By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team returns to the Hooper Eblen Center Thursday evening, playing host to in-state foe UT Martin in Ohio Valley Conference action. Tip is set for 7:30 p.m. CT as the Golden Eagles look to avenge their loss to the Skyhawks in Martin earlier this month.
Tennessee Tech (7-20, 4-10) vs. UT Martin (8-17, 4-10)
Thursday, Feb. 20, 2020
7:30 p.m. CT
Eblen Center (7,500) – Cookeville, Tenn.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: ESPN+ (Dylan Vazzano & Frank Harrell)
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
Thursday marks the 53rd meeting all-time between the two programs, with Tech owning a 37-15 lead in the series.
When competing in Cookeville, the Golden Eagles hold a 21-6 advantage over the Skyhawks all time.
Last season, UT Martin cruised past the Golden Eagles in the Elam Center, 77-58, using a superior shooting display from the field and charity stripe to earn the win.
Hunter Vick led the Tech scoring effort in the loss, hitting 5-of-6 tries from beyond the 3-point arc on his way to 15 points.
Jr. Clay added 10 points while Cade Crosland drilled 4-of-5 attempts from downtown for 12 points off the bench.
The Skyhawks' Quintin Dove led all scorers in the contest with 24 points off the bench, hitting 8-of-12 shots from the field and 8-of-10 attempts from the free-throw line.
Earlier this season, the Skyhawks defeated the Golden Eagles in Martin, 74-62, outscoring Tech 44-22 in the first half.
Clay led purple and gold with 17 points and six assists while Keishawn Davidson added 13 points.
This year's UT Martin squad is led offensively by Parker Stewart, the son of head coach Anthony Stewart, who sat out last season after transferring from Pittsburgh. He averages 19.8 points per game. That number rises to 21.8 points per game in OVC play, third in the league.
Stewart also leads the team with 3.8 assists per game, adds 4.6 rebounds per game and shoots 35.8 percent from beyond the arc.
Quintin Dove ranks just behind Stewart in scoring, averaging 19.6 points and a team-high 7.5 rebounds per contest. His 21.8 points per contest in OVC play leads the league. He also paces the team with a field goal percentage of 57.8 and free throw percentage of 80.6.
Derek Hawthorne, Jr. rounds out UT Martin's double-digit scorers still with the program, averaging 13.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. His 29 steals leads the Skyhawks.
Former Golden Eagle guard Miles Thomas suits up for the Skyhawks, averaging 7.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Thomas sat out the 2016-17 season at Tech as a redshirt before transferring and spending the next two seasons at Walters State CC. He earned NJCAA All-American First Team honors last season after averaging 21.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game.
LAST TIME OUT
Offensive struggles proved too much to overcome for the Tech men's basketball team Saturday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to in-state foe Tennessee State in OVC action in Nashville, 70-55.
The purple and gold were held to 29.9 percent shooting from the field and 11.1 percent from 3-point range, overshadowing the team's better job on the boards and in the turnover column. Tech collected 42 rebounds to TSU's 38 and 11 turnovers to the Tigers' 13.
The first half saw both teams start slow out of the gate, but the Tigers used a 5-0 run to end the first half and take a 30-21 lead into the locker room. TSU extended the lead to as much as 22 in the second stanza.
Jr. Clay led the Golden Eagles with 16 points and nine rebounds while Tujautae Williams joined his teammate in double figures with 10 points. Larry Kuimi added eight points in 16 minutes.
TRENDING
Serving as captains for the young Tech squad in 2019-20 are freshman Keishawn Davidson, sophomores Jr. Clay, Hunter Vick and Amadou Sylla, junior Maverick Smith and senior Cade Crosland.
With an 83-70 win over Martin Methodist on November 9, Tech head coach John Pelphrey earned his first victory as the leader of the Golden Eagle program.
Pelphrey, who was named the 13th head coach in Golden Eagle history in April, also earned career win No. 150 on the night, the same day the Tech football team earned its 150th victory in Tucker Stadium on the day they celebrated the 150th anniversary of college football.
Both Davidson and Sylla were honored by the OVC on Nov. 11, picking up two of the league's first three weekly honors of the 2019-20 campaign. Davidson was named OVC Freshman of the Week while Sylla was recognized as the OVC Newcomer of the Week.
It marked the first time since 2015-16 that Tech claimed two of the OVC's three weekly accolades.
The last time it occurred was Feb. 1, 2016 when Torrance Rowe won OVC Player of the Week and both Ryan Martin and Hakeem Rogers shared OVC Newcomer of the Week honors.
Tech was predicted to finish 12th overall in the 2019 OVC race in voting by the league's head coaches and SIDs.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2019-20 Tech roster features 17 players (13 scholarship student-athletes) representing five states and three countries.
Nine Golden Eagle players hail from the state Tennessee, while Florida and Texas each boast two Tech players. Alabama and Illinois are represented by one Tech player each.
Two international players round out the roster, including one Golden Eagle from Canada and another from Mali.
Tech has three seniors, three juniors, five sophomores, three redshirt freshmen and three true freshmen.
Eleven Golden Eagles stand 6-foot-5 or taller while the other six measure in at 6-foot-4 or shorter.
Seven members are new to the Tech squad for 2019-20, including Darius Allen, Keishawn Davidson, Larry Kuimi, Michael Lolio, Dane Quest, Amadou Sylla and Tujautae Williams.
INEXPERIENCED BUNCH
While the 2019-20 Golden Eagles welcomed in seven new faces to the roster this season, that number doesn't show just how little this team spent together coming into the season. In addition to a brand new coaching staff, 10 of Tech's 17 players had never suited up for the Golden Eagles heading into the season-opener.
Tech players that have or could make their Golden Eagle debut in 2019-20 are senior transfer Darius Allen, JUCO transfers Larry Kuimi, Amadou Sylla and Michael Lolio, true freshmen Keishawn Davidson, Dane Quest and Tujautae Williams, and redshirt freshmen Chase Ridenour, Caden Mills and Reece Wilkinson.
Only two Golden Eagles played at Tech in both 2017-18 and 2018-19, including senior Cade Crosland and junior Maverick Smith. Hunter Vick was on the roster in 2017-18, but redshirted due to an injury.
The 2019-20 Tech roster came into the year with just 58 combined starts at the Division I level, including 31 by Hunter Vick, 19 by Jr. Clay, four by Garrett Golday, three by Jared Sherfield and one by Darius Allen (at Baylor).
Photo by Thomas Corhern
