CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Senior Daniel Northern dominated the paint for career-highs in both points (27) and rebounds (18), and his fifth double-double of the year helped propel Tennessee Tech to a convincing 91-75 Ohio Valley Conference road victory at Southeast Missouri Saturday night in the Show Me Center.

Making 73 percent of their shots in the second half didn’t hurt the Golden Eagle effort, either.
Northern was one of three Golden Eagles to put up career-highs in scoring, with freshman Kevin Murphy adding 16 and junior Alfred Jones hitting 11. Junior Frank Davis joined those three in double figures with 15 points, hitting 5-for-7 from 3-point range.

With the win, the Golden Eagles split their four-game road stretch and now get to come home with an 11-10 overall record. Tech is 5-6 in conference play, and right in the middle of a jumbled up OVC race.

Tech is back in Eblen Center next week to open a three-game homestand, with a Thursday night (Feb. 5) contest against Eastern Kentucky. The Golden Eagles will then entertain league-leading Morehead State on Saturday (Feb. 7) and second-place Austin Peay on Monday (Feb. 9).

SEMO, which has now lost 12 of its last 13 games against Mike Sutton’s Golden Eagles, saw its 2008-09 records fall to 3-20 overall and 0-12 in the OVC.

Kenard Moore topped SEMO with 21 points and Jaycen Herring scored 17. Calvin Williams achieved a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

After Saturday’s action, Morehead State has slipped into the top spot in the standings with a 9-2 league record, while Austin Peay is second at 8-3. Idle UT Martin is third at 7-3, with Eastern Illinois (7-4) fourth. Murray State (5-4) is alone in fifth place, while Tech, Eastern Kentucky and Tennessee State are all tied for sixth place at 5-6.

The Golden Eagles wasted no time in establishing control of the contest, racing out to an 11-1 lead in the first four minutes. The Redhawks hung around, eventually slicing Tech’s lead down to two points, 21-19, with 7:49 to go in the period.

Tech’s lead was just four at halftime, 35-31, but the Golden Eagles regained a double-digit edge quickly in the second half, running off a 10-4 stretch to make it a 45-35 lead.

Following a basket by Moore, Northern sparked a 13-0 Golden Eagle run to make it a 21-point lead at 58-37, and Tech never looked back. SEMO cut it to 13, Tech built it back to 21; SEMO cut it to 14, and Tech rebuilt it to 19.

After shooting 37 percent in the first half, the Golden Eagles connected on 72.4 percent (21-for-29) in the second half. Tech had a 41-35 lead in rebounds.

Tickets are on sale at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center for the coming homestand, or by calling (931) 372-3940 during regular business hours.