By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was raining threes in the Hooper Eblen Center Sunday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team dropped Alice Lloyd, 108-82, in a matinee match-up that saw the Golden Eagle offense in rare form.
The purple and gold drained a program record-tying 18 triples on the day, lighting up the Hoop from the outset and leading the contest wire-to-wire. It matched the team's effort of 18 makes in a record-shattering 131-57 victory over Toccoa Falls College back on Jan. 11, 2000.
Tech (3-6) held the visiting Eagles (5-3) without an attempt from the free-throw line in the affair, making just three fouls overall. The Golden Eagles piled up 36 rebounds and limited Alice Lloyd to 27, all while using proficient ball movement to set up the attack.
Delivering 31 assists on 40 made field goals, the Cookeville crew dished out dimes on 77.5 percent of its made shots on the day. The purple and gold also delivered a 3.44 assist-to-turnover ratio and turned in 55 points in the first half and another 53 in the second, firing 63.5 percent from the floor, 48.6 percent from distance, and 71.4 percent from the charity stripe.
A number of Golden Eagles enjoyed banner days while stuffing the stats sheets, starting with junior guard David Early and his new career-high explosion of 29 points. Easily leading the contest, the Logan, W.Va. native drilled 6-of-11 tries from downtown while finishing 11-for-17 from the field.
Rookie forward Rylee Samons produced a perfect effort off the bench, smashing his previous season-best showing with a whopping 20 points. The Pikeville, Ky. native didn't miss a single shot in the tilt, ending the day 6-for-6 from the field, 5-for-5 from 3-point range, and 3-for-3 from the line, all while tallying a pair of assists.
A pair of Golden Eagles flirted heavily with producing the team's first triple-double since 1995, starting with sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe. The Little Rock transfer inked his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds, just missing out on history behind a career-high eight assists. He also rejected three Alice Lloyd shots to lead the team.
Senior guard Jayvis Harvey piled up a career-best seven helpers in the first half alone, ending the night with five points, nine boards, and the seven assists. Continuing the trend of moving the ball, sophomore guard Josiah Davis also racked up seven dimes to go along with 13 points and five rebounds.
Joining the double-digit scoring club was sophomore center David Craig. The big man accounted for 12 points and five rebounds on 6-for-7 shooting with four dunks. Junior guard Bogdan Zimonjic tacked on eight points and three assists off the bench.
Making their season debuts after missing the first eight games due to injury were senior guard Erik Oliver and junior guard DeSean Woods. Oliver scored three points in limited time in his first action with the purple and gold since suffering a lower-body injury late last season.
Woods made his Golden Eagle debut, scoring three points in seven minutes off the bench. Making his collegiate debut on the night was local Livingston native and former Tech manager Nick Choate.
Next on the docket for the Tech squad is an in-state match-up at ETSU next Sunday. Tip in Johnson City is set for 3:00 p.m. CT at Freedom Hall Civic Center.
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
