
Close behind were DeOndre Haynes (nine points and a team-leading four assists), freshman Aleksa Jugovic (eight points) and senior Javon McKay (seven points, three assists and two steals).
Joesph McClain led Bluefield with 16 points, bolstered by a 10-for-13 effort at the free throw line, and five rebounds. Mike Collins netted 13 for the Rams.
Tech stormed out to a 5-0 lead, opened it to 12-2 on a 3-pointer by Haynes, and eventually owned a 16-2 advantage when McKay brought the crowd to its feet with a breakaway dunk.
The Tech lead reached 20 points 2ith 6:38 left in the first half as redshirt freshman Mason Ramsey put together a three-point play for a 31-11 lead. Tech's largest margin was 26 points at 46-20, with 45 seconds left before the intermission.
Tech owned a 31-13 advantage in points off turnovers (Bluefield had 19 turnovers), and controlled the paint to the tune of 36-14. Tech also had a 24-9 edge in second chance points.
How deep was Tech's talent pool. Tech's bench players scored 53 points while the starters notched 40.
Tech now begins work toward the regular season opener, a home tilt against Piedmont International on Friday, Nov. 14. Tipoff in Eblen Center is set