By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

ATHENS, Ohio – A second-half run by the home team proved to be the difference maker Friday evening, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team (1-5) fell to the Ohio Bobcats, 68-57.

A back-and-forth affair early, the Golden Eagles jumped out to a nine-point lead behind a hot shooting stretch while the Bobcats struggled to score. Just over 10 minutes into the game, Tech held the 20-11 advantage after a Micaiah Henry free throw.

Tech fell into a shooting slump after the freebie, however, scoring just five points the remainder of the half. The Bobcats took advantage of the slump, using its own run late in the half to take a 31-25 lead into the break.

The Golden Eagles traded blows with Ohio in the second half, eventually cutting the deficit to just four points with a little over 11 minutes to play. Ohio answered one more time, however, nabbing a 10-0 run thanks to back-to-back triples from Jason Carter and Jordan Dartis.

All in all, the contest came down to the charity stripe and the turnover battle. Ohio forced four more turnovers than the Golden Eagles (15-11) while also making eight more trips to the charity stripe. The Bobcats knocked down 14 of its freebies while the Golden Eagles sunk six of its 10 attempts.

Both the assists and steals categories finished equal, while Ohio edged the Tech squad on the glass by three (40-37). The Golden Eagles actually outshot the Bobcats, 40.7 percent to 37.3 percent from the field and 43.8 percent to 38.5 percent from downtown.

Leading the Golden Eagle effort offensively, Aleksa Jugovic came alive in the second half, dropping 17 of his team-high 20 points. The junior finished 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-for-6 from downtown while also hauling in three rebounds and making three steals.

For the second time this season, senior Kajon Mack flirted with a triple-double, stuffing the stat sheets from top-to-bottom. The Tulane transfer concluded play with 14 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals while playing a season and career-high 39 minutes.

The Golden Eagles will return home for a Monday match-up in in the Hoop with Hiwassee College at 6 p.m. CT.

Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information