Road team has been dominant in last two meetings
Game Notes (PDF)
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The last time the Tennessee Tech men's
basketball team visited Jacksonville State the two teams were
playing for a trip to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament in last
year's regular season finale. Saturday, the Golden Eagles and
Gamecocks will be looking for a 1-0 start in OVC play as Tech
visits JSU at 4:30 p.m. in Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Jacksonville State is 2-4 on the year, and enters the contest on a
three-game losing streak. The Golden Eagles are 3-5 this year, and
are coming off a heartbreaking 91-90 double-overtime to Evansville.
Tech is 3-3 on the road this season with victories over Central
Arkansas, Lipscomb and Southern Utah. All three of Tech's road
losses have come to NCAA tournament teams from a season ago,
including two sweet-16 participants in Memphis and Kansas.
Jacksonville State comes to the game with a balanced scoring
attack. Five different Gamecocks are averaging 9.5 points per game
or more. Trenton Marshall leads the way with 17.8 points to go
along with 4.0 rebounds per game. Jay-R Strowbridge is next with
14.5 ppg, followed by Nick Murphy (12.0), Stephen Hall (10.2) and
Jeremy Bynum (9.5). JSU is 2-4 on the year and has lost its last
three games.
The Golden Eagles are led by sophomore Kevin Murphy, who is
averaging 14.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Alfred Jones is
Tech's leading rebounder, collecting 5.5 boards per game. Frank
Davis is shooting 47.5 percent from downtown, and is averaging 13.0
points per game for the Golden Eagles. Freshman Jud Dillard has
continued to grow in his young career, and is coming off a
15-point, seven-rebound performance against Evansville. His average
is up to 9.0 points per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds.
Tech is 9-7 against JSU all-time, and beat the Gamecocks 91-74 to
close the regular season and clinch a bid to the OVC tournament a
year ago. The teams split the season series a year ago, with each
team picking up a blowout road win.
The game will be broadcast live on WHUB AM 1400 with Roger Ealey on
the play-by-play. Fans can also listen to the game for free
worldwide through teamline by calling 1-800-846-4700 (team code
0654) or visiting www.teamline.cc.
The Golden Eagles will return home for their final three games of
December when they face non-conference opponents Ball State (Dec.
12), Bryan College (Dec. 19) and Union (Dec. 30). Tech will begin
its full OVC schedule in January with visits to Southeast Missouri
(Jan. 2) and Eastern Illinois (Jan. 4).
Single-game and season tickets are available through the Tennessee
Tech athletics ticket office. To purchase tickets call 372-3940 or
visit TTUsports.com
