By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Struggles at the charity stripe and with turnovers were too much for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to overcome Thursday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to UT Southern in exhibition action in the Hooper Eblen Center, 74-70, as part of Purple Palooza.
The visitors from Pulaski, Tenn. jumped out of the gates on fire, connecting on five of their first seven tries from distance to take the lead and never fall behind. That hot start continued throughout the first half, ballooning its lead to 12 with under four minutes to play.
UT Southern, who defeated Samford during last year's regular season, finished 6-for-12 from downtown in the opening half while holding the purple and gold to just 34.8 percent efficiency from the floor and 4-of-14 from the 3-point range.
Trailing by 12 at the 18:00-minute mark of the second stanza, the Golden Eagles fought on the defensive end of the floor and started to gain momentum on offense, trimming the deficit slowly. Tech eventually tied the tilt with 9:36 to play in the ball game, but it would be the closest the Cookeville crew would come to victory.
Over the final 20 minutes, the Golden Eagles made eight turnovers and connected on just four of their 11 tries at the free-throw line. With 12 seconds to play, senior Jayvis Harvey hit a layup to cut the Firehawk lead to just two, but the visitors sunk both of their free throw attempts to seal the deal.
Harvey tied for the team lead with 16 points on the night, matching the effort of newcomer Josiah Davis. The sophomore transfer from West Virginia finished 6-for-9 from the floor, adding four rebounds, two assists, and two steals off the bench.
Celina native Grant Strong tallied 14 points while shooting 5-for-8 from the field and 3-for-5 from beyond the arc. Senior Diante Wood led the purple and gold with seven rebounds while tacking on seven points.
The Golden Eagles will officially kick off the new slate with its season opener at Tennessee on Monday, Nov. 6. Tech will make its home debut Tuesday, Nov. 16 with a 6:00 p.m. CT affair against in-state rival Lipscomb.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech men's basketball are now on sale. To order, call 931-372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, or visit TTUSports.com.
Photo by Jim Dillon
