By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team gets back to action Saturday afternoon, returning to the Eblen Center for a 1:00 p.m. CT tilt with longtime Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State.
The contest marks Tech's first since last Saturday at Murray State after seeing its Thursday game with Eastern Kentucky postponed due to the Colonels' COVID-19 protocols. That contest will now take place on Monday, Feb. 15 at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday's doubleheader features a slight change in order of the day's schedule, with the Tech men tipping first at 1:00 p.m. The women will follow at 4:00 p.m., assisting with travel for Morehead State, which lost its Thursday contest at Jacksonville State due to COVID protocols.
Tennessee Tech (2-15, 2-8) vs. Morehead State (12-6, 9-2)
Saturday, Jan. 30, 2021
1:00 p.m. CT
Eblen Center – Cookeville, Tenn.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: ESPN+ (Dylan Vazzano & Michael Cooper)
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
Saturday marks the 155th meeting all-time between Tech and Morehead State, with the Eagles owning an 88-67 lead in the series.
In Cookeville, the Golden Eagles hold a 43-23 advantage, including a win in last year's match-up in the Eblen Center.
The series represents the second-longest in program history and one of six with 100 or more contests between the two teams. Tech's rivalry with Murray State ranks as the only series with more games contested (185).
Morehead State has won seven of the past 10 tilts between the two programs, but the Golden Eagles have forced a season-series split in three of the past four seasons.
In last season's first tilt, Morehead State claimed victory in its home gym, defeating the purple and gold, 83-72.
Jr. Clay (pictured below) paced the Tech offense in the loss with 17 points on 3-for-5 shooting from deep. He added three assists a career-high two blocks. Keishawn Davidson added 15 points to the mix, also draining three triples.
Tech got revenge in the rematch in Cookeville, taking down the Eagles in the Eblen Center, 71-59.
Jr. Clay again was lead man for the Tech offense, scoring 18 points with five assists. Davidson contributed 12 points and six dimes while Tujautae Williams chipped in 12 points as well.
Earlier this season, the two sides squared off in Morehead, with the Eagles taking the first match-up 57-54.
Clay led all scorers on the night, dropping 20 points off the bench on 7-for-14 shooting.
Damaria Franklin scored 15 points with a season-high nine rebounds while Keishawn Davidson (below) chipped in 10 points.
Trailing by one with time winding down, Clay was called for an offensive charge with two seconds left while trying to score. Morehead hit a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game and hang on.
QUICK HITTERS
Sluggish offense proved the difference-maker in Tech's loss at Murray State, as the Golden Eagles were held to 37.5 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range in the 72-63 defeat.
Shandon Goldman led Tech against the Racers, scoring 17 points with four made triples.
Jr. Clay added 15 points and a career-high-tying nine rebounds. Keishawn Davidson chipped in 12 points and four assists.
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