By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team wraps up its three-game road swing in five days Sunday morning, making the visit to Cullowhee, N.C. for an 11:00 a.m. CT tilt with Western Carolina.
Tennessee Tech (0-4) at Western Carolina (4-1)
Sunday, Dec. 6, 2020
11:00 a.m. CT
Ramsey Arena – Cullowhee, N.C.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Dylan Vazzano)
Webcast: ESPN+ (Kyle Rush & Jeff Byson)
Game Notes
Tennessee Tech
Western Carolina
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
Sunday marks the ninth meeting all-time between Tech and Western Carolina, with the Golden Eagles owning a 5-3 lead in the series.
In Cullowhee, the two sides have traded wins in the only two known match-ups in North Carolina.
Tech won in overtime, 96-90, on Dec. 16, 1974 the first time they matched up in Cullowhee. WCU grabbed revenge on Jan. 30, 1991, defeating the Golden Eagles, 83-74.
After losing the first-ever tilt in 1942-43, Tech won five-straight against the Catamounts, with the most recent win a 107-87 decision on Dec. 22, 1990.
The two teams squared off last season in Cookeville, with the visitors from Western Carolina earning an 89-76 win over the Golden Eagles.
Jr. Clay paced the Tech squad with 17 points, five assists and a career-high tying five steals. Keishawn Davidson added 11 points while Tujautae Williams chipped in nine off the bench.
Kameron Gibson led WCU with 16 points, while Matt Halvorsen (15), Mason Faulkner (13) and Carlos Dotson (11) all added double-figure scoring efforts.
The Catamounts were lethal on offense, shooting over 60 percent from the floor and 51.9 percent from 3-point range.
Tech is 58-55 all-time against the current membership of the Southern Conference. The Golden Eagles dropped their most recent match-up with a SoCon opponent Monday, falling to in-state rival Chattanooga 62-54 in their home opener.
QUICK HITTERS
Junior guard Jr. Clay made his season-debut at Northern Kentucky after missing the first three games of the season due to COVID protocols. He immediately turned in a 10-point performance in 22 minutes off the bench.
At Northern Kentucky, Austin Harvell turned in his first career double-double, posting team-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Through four games, Tech already has as many double-doubles (two) as it did all of last season.
In Tech's home opener against Chattanooga, sophomore point guard Keishawn Davidson claimed his first double-double of the season with a team-high 12 points and 10 rebounds.
It marked the second double-double of Davidson's young career (11 pts/10 ast vs. Martin Methodist, 11/10/19), and made him the first Golden Eagle to record two career double-doubles involving different statistical categories since Cameron Crisp (19 pts/11 reb at UT Martin, 2/9/02 & 26 pts/11 ast vs. Eastern Illinois, 3/1/03).
He is also just the fifth known Tech hooper to accomplish the feat (specific double-double records go back to 1984-85), joining Crisp, Alex Franco, Lorenzo Coleman (all-time blocks leader) and Van Usher (all-time assists and steals leader).
At Indiana, Kenny White Jr. (13) and Austin Harvell (10) teamed up to become the first pair of Tech freshmen to score in double figures in a season opener since Nov. 29, 1975 when Jimmy Howell (18) and John C. Adams (15) accomplished the feat against Baptist College (now Baptist Health Sciences University).
They also became the first pair of Golden Eagle freshmen to score in double digits against a Power 5 Conference opponent since Marc Glanton (11) and Kenneth Smith (13) managed it at Georgia (12/29/94).
With his team-leading 17 points at Indiana, and his 18 points at Western Kentucky last season, Keishawn Davidson became the first Golden Eagle to score in double figures in back-to-back season openers since Josiah Moore posted 15 at USF (11/9/13) and 11 against Carolina (formerly Piedmont International - 11/14/14).
Davidson was also the first to score at least 17 points in the first game of the year in back-to-back seasons since Larrie Smith dropped 19 at Georgia Southern (11/20/99) and 17 at South Carolina (11/17/00).
Tech was predicted to finish 9th overall in the 2020-21 OVC race in voting by the league's head coaches and SIDs. The Golden Eagles were selected to finish 8th in the OVC media poll.
Last season, Jr. Clay and Keishawn Davidson became the first pair of Tech teammates to each total at least 100 assists in the same season since 2001-02. That year, Cameron Crisp dished out 122 dimes while DeAntoine Beasley doled out 104 assists.
With an 83-70 win over Martin Methodist on November 9, 2019, 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.
TOP IN THEIR STATES
Three of Tech's players for the 2020-21 season boast a particularly impressive feat as part of their respective resumes, all finishing as finalists for the Mr. Basketball Award for their state during their high school careers.
Junior guard Jr. Clay was a two-time finalist at the TSSAA Division II Class AA level while at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, earning the honor in 2017 and again in 2018.
Transfer sophomore guard CJ Gettelfinger was one of three finalists at the TSSAA Division II Class A level in 2018 while competing for Grace Christian Academy in Knoxville.
Freshman forward Kenny White Jr. was named a finalist for Kentucky's Mr. Basketball Award in 2020 while starring for Madisonville-North Hopkins High School in Madisonville, Ky.
Head coach John Pelphrey, a University of Kentucky Hall of Famer, was a Mr. Basketball Award winner during his high school days, claiming the honor for Paintsville High School in 1987.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The 2020-21 Tech roster features 15 players (13 scholarship student-athletes) representing six states and three countries.
Six Golden Eagle players hail from the state Tennessee, while Arkansas and Illinois each boast two Tech players. Alabama, California and Kentucky 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 one graduate student, one senior, five juniors, four sophomores and four true freshmen.
Nine Golden Eagles stand 6-foot-5 or taller while the other six measure in at 6-foot-4 or shorter.
Nine members are new to the Tech squad for 2020-21, including Damaria Franklin, CJ Gettelfinger, Shandon Goldman, Austin Harvell, Marcus Hopkins, Taelon Peter, Jalen Stayton, Jamaal Thompson and Kenny White Jr.
Photo by Nic Callahan, Xavier Athletics
