By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Tennessee Tech had not one, but two tries at a game-tying 3-pointer to send Saturday's affair into a second overtime session, but neither one slipped through the net, closing out the regular season with a heartbreaking 72-69 overtime loss to Little Rock.
With Tennessee State's win over UT Martin and the Trojans' victory against the Golden Eagles, Little Rock takes the No. 2 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament next week in Evansville. The Skyhawks claim the No. 3 seed, while Eastern Illinois will have the final bye in the postseason event.
Morehead State defeated Lindenwood, securing the No. 5-spot, while the Golden Eagles will enter the field sixth. Western Illinois is seventh, while Southeast Missouri can claim the final spot if the Redhawks defeat regular-season champion Southern Indiana tonight – otherwise, the No. 8-seed will go to Tennessee State.
Tech will play Western Illinois on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Ford Center with the winner advancing to take on UT Martin on Thursday. The winner of that game will play Little Rock in the semifinals on Friday.
After Little Rock went up by five in the overtime session with 2:25 remaining, the Golden Eagles kept hustling, cutting the deficit back down to one as Reagan Hurst hit a layup with 89 seconds remaining.
With half a minute remaining, Jayla Brooks sank a jumper to make it a 3-point game. Peyton Carter tried to pass the ball, but Jordan Holman deflected the pass and broke away with the ball, leading to a collision in front of the Little Rock bench. With a foul called, Holman missed both free throws to keep Tech's hopes alive.
As the Golden Eagles got the ball back on their side of the court, the pass went over midcourt and as Maaliya Owens touched the ball, the referees whistled for the over-and-back violation. An offensive call was called against Little Rock as Brooks collided with Carter.
With the final seconds ticking away, Reghan Grimes and Owens both got tries a last-ditch 3-pointers, but neither one fell through, leading to celebration by the Little Rock players as the clock hit zero.
It was a tough, heartbreaking finish to what had been a battle from wire-to-wire. The five-point lead in the extra session was the largest lead of the game. Tech's largest lead came at the 6:46 mark in the fourth quarter as the Golden Eagles had a four-point advantage and their last lead came with 5:49 remaining in the contest.
Anna Walker tied the game at 61-all with just over two minutes remaining with a 3-pointer. Holman answered with a layup at 1:27, then Grimes tied the game on a second-chance layup. Holman tried to give Little Rock the lead with 28 seconds left in regulation, but the jumper was no good.
On the other end of the court, Grimes and Faith Lee got tangled up, leading to a foul on Lee with 7.6 seconds left. On the inbounds pass from Peyton Carter, Grimes drew another foul from Lee. Grimes got one more shot at the basket as time expired, but the ball rolled around the rim and off, sending the game to overtime.
Reagan Hurst led the Golden Eagles (15-14, 10-8 OVC) with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, including five 3-pointers. Owens finished the game with 14 points, while Grimes had 11. Tech finished the game shooting 40.7 percent (24-for-59) with a 10-for-27 effort (37.0 percent) from long-range. The free-throw differential was dramatic as Tech was 11-for-14 at the line for 78.6 percent off 17 fouls, while Little Rock was 21-for-30 (70 percent) on 21 Golden Eagle whistles, but not unexpected with a paint-heavy offense as the Trojans employ.
Lee led Little Rock (12-17, 11-7 OVC) with 20 points, while Brooks had 17, Holman and Lamariyee Williams 14 each.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
