By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was defensive standoff from baseline to baseline Wednesday night, and Tennessee Tech simply couldn't buy a basket in the second half, but somehow the Golden Eagles (6-2) won their fifth in a row with a heart-stopping, 63-61 non-conference victory over East Tennessee State (3-4) in Eblen Center.
Senior Ryan Martin topped the effort with 18 points and 14 rebounds, going 9-for-11 at the free throw line where the Golden Eagles found a way to win the game. Tech was 25-for-28 at the line in the second half and 31-for-38 for the game.
Torrance Rowe added 11 points and four assists, while Anthony Morse chipped in with six points, seven rebounds and four of Tech's nine blocked shots.
The Golden Eagles missed their first 13 shots in the second half and fell behind by 15 points, 50-35, with 11:01 remaining as ETSU went on a 22-2 run. The Bucs hit six consecutive shots and were 10-for-14 while sneaking ahead.
That should have doomed the Golden Eagles, but Tech attacked the glass and earned a week's worth of trips to the free throw line while picking up its defensive intensity.
The Golden Eagles were just 3-for-24 from the field in the second half, but one of those was a critical 3-pointer by Aleksa Jugovic with 3:39 remaining that tied the game at 59-59.
ETSU tied things at 61-all with 2:27 to play on a jumper by T.J. Cromer, and the defenses took over for the next minute-plus. Tech missed four shots and the Bucs missed a layup, any of which would have forged a late lead. After ETSU missed two free throws with 1:01 to play, Martin snapped down the rebound, then made one free throw with 44 seconds left for a 62-61 lead.
The Golden Eagle defense forced another missed shot and Martin grabbed his 14th rebound of the night, setting the stage for Torrance Rowe to add one free throw for a 63-61 lead.
The Bucs had the final chance to tie or win it, but Cromer missed a jumper with four seconds left and Ge'Lawn Guyn's 3-point try at the buzzer hit the front of the rim.
ETSU, which has lost three straight since downing Georgia Tech, was led by Cromer with 15 points and three assists, while 7-footer Peter Jurkin added 10 points and seven rebounds before drawing his fifth foul. He was one of three ETSU players to draw five fouls, while Tech lost center Anthony Morse to fouls. Guyn finished with nine points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Tech finished shooting 15-for-49 from the field for 28.6 percent, and was 4-for-20 fro 3-point range for 20 percent. Tech owned a 51-34 margin in rebounds, and overcame 20 turnovers.
ETSU shot 36.6 percent (26-for-71) from the field and 25 percent (4-for-16) outside the arc. The Bucs were 5-for-9 at the free throw line, had 11 turnovers and 11 steals.
After five straight at home, the Golden Eagles hit the road for the next three games. The road swing gets underway Saturday evening with a 4 p.m. contest in Nashville at Lipscomb, in a contest that will be aired nationally on ESPN3.
GOLDEN NUGGETS: Overcoming a 15-point deficit in the final 11 minutes marked Tech's fifth-largest comeback since 2001-02...the double-double by Ryan Martin was the second of his career...Tech is 6-0 at home for the second time in three years...the win was Tech's 15th straight home non-conference win...Anthony Morse tied his season-high with four blocked shots.
