By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information Coordinator
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Back in the Eblen Center after a brief one-game trip on the road, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team will look to turn around its Ohio Valley Conference season Thursday evening, playing host to East Division rival Morehead State.
The Golden Eagles (9-10, 1-5) and Eagles (7-13, 2-3) will tip off at 6 p.m. CST, representing the 143rd match-up in the all-time series. Tech will look to kickstart the final portion of its OVC schedule, 10 meetings with Eastern Division teams, with a victory over Morehead State.
The contest marks the fifth time in six games that the Golden Eagles will play in front of a home crowd, looking to keep its 7-2 mark in the Eblen Center trending upward.
Tech will host its annual "Academic Excellence" Night on Thursday as well with all area elementary Honor Students invited to attend the game for free as guests of the Golden Eagles. All students are invited to participate in a pregame event on the court, forming a tunnel that the Golden Eagles will run through just prior to the contest. At halftime, all of Tennessee Tech's student-athletes who made the Fall semester Honor Roll will be introduced.
Tennessee Tech (9-10, 1-5) vs. Morehead State (7-13, 2-3)
Thursday, Jan. 22, 2015
6:00 p.m. CST
Eblen Center (9,250) – Cookeville, Tenn.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: Golden Eagle Sports Network on the OVC Digital Network (Dylan Vazzano)
SETTING THE STAGE
Morehead State enters the contest at 7-13 on the year, having struggled with consistency this season with back-to-back victories just once this season.
The Eagles are led by guards Angelo Warner and Brent Arrington, who average 12.8 and 10.5 points per game, respectively. Warner also averages 3.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per contest while shooting 48.8 percent from the field and leading the team in 3-point shooting at 39.7 percent. Arrington adds 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Billy Reader leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 5.1 boards per game while averaging eight points and one block.
Coming into the match-up, Morehead State ranks as the second-best rebounding team in the league, ranking second in rebounding offense, rebounding defense, rebounding margin and total rebounds. Tech ranks first, fifth, first and first in those same categories.
The Golden Eagles are led on the glass and in the scorebook by junior big man Charles Jackson. The center averages a team high 13.6 points and 9.4 rebounds while also leading the team with 24 blocks, 18 steals and a 57.4 field goal percentage. Jackson ranks second in the nation with 13 double-doubles as well.
Fellow post player Dwan Caldwell ranks next for Tech despite playing through nagging injuries for most of the conference season, averaging 11.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He also shoots an impressive 74.6 percent from the charity stripe.
Torrance Rowe adds 10.6 points per game while ranking second in the lead in free throw shooting at 83.7 percent. Josiah Moore enters the game after pulling down a career-high 14 rebounds against Southeast Missouri. He is averaging 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds while leading the Golden Eagles in 3-point shooting at 40.7 percent.
Photo by Jim Dillon