By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – The way Saturday's game went down to the wire at Jacksonville State, it was almost like déjà vu.
It all came down to one final chance with a 3-pointer.
Where the one on February 13 fell in the Eblen Center to give the Tennessee Tech men the victory, the final effort on Saturday missed the mark. As the homestanding Gamecocks celebrated their win and the berth into next week's Ohio Valley Conference tournament in Evansville, Ind., the Golden Eagles saw their season come to a close, falling 75-71.
"It was a great battle between two teams that were needing so much from this game," Tech head coach John Pelphrey said. "We really wanted to have another 40 minutes of basketball life and that was on the line tonight. I'm really proud of our guys. They stood up on the road and played in one of the toughest environments we've played in this year.
"We played beautifully. It just came down to a couple of stops here or there. We made shots. It couldn't have come together any better. We talked to the guys about being leaders first and we got that tonight. No matter what it says, we didn't lose this game except for the score. We got better and we're going to continue to get better."
But what a run it had been in the final weeks. Tech was just seconds away from swapping places with the Gamecocks. The Golden Eagles had won four of their last seven. Tech was right there.
As the final buzzer sounded, there was nothing to hang heads about. Through the course of the campaign, the Golden Eagles proved they could go toe-to-toe with nearly every team in the conference, even the top-seeded teams in the tournament field.
"At the beginning of conference season, we weren't even close to competing," Pelphrey said. "We made a lot of growth. These guys hurt, make no mistake about that. They threw so much into it and never said a word. They knew that every possession mattered. I just couldn't be more impressed, more proud."
Tech ends the season 9-22, 6-12 in the Ohio Valley.
To steal a familiar line from the Chicago Cubs' loyal fanbase until recent years, "Wait 'til next year."
Unfortunately, there won't be a next year for seniors Darius Allen, Cade Crosland and Tyler Thompson, their eligibility expired after Saturday's defeat. Hearts and souls for the team, leaders on and off the court, their presences will be missed greatly.
"There's a lot of tears in that locker room right now," Pelphrey said. "But this too is another opportunity for us to learn, grow and get better. Those guys are special young men. We've talked throughout the course of the year as to how Cade has done some things that have changed the program. He cares about these guys. He's dedicated. His faith is very important to him. He's an unbelievable leader and example. This team loves him, and it's the same for Tyler. He's spoke up and said to make sure we understand what we're about to do.
"It takes courage to do that. Darrius came here and probably thought it was going to be easy at this level and it was probably a little more of a culture shock as to what we were trying to establish. That young man is going to graduate here on May 5 and that was the biggest goal when he came here. I didn't care what happened on the court – he could be first-team all-conference, but if he didn't graduate… The coaches, Leveda Dexter – they helped put this kid in position to graduate."
But the lineup Tech has coming back comes complete with so much potential. From top to bottom of the roster, every player had their moment to shine. As the season wore on, they became more of a cohesive unit.
For what Pelphrey and his staff accomplished this season considering when he was brought in to take the helm, it is still impressive and stand to see more in the coming years.
Saturday's game from start to finish was a battle, something that the Golden Eagles had shown many times this season. Grit. Determination. Fight. Tech never trailed by more than five points, and in a battle that meant so much to both teams, it spoke volumes.
A five-minute scoring drought could have sent the wheels flying off early on, but Tech responded when it needed to. And when the opportunity came to go for the potentially game-winning shot, the ball was placed in the hands of Jr. Clay, one of the team's top shooters. He had a good, but hurried, look, but the attempt wasn't on the mark.
With just over a second left on the clock, Tech had to foul to try to get the ball back and a pair of Marek Welsch free throws on the other side clinched the game for JSU.
Garrett Golday came off the bench and powered the Golden Eagle effort in the second half, roping in a career-high 14 points. Clay was up next with 12.
Kayne Henry had a double-double for JSU (13-18, 8-10 OVC), knocking in 19 points and collecting 12 boards. Ty Hudson added 16 points and Jacara Cross scored 15.
Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
