Golden Eagles fall to hot-handed Trojans in road tilt

Golden Eagles fall to hot-handed Trojans in road tilt

By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

TROY, Ala. – Turnovers and offensive efficiency proved to be the difference makers in Saturday's contest between the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team and Troy, as the Trojans, playing in front of their home crowd at Trojan arena, defeated the Golden Eagles 87-64.

The purple and gold got off to a very quick start, hitting a pair of triples right out of the gate for a 6-0 lead. Troy answered with a 15-0 run and never looked back, shooting 57.6 percent for the contest while forcing 19 Tech turnovers.

The Trojans fired at a 50 percent clip from the floor in the opening stanza, holding Tech to 44 percent shooting while taking a 13-point lead into the break. The Golden Eagles closed the gap to as close as eight points with 14:40 to play, but a remarkably efficient half for Troy allowed the home squad to pull away down the stretch.

Finishing 20-of-31 in the half, Troy shot 64.5 percent from the field to expand its lead to the final tally. The Trojans scored 24 points off Tech turnovers and 29 fast-break points, compared to seven and 11 for the Golden Eagles, respectively.

Three members of the Golden Eagles finished the contest in double figures, led by newcomers Ty Perry and Brett Thompson. The guards both tallied 13 points, with Perry finishing 5-for-10 from the field and Thompson converting 4-of-10 tries from the floor and 4-of-4 attempts at the charity stripe.

Junior guard Jayvis Harvey contributed 12 points, as well as team-highs of seven rebounds and two steals. Diante Wood made the most of his opportunities, finishing 4-for-4 from the floor on his way to eight points while Jaylen Sebree chipped in seven points and five rebounds.

The Golden Eagles wrap up their three-game road swing with their final test away from the Hooper Eblen Center in non-conference play, making the trip down I-40 for an in-state affair with Lipscomb. The two rivals will square off on Wednesday in Nashville in a 7:00 p.m. CT tilt.

File photo by John Fetch