By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team concludes its brief, two-game road stretch Saturday evening, making the trip to Murray, Ky. for a clash with long-time Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State.
Tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT at the CFSB Center and will follow the 4:30 p.m. contest between the Golden Eagle and Racer women's teams.
Tennessee Tech (2-14, 2-7) at Murray State (5-7, 2-5)
Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021
7:30 p.m. CT
CFSB Center – Murray, Ky.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: ESPN+ (Neal Bradley & Kenny Roth)
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
Saturday marks the 185th meeting all-time between Tech and Murray State, with the Racers owning a 134-50 lead in the series.
This match-up marks the longest rivalry for the Golden Eagles both in terms of match-ups and number of years playing a contest. The two sides kicked off the rivalry in 1929-30 and have met at least once in all but three seasons during that stretch.
The Racers hold a 75-9 series advantage over the Golden Eagles when playing in Murray.
Murray State has won each of the past five match-ups between the two programs. Tech's last victory against the Racers was a 71-67 decision in Cookeville on Jan. 7, 2017.
Tech's most recent victory in Murray came one contest earlier, a 71-65 win in the CFSB Center.
In last year's match-up, played in Cookeville, the Golden Eagles fell to the Racers, 81-69, in a contest much closer than the final score. Tech trailed by just one at the half, but Murray State pulled away late.
Jr. Clay led all scorers in the contest with 18 points while dishing out four assists and totaling three steals.
Keishawn Davidson joined him in double figures with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Also in double digits was Darius Allen, who accounted for 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
With most categories close or equal, the contest came down the turnover margin. Tech had 16 turnovers to just nine for the Racers.
QUICK HITTERS
Trailing 27-5 early at Austin Peay, the Golden Eagles erased a 22-point deficit and eventually took a one-point lead late in the game. Although the Govs came out on top, it marked the largest deficit overcome by a Tech team in the last 15 years.
In the contest, Jr. Clay erupted for a career-high 29 points on 8-of-16 shooting and a 9-for-12 showing at the charity stripe to lead all scorers. He also had four triples.
Damaria Franklin added 22 points on a highly efficient 9-for-13 from the floor. He connected on 3-of-6 from downtown as well.
At EKU, the Golden Eagles drilled 15 3-pointers in the contest, tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history.
Tennessee Tech earned its first win of the 2020-21 campaign by defeating SEMO 72-63 on Dec. 30, 2020, holding off a second-half surge by the Redhawks.
The win snapped an 11-game skid for the Golden Eagles, the longest in program history, after going through arguably the toughest non-conference slate in the history of the team.
A year after facing nine opponents who had won 20 games the previous season, Tech loaded up on a tough gauntlet yet again for the 2020-21 campaign.
Six of Tech's seven non-conference opponents won at least 19 games a season ago, with No. 10-ranked Tennessee as the only team with less (17).
Six of Tech's seven non-conference games came on the road, with the match-up against in-state rival Chattanooga the lone tilt in the Eblen Center.
At the conclusion of its final non-conference tilt at Western Kentucky, Tech's seven foes not in the OVC had combined for a 44-10 mark in 2020-21.
OVC opponents Austin Peay, Belmont and Murray State each compiled 21 or more wins a season ago and will square off with Tech twice this season, just adding to the incredibly challenging slate in 2020-21.
Through six games, Tech already has more double-doubles (three) as it did all of last season (two).
Tech was predicted to finish 9th overall in the 2020-21 OVC race in voting by the league's head coaches and SIDs. The Golden Eagles were selected to finish 8th in the OVC media poll.
Last season, Jr. Clay and Keishawn Davidson became the first pair of Tech teammates to each total at least 100 assists in the same season since 2001-02. That year, Cameron Crisp dished out 122 dimes while DeAntoine Beasley doled out 104 assists.
With an 83-70 win over Martin Methodist on November 9, 2019, Tech head coach John Pelphrey earned his first victory as the leader of the Golden Eagle program.
Pelphrey, who was named the 13th head coach in Golden Eagle history in April, also earned career win No. 150 on the night, the same day the Tech football team earned its 150th victory in Tucker Stadium on the day they celebrated the 150th anniversary of college football.
Both Davidson and Sylla were honored by the OVC on Nov. 11, picking up two of the league's first three weekly honors of the 2019-20 campaign. Davidson was named OVC Freshman of the Week while Sylla was recognized as the OVC Newcomer of the Week.
It marked the first time since 2015-16 that Tech claimed two of the OVC's three weekly accolades. The last time it occurred was Feb. 1, 2016 when Torrance Rowe won OVC Player of the Week and both Ryan Martin and Hakeem Rogers shared OVC Newcomer of the Week honors.
TOP IN THEIR STATES
Three of Tech's players for the 2020-21 season boast a particularly impressive feat as part of their respective resumes, all finishing as finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award for their state during their high school careers.
Junior guard Jr. Clay was a two-time finalist at the TSSAA Division II Class AA level while at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, earning the honor in 2017 and again in 2018.
Transfer sophomore guard CJ Gettelfinger was one of three finalists at the TSSAA Division II Class A level in 2018 while competing for Grace Christian Academy in Knoxville.
Freshman forward Kenny White Jr. was named a finalist for Kentucky's Mr. Basketball Award in 2020 while starring for Madisonville-North Hopkins High School in Madisonville, Ky.
Head coach John Pelphrey, a University of Kentucky Hall of Famer, was a Mr. Basketball Award winner during his high school days, claiming the honor for Paintsville High School in 1987.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2020-21 Tech roster features 15 players (13 scholarship student-athletes) representing six states and three countries.
Six Golden Eagle players hail from the state Tennessee, while Arkansas and Illinois each boast two Tech players. Alabama, California and Kentucky are represented by one Tech player each.
Two international players round out the roster, including one Golden Eagle from Canada and another from Mali.
Tech has one graduate student, one senior, five juniors, four sophomores and four true freshmen.
Nine Golden Eagles stand 6-foot-5 or taller while the other six measure in at 6-foot-4 or shorter.
Nine members are new to the Tech squad for 2020-21, including Damaria Franklin, CJ Gettelfinger, Shandon Goldman, Austin Harvell, Marcus Hopkins, Taelon Peter, Jalen Stayton, Jamaal Thompson and Kenny White Jr.
Photo by Thomas Corhern, TTU Athletics
