By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – With just one game from the conclusion of the 2014-15 regular season, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball will hit up Richmond, Ky. Saturday night, concluding the Death Valley road trip while looking to close out this year's campaign on a high note.
The Golden Eagles will look to play spoiler to Eastern Kentucky as the Colonels look to take home the Ohio Valley Conference Eastern Division crown. Tip is set for 6 p.m. CST, acting as the second half of a doubleheader with the Tech women's team, which will take the court in McBrayer Arena against EKU at 3 p.m.
Tech and Eastern Kentucky will look to provide fans with as much excitement as their first match-up this season, an overtime thriller that saw the Golden Eagles capture an impressive 83-81 victory. It marked the first time the Tech squad had seen extra time on the clock in nearly three years and provided the team a shot at sweeping the Colonels for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign.
Tennessee Tech (12-17, 4-11) at Eastern Kentucky (18-10, 10-5)
Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015
6:00 p.m. CST
McBrayer Arena (6,500) – Richmond, Ky.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: OVC Digital Network
SETTING THE STAGE
For the 130th time in program history, the Golden Eagles will face off against the Colonels in a OVC battle. Each and every contest between the two teams has occurred since Tech's initiation into the league, with the inaugural game occurring back in 1951.
The two teams have met every year since 1951, with EKU owning the early advantage after claiming the first six meetings and running off a nine-game streak back in the late 70s. Tech answered by posting its own, dominant 10-game streak in the early 2000s, but overall the Colonels have built a 13-game advantage in the all-time series.
True freshman Aleksa Jugovic enters Saturday's contest after putting together the best game of his young career Thursday evening, leading all scorers at Morehead State with a career-high 18 points. The Leskovac, Serbia native was nearly perfect when shooting the ball, connecting on four of his five field goal attempts, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, while missing just one of his eight free throw tries. He also dished out four of the team's 17 assists.
Dominating the paint this season for the Tech squad has been junior center Charles Jackson. The big man leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.9 points and 9.3 rebounds. He also ranks either first or second in the OVC in rebounding, offensive rebounding, and defensive rebounding and is tied for fourth in the nation with 17 double-doubles. He has been named the OVC Newcomer of the Week five times this season.
A big key for the Golden Eagles will be to get their points down low. In nine of Tech's 12 victories this season, the team has scored at least 30 points in the paint. The other three wins saw totals of 28, 26 and 24 points as well. The Golden Eagles have lost just five games they have put up at least 30 points in the paint.
Photo by Jim Dillon
