COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Steve Payne's teams have won their home opener each of his five seasons at the helm of the Golden Eagles, after Tennessee Tech kicked off the 2015-16 regular season Saturday night with a convincing, 110-72 victory over Piedmont College in Eblen Center.
With seven minutes to play and Tech (1-0) on top 91-56, the question that popped into everyone's mind was whether the Golden Eagles would top the 100-point barrier.
That was answered in short order as less than a minute later the Golden Eagles had pumped in 10 more points for a 101-62 difference. It was the first time Tech had used three figures on the scoreboard since netting 112 against Hillsdale (Okla.) College on Dec. 19, 2013, a span of exactly 50 games.
Piedmont College (0-2) joins the list of home-opening victims for Payne's squad, along with Piedmont International, Loyola (Ill.), Crowley's Ridge and Reinhardt College.
Tech blistered the nets in the first half with 61.3 percent (19-for-31) shooting, including 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from outside the arc, in building a 51-36 edge at the break. The Golden Eagles needed all of those shots to hold off the pesky Piedmont squad, which answered with 54.2 percent (13-for-24) shooting in the opening half.
It was something old, something new for Tech in the first half as sophomore Aleksa Jugovic and junior newcomer Hakeem Rogers reached double figures in the scoring column. Each was 4-for-5 from the floor. Rogers was 3-for-4 from long range on his way to 11, while Jugovic was 2-for-3 outside the arc and had 10 at the intermission.
Piedmont's Marquise Lanier led all first-half scorers with 12, hitting 5-for-5 along with both of his free throws.
If Tech shot well in the first half, the Golden Eagles raised the heat to open the second, hitting 63 percent over the opening eight minutes to pull away. The lead grew from 15 at the half to as many as 41 points with 2:51 remaining on a dunk by Courtney Alexander II.
Jugovic finished with a career-high 20 points, hitting 8-for-9 overall and 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He also tied Savonte Frazier for the team lead with five assists.
He was one of five Golden Eagles in double digits. Rogers finished with 18 in his Golden Eagle debut, Torrance Rowe scored 15, Antony Morse added 13 and Ryan Martin notched 10 points in his Tech debut.
All 12 players who saw the court were counted in the scoring, and nine recorded assists as Tech chalked up 21.
The Golden Eagles finished the night hitting 57.6 percent (38-for-66), and went 14-for 31 (45.2 percent) from outside the 3-point arc. Tech owned a 32-24 edge in rebounds.
Three players finished in double figures for Piedmont, paced by Lanier's 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting. Chase England added 12 and Justin Vallejo scored 11. The Lions, an NCAA Division III squad from North Georgia, shot 50 percent (22-for-44) overall, but just 3-for-11 from long range. The outscored Tech at the free throw line, going 25-for-30 (83.3 percent) compared with 20-for-27 (74.1 percent) by the Golden Eagles.
The team had little time to savor its Saturday night win, hopping on a plane early Saturday for a flight to Colorado to face Air Force Academy Monday night in an 8 p.m. CT contest. From there, the Golden Eagles plays at New Mexico State Wednesday night, also at 8 p.m. CT.
Those two games out west are part of the Air Force Classic Tournament, which will also include games back home in Eblen Center later in the month.
