By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A dominant defensive display proved more than enough for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to exact a little revenge against in-state and Ohio Valley Conference rival Tennessee State Tuesday evening, used a massive second-half run to roll to a 70-50 victory in the Hooper Eblen Center.
The contest's opening half was mostly a back-and-forth affair, with the visiting Tigers (15-11, 8-5) taking a brief, eight-point lead that didn't last long behind a tenacious Tech defense. The Golden Eagles (9-17, 4-9) trimmed the deficit to just a single bucket, heading into the locker room down 29-27.
Coming out of the break, the Cookeville crew looked like a team possessed, locking down on defense so tightly, that the Tigers produced just four points over the opening nine minutes of the second period. Over that span, the Golden Eagles delivered a 23-3 run to turn a four-point hole into a 15-point lead.
Tech stretched the advantage out to as much as 24 with two minutes to play, conceding a pair of buckets down the stretch to run down the remainder of the clock and avenge a 30-point loss in Nashville in January with a 20-point victory on its home floor.
The TSU offense just could not get going in the second half, as the Golden Eagles clamped down and forced 10 turnovers by their rivals from Nashville. The purple and gold also held the Tigers to a pedestrian 23.8 percent clip from the floor over the opening 16 minutes of the second stanza.
Tennessee State wrapped things up 4-for-6 in the final four minutes to finish at 33.3 percent for the half, but it was much too little too late. The Golden Eagles fired at 50 percent from the field over the game's final 20 minutes, dropping 43 points while holding TSU to just 21 and 0-for-9 from distance.
Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. was a steady force for the purple and gold in the first half, leading the way with 11 points to keep his team in the mix. Despite seeing the floor for just four minutes in the second stanza due to foul trouble, the Bryan, Texas native tacked on eight more points, tying for the team lead with 19 for the night while hauling in five rebounds.
Leading the Golden Eagles in scoring and rebounding for the second straight game, sophomore guard Josiah Davis turned in a trio of highlight-reel dunks and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe while using his high-energy motor to drive the offense. The Kitchener, Ontario native ended the evening with 19 points, eight boards, and three assists.
Joining the double-digit scoring club on the night was senior guard Diante Wood, chipping in 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe turned in eight points and three dimes while senior guard Jayvis Harvey and freshman guard Kyle Layton recorded seven points and four assists each.
The purple and gold will look to win its third consecutive OVC contest for the first time this season Thursday evening, playing host to new league foe Western Illinois in a 7:30 p.m. CT affair in the Hoop.
Photo by Jim Dillon
