Clay earns second OVC Freshman of the Week of the year

Clay earns second OVC Freshman of the Week of the year

By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – After not one, but two stellar performances on the hardwood, Tennessee Tech men's basketball freshman Jr. Clay claimed his second Ohio Valley Conference Freshman of the Week honors of the season Monday afternoon.

Clay set career highs with 26 points and 39 minutes played at Morehead State, sinking nine of his 19 attempts from the floor, including three shots from downtown. He dished out five assists while hauling in three rebounds and totaling two steals.

He followed it up with an incredible showing against Eastern Kentucky, flirting with a triple-double in the Golden Eagle victory. Clay was highly efficient on his way to 22 points, draining eight of his 11 shots on the night, including three more triples.

The Tech point guard hauled in nine rebounds and dished out eight assists while making two more steals in the contest. His ninth rebound proved most important, as he outworked two Colonel forwards for an offensive board with 15 seconds to play and the Golden Eagles up by three. He went on to hit one of his two following free throws to help ice the contest away.

For the week, he averaged 24.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game while shooting over 56 percent from the field and 54 percent from 3-point range.

Tech will head back to Cookeville and enjoy the comfort of the Hooper Eblen Center for a pair of contests beginning Thursday evening, Jan. 31. Tech will play host to in-state rival Austin Peay at 6:00 p.m. in a match-up that will be televised nationally on ESPNEWS.