By Rob Schabert, Assistat Athletic Director for Sports Information
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Torrance Rowe had 27 points and seven assists and Aleksa Jugovic buried a critical 3-pointer in the final seconds to pace Tennessee Tech (12-5/4-0 OVC) to an exhausting 72-66 Ohio Valley Conference victory at Austin Peay (8-10/1-2 OVC) Saturday night in the Dunn Center.
Tech shot 54.2 percent for the game, including exactly half (12-for-24) from outside the arc, with Rowe sparking the long-distance display by dropping in a career-high six bombs, the most treys hit by a Golden Eagle since Kevin Murphy hit seven against Murray State in 2012. He was joined in double figures by Anthony Morse, who notched his second career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds before being whistled for a fifth foul late in the contest.
Hakeem Rogers added nine, Jugovic and Mason Ramsey scored eight apiece, and Ryan Martin added six points and nine rebounds despite playing a large chunk of the night in foul trouble.
One of the nation's best free throw shooting teams, Tech struggled at the charity stripe by hitting just over half of its tries. The Golden Eagles, who only shot two free throws in the first half when the Govs were called for just three fouls, finished the night 8-for-15 at the line for 53 percent.
Chris Horton recorded a double-double to lead the Govs with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but he also couldn't find the mark at the free throw line, going 4-for-10. In fact, Austin Peay was 8-for-18 at the line for 44 percent. Josh Robinson added 16 points on 4-for-7 shooting from long range, and eight rebounds. Kenny Jones managed 11 points and six rebounds as Austin Peay owned a 33-28 margin on the glass.
Coming out of a 59-all tie, Ramsey hit a layup with four minutes to play on a drive and feed by Jugovic to nudge the Golden Eagles out front by two. Shirmane Thomas' jumper – his only points of the night – made it a four-point Tech lead with 2:25 to play, before Robinson's fourth 3-pointer of the game cut it back to one point, 63-62, with 2:11 left.
Seconds later, Rowe split the defense and drove through the lane, dishing it off to Morse for a layup with 1:55 left for a 65-62 lead.
The Govs got one free throw before Rowe's driving layup high off the glass put it back to a four-point edge. Once again, APSU made one free throw for a thee-point difference, before Martin calmly knocked down two free throws to put the Golden Eagles up, 69-64.
Horton powered in for a layup with 41 seconds left to make it 69-66, setting the stage for Jugovic's clutch 3-pointer, coming off a behind-the-back bounce pass by Rowe.
With the victory, Tech moved to 4-0 in OVC play for the first time since the 2004-05 team won the regular season title and matched its best start to a season since beginning the 2005-06 season with the same 12-5 record.
Next up for the Golden Eagles is a road venture at UT Martin with a 6 p.m. tilt against the Skyhawks.
Following that game to wrap up their three-game road stretch, the Golden Eagles return to Eblen Center on Saturday, Jan. 16, when they host Southeast Missouri at 7:30 p.m. to cap off an OVC doubleheader against the Redhawk teams.
For information or tickets, visit the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or call (931) 327-3940.
Photo by Andy Mitchell
