By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Offensive struggles and turnovers proved too much for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to overcome Wednesday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to a red-hot Evansville squad at the Ford Center, 82-51.

The Golden Eagles (5-8) got off to a fast start, sinking each of their first three attempts from the floor, but the script flipped quickly as shooting woes and turnovers plagued the offense the remainder of the opening stanza. The Purple Aces (10-2) took their first lead behind a 10-0 run and went on to post a double-figure advantage with a 17-2 run over nearly seven minutes of action.

Tech was held to just 1-for-11 shooting in that span, but cut the deficit to single digits with just under eight minutes to play in the half. Evansville outscored the purple and gold 20-10 the rest of the way, using the Cookeville crew's 12 first-half turnovers to secure eight more attempts from the floor.

The Aces upped the ante on offense in the second half, opening the period on a 22-3 run and 8-for-11 from the field. On the other side of the court, the Golden Eagles continued to struggle to find a rhythm, starting 1-for-10.

Evansville rode its hot start the remainder of the contest, shooting better than 70 percent up until the final four minutes of the second half alone. Tech finished at 32.1 percent for the night, including a 26.7 percent mark over the final 20 minutes.

Junior guard David Early led the purple and gold with 13 points in the contest, making all four of his tries from the free-throw line. Senior guard Jayvis Harvey added 12 points to the mix before exiting the ball game early in the second half with a lower-body injury.

Harvey ended the evening 3-for-6 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, chipping in four rebounds and a pair of dimes to the effort. Sophomore center David Craig paced the Golden Eagles with five rebounds. Senior guard Diante Wood and junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. each contributed six points on 3-for-7 shooting.

Following a brief break for the holidays, the Golden Eagles will return to Cookeville and the comfort of the Hooper Eblen Center to open Ohio Valley Conference action. Tech will open league play Thursday, Dec. 28 with a 7:30 p.m. CT tilt against Little Rock as part of a doubleheader with the women's squad.

Photo by Bob Pristash, Evansville Athletics