By Rob Schabert, Assistant A.D. for Sports
Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech went to work in earnest
in the second half Monday night, controlling the boards, scrambling
the floor with baseline-to-baseline defense, and using balanced
scoring to roll to an 81-62 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in
Eblen Center.
Up three at halftime, Tech (3-1) shot 60 percent in the second
period and limited the visiting Lions (0-4) to 38.5 percent
accuracy. Tech had a 22-7 rebound advantage while posting a 49-33
scoring difference in the second half. Tech shot a blistering 53.6
percent (30-for-56) for the game.
Five players scored in double figures for coach Steve Payne's
squad, topped by Josiah Moore's 16
on 6-for-9 shooting including a 3-for-5 effort from long range.
Freshman Aleksa Jugovic was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and finished
with a career-best 14 points.
Tech also got a double-double from post Charles
Jackson with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three
blocked shots and hit 5-for-8 of his shot while notching his fourth
consecutive double-double. He is the first player to open his Tech
career with four straight double-doubles since Hall of Fame
inductee Damien Kinloch in 2001-02.
Dwan
Caldwell scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Torrance
Rowe added 11 points, five rebounds and a game-high seven
assists.
Southeastern Louisiana had four players in twin digits, led by
Andrew Guillory with 17 and DeVonte Upson with 16. Zay Jackson, a
transfer from Murray State playing his first season with the Lions,
added 13 points and four assists, and Onochie Ochie had 10 points.
That foursome scored all but six of the Lions' points.
The first half proved to be a rabbit chase, with SELA holding
the edge for seven minutes and Tech sitting on top for 12 minutes.
The largest Lion lead was five points, the last time at 10-5.
Tech's largest margin in the half was eight points, that coming
with a 23-15 difference with 7:19 to play.
Southeastern Louisiana pulled to within one point, 30-29, in the
final minute before Anthony Morse
banked in a layup with 35 seconds to play for the halftime score of
32-29.
SELA had a 40-28 edge in points in the paint, but the Golden
Eagles had better depth with a 38-16 margin off the bench.
The Lions tied things early in the second half at 34-all, and hung
close for the first five minutes of the second period, tying things
again at 40-40 with 14:58 to play.
That's when Tech seemed to take control with a 15-5 run, with
Moore (7) and Jugovic (8) accounting for all of the points. Moore
scored a pair of layups and a 3-point play, while Jugovic dropped
in a pair of treys and added a layup.
Tech's lead went to 15 points, and eventually ballooned to 18 on a crowd-pleasing dunk by Jackson with 2:31 to play.
Neither team has to wait long to get back in action, and they
can both do so without bothering to review a new scouting report.
The same two teams will face off Wednesday night in Hammond, La.,
with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. CT. That game will be the Lions'
first home game after four on the road to get the year
underway.
Roger Ealey will have the call from the sidelines on 106.1 The
Eagle on The Golden Eagle Sports Network.
Tech's next date at home comes on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the
Golden Eagles host Lipscomb in a 6 p.m. game. For ticket
information, please visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in
Eblen Center (931-372-3940).
GOLDEN EAGLE NUGGET: Hey, 19! Tech's 19-point victory
comes two days after the Golden Eagles erased a 19-point deficit
for a 69-67 win over Chattanooga on Saturday, the largest comeback
in more than a decade.
