By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Second-half struggles, both offensively and on the defensive side of the ball, proved too costly for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to overcome Thursday night, as the Golden Eagles dropped a heartbreaker to Southeast Missouri, 68-64.
The purple and gold seemed to be rolling on all cylinders early on the night, taking a 13-point lead into halftime after hitting 7-of-11 tries from downtown and holding the Redhawks to 41.7 percent shooting.
"We'll have to go back and look at it and see," Tech head coach John Pelphrey said. "We struggled a bit in the first half with about eight missed layups, so even though we had a lead, we could have easily scored 50 points in the first half. I think in the second half, there were some more opportunities around the basket. We just didn't finish. We have to be better."
The tide turned over the final 20 minutes of the contest, as Southeast Missouri opened the half on fire and used an eventual 16-2 run to take the lead with under eight minutes to play. Tech gathered its footing the rest of the way, never allowing the home team to pull away by more than three until the final second.
In the end, the red-hot shooting of the Redhawks prevailed. SEMO fired at a 57.1 percent clip from both the field and the 3-point line while the Golden Eagles were held to 33.3 percent from the floor and 0-for-7 from deep.
"Certainly, their better half was in the second half," Pelphrey explained. "They made some timely plays and hit a couple of big shots. The foul trouble with Mars [Damaria Franklin] really hurt us in the second half. He was 5-for-6 in the first half, so he needs to play with a little more discipline and awareness so he can stay out there."
Franklin, who tied for the team lead with 14 points, was limited to just 21 minutes on the floor due to foul issues in both halves. The Chicago native posted 13 points in just 12 minutes in the opening stanza, but two quick foul calls in the second half sent him to the bench, waiting for an opportunity to contribute again.
Also tied for the team lead was Jr. Clay, who paced the Golden Eagles with six assists. The Chattanooga native passed Lonnie Boone to move up to 29th on Tech's all-time scoring charts and tied Zac Swansey for ninth all-time in program history in career steals.
Keishawn Davidson produced 13 points with a team-high six boards and five helpers while Dane Quest chipped in nine points off the bench. Shandon Goldman added eight points as well.
"I thought overall, the guys really competed, again," Pelphrey expressed. "It's hard right after the game to make a lot of great assessments, but I'm proud of the team. I thought we competed. I thought we were ready to go. We just couldn't finish it. They played better in the second half there, converting a couple of plays. We'll just have to go back and watch the film to get a better sense of things.
"The guys competed and put us in a position to win. We just have to regroup, have some safe travel and get ready for the next one on Saturday."
Tech will wrap up its two-game road swing Saturday afternoon, visiting in-state rival UT Martin for a 4:00 p.m. CT tilt in the Elam Center in Martin, Tenn.
Photo by Mike Lehman
