By Rob Schabert, Assistant Athletic Director for Sports Information
RICHMOND, Ky. – The stage is all set for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to host one of the most important weekends of the season next Thursday and Saturday, a pair of Ohio Valley Conference East Division games against fellow title contenders Tennessee State and Belmont.
The Golden Eagles (14-7/6-2 OVC) cemented their spot near the top of the divisional standings and kept themselves smack in the race with a rollicking, 89-83 victory Saturday afternoon at frigid Eastern Kentucky.
Junior Aleksa Jugovic and senior Torrance Rowe each poured in 24 points to pace the Golden Eagles, who dominated on the glass but lost three players via fouls.
Ryan Martin, who saw just six minutes of action in the first half due to early foul trouble, narrowly missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Anthony Morse, who caught his fifth foul with 4:15 remaining, added a game-high 10 rebounds while Hakeem Rogers came off the bench to contribute 12 points and five rebounds.
Two other players who filled key roles in the win were guard Markell Henderson and forward Courtney Alexander. While they didn't pile up eye-popping numbers, they stepped up when the Tech bench needed to rally behind the foul-plaqued starters. Tech's bench outscored EKU, 20-4.
Three players topped the 20-point mark for EKU (12-10/3-4 OVC), led by Jarelle Reischel with 25. He also had nine rebounds and five assists. Javontae Hawkins added 22 points and five rebounds, while Nick Mayo finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots.
After seeing Tech own the lead for most of the first eight minutes, the Colonels used a 12-1 run to vault into a 28-20 lead with 8:17 to play in the opening half. Mayo scored six of the 12 during the stretch, which was capped by a layup from Ja'Mill Powell.
A 10-2 Golden Eagle run brought things to a 30-30 tie with 5:31 remaining and the two teams traded jabs until Tech carried a 45-40 lead into halftime. Rowe started the streak with back-to-back jumpers while Rogers drained back-to-back 3-pointers to knot the game.
Tech held onto its lead the entire 20 minutes of the second half, building the margin as large as 12 points midway through the period when Rowe's two free throws made it 66-54.
The Colonels once again fought their way back, using a 13-3 stretch to pull within two points, 78-76, with 2:27 to play.
Tech's lead was down to two points one more time, at 80-78 with 58 seconds left to play when Rowe scored perhaps the most critical points of the day -- he calmly buried a 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining for a little breathing room and a five-point lead. The basket came from a perfect feed by Jugovic, who drove the lane and drew three defenders. The Golden Eagles were able to hold on until the final buzzer by controlling the score with 6-for-6 shooting at the free throw line.
After shooting 52 percent in the first half, Tech managed to connect on just 38.7 percent in the second half but the Golden Eagles went 16-for-20 at the charity line after the intermission. Owning a 17-5 edge on the glass in the first half, Tech outrebounded EKU 27-17 in the second half.
Belmont (6-0) and Tennessee State (5-0) each came into this weekend undefeated in league play. Scheduled to meet on Saturday, their contest was postponed until Sunday afternoon.
Tickets for the games in Eblen Center will be on sale during the week at the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or by calling (931) 372-3940. Tickets are also available by clicking here.
Tech hosts TSU Thursday at 8 p.m. in a game that will be televised nationally by the American Sports Network. On Saturday, Tech hosts a doubleheader against Belmont with the women's game at 5:30 p.m. and the men's at 7:30 p.m.
photo by Aaron Perkins / EKU Athletics
