By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It seemed only fitting that Thursday's Ohio Valley Conference opener was a back-and-forth battle, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell to Little Rock, 81-75, while kicking off league action in the Hooper Eblen Center.
A true conference contest in all the ways that matter, neither side earned a double-digit advantage throughout the night in a match-up that featured a whopping 19 lead changes and eight ties. In the end, Tech's inconsistencies at the charity stripe and struggles with ball control were too much to overcome.
The Trojans (7-7, 1-0) forced 16 turnovers by the purple and gold during the evening, turning those miscues into 19 points. The Golden Eagles (5-9, 0-1) worked at offsetting some of those mistakes by earning 27 trips to the free-throw line, including an impressive five on one play alone.
Tech sunk all five of its attempts following a foul on a 3-point attempt by senior guard Jayvis Harvey and a subsequent technical foul called on Little Rock. Initially trailing by five before the play, junior guard David Early converted a pair before Harvey sunk his trio to help square the affair.
Unfortunately for the purple and gold, that success at the line did not translate to the entire game, finishing 17-for-27 on the night. The Golden Eagles turned in most of its damage in the paint, accounting for 44 of their 75 points under the basket.
Behind a buzzer-beating triple by sophomore guard and Little Rock transfer Daniel Egbuniwe, Tech took a 37-36 edge into the locker room at the break. Both sides took turns leading in the second half, but the Trojans took control for good with 5:31 to play behind a pair of free throws from Jamir Chaplin, who delivered a game-high 25 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the stripe.
Little Rock pushed that advantage to seven with three and a half minutes on the clock, but the Golden Eagles fought to the bitter end, closing the gap to two points with just under 90 seconds to go. The Trojans ended the comeback bid in the end, scoring clutch buckets in the paint on three of their final four possessions and making a pair of freebies on the other.
Despite the loss, sophomore guard Josiah Davis delivered a spectacular showing, dropping a career-high 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting. He added four rebounds and three assists to the mix as well. Early chipped in 15 points and four boards while Harvey ended the night with 13 points, five rebounds, and an 8-for-11 showing at the line.
Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. tacked on 12 points and eight rebounds, tying with senior guard Diante Wood for the team lead on the glass. Wood produced 11 points, eight boards, and three dimes. Egbuniwe contributed four points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals in just under 20 minutes of action while battling foul trouble against his former squad.
The Golden Eagles return to the Hoop Saturday afternoon, hosting in-state and OVC rival UT Martin in a 3:00 p.m. CT tilt.
Photo by Jim Dillon
