COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- Both Tennessee Tech and East Tennessee State will look for their first victory of the 2010 season as they go head to head in Johnson City Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.

The Golden Eagles are coming off of a hard-fought road loss to the North Carolina State Wolfpack last Friday evening. After pacing the ‘Pack through the first half of the game and holding them to just a three point, 37-34 lead at the half, Tech faltered in the second half, battling foul trouble and turnovers on the way to a loss in their 2010-11 season opener.

Despite a flat second half, the Golden Eagles were able to hold N.C. State to a 13-point margin, as the Wolfpack claimed the 82-69 victory.

ETSU suffered their first loss of the season as well at the hands of the Kentucky Wildcats last Friday. The Bucs logged 35 points shooting .500 in the opening half of the game, but couldn’t stand up against Kentucky’s 12 three-pointers and 51 total rebounds on the day.

On the lifetime series, East Tennessee holds a narrow 33-31 lead over Tech. The last time the pair met in the 2007-2008 season, the Bucs delivered an 88-80 loss to TTU. Not one Golden Eagle on this year’s squad was a playing for Tech that season, making this the first time for all active players to face ETSU.

“East Tennessee is a tough competitor out of the Atlantic Sun Conference,” said head coach Mike Sutton. “They started their season off against a dominant team in Kentucky, and are looking to prepare for their own challenging conference schedule.

“We’re going to have to capitalize on what we learned in North Carolina, especially when we go up against teams like East Tennessee – again, we don’t have a lot of room to make mistakes and miss shots,” Sutton continued.

Fans can follow the action online via Live Stats at the link below, or can listen to the Golden Eagle Sports Network with Roger Ealey calling the action for broadcasts in the mid-state region. The game can also be heard on Free Teamline on the internet or telephone.

Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles vs. East Tennessee State Buccaneers