By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A resurgent comeback bid fell just short for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles battled back from a 20-point second-half deficit to within four points before ultimately falling to Sam Houston State, 78-71.
Picked to win the Southland Conference over perennial favorite and NCAA Cinderella, Stephen F. Austin, the Bearkats used a suffocating defense and lights-out shooting touch to leap out to a 24-3 advantage over the opening 10 minutes of the contest. In that span, Sam Houston State knocked down 4-of-5 attempts from downtown while forcing 10 Tech turnovers.
"I'm proud of how we fought," head coach Steve Payne said, "but I was really disappointed with our mental approach to the game in the first half and attention to detail in catching and passing the basketball. We knew they were a very good, defensive-pressure oriented team. We knew they would be physical and they didn't show anything we weren't prepared for. We just didn't do a good job."
From that point on, the Golden Eagles made the proper adjustments and started hitting some shots, trimming the lead down to a 14-point, halftime deficit.
Tech came out of the break on fire, scoring seven straight points to chop the Bearkat lead in half in the first two minutes of play, with junior Markell Henderson's layup after a Sam Houston State timeout seemingly igniting the crowd noise to a new level. The noise erupted 10 seconds later as the guard rejected a shot by Aurimas Majuaskas, giving Tech a chance to pull within five.
The visitors hauled in a miss on the other end and answered the Golden Eagle run in kind, scoring 13 straight points to run the lead back up to 20 points with just over 12 minutes to play. Once again, Tech dug in deep, trading blows and taking advantage of some opportunities to cut the lead to six over the next four minutes.
Once again, however, Sam Houston State answered back, taking an 11-point advantage with six-and-a-half minutes to go on a layup from Chris Galbreath Jr.
Golden Eagle junior Aleksa Jugovic dropped a triple to put a dent in the Bearkat armor, but Dakarai Henderson answered with his own trey to put the lead back into double digits.
Jugovic drained another 3-point attempt to start another Tech run with just over five to play, getting a follow up jumper from fellow junior Mason Ramsey. Tulane transfer Kajon Mack battle hard for a defensive rebound on the other end of the floor, drawing a foul and crashing hard to the deck.
He walked off some pain to calmly sink two free throws to bring the Golden Eagles within four points with just over four minutes left of action. It would mark the closest Tech could get, however, as the Bearkats made free throws down the stretch and a couple of sure-looking buckets rattled out for the Golden Eagles late.
"I'm really proud of how they fought," Payne explained. "I thought they competed. We came back on numerous occasions and put the game into possessions where I thought 'if we make this one, we're going to win the game,' and didn't get them. That's one of the keys to being really good at home and having a good year."
At the end of it all, Tech out-rebounded its fourth straight opponent to open the year, hauling in 41 to Sam Houston State's 36 boards, including a 16-8 advantage on the offensive glass. The turnover battle stayed equal, but the Tech offense struggled to shoot the ball for the third time this season, finishing at 35.5 percent from the field and 23.1 percent from down town.
Jugovic led Tech with 23 points on a 7-for-11 night, including sinking four of his eight attempts from beyond the arc. He also drained all five free throw attempts while collecting four rebounds and two steals.
Ramsey boasted a strong showing, scoring 14 points and grabbing five boards while Mack also posted double digits with 12 points. Mack also recorded four rebounds, four assists, and four steals.
Ja'Cardo Hawkins collected a season-high 10 rebounds and dropped in seven points while rejecting four shots. Fellow junior college transfer Stephaun Adams posted a season-best 10 points while dishing out six assists.
The Golden Eagles will now hit the road for a Thanksgiving road stretch that sees the team in Baton Rouge, La. Tuesday evening for a 7 p.m. CT match-up at Southern University. Tech will then head north for a 6 p.m. tilt at Mid-American Conference opponent Ohio Friday evening.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
