By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A strong effort from every part of the roster on both sides of the ball led the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to victory Wednesday evening. The Golden Eagles (1-9, 1-2) collected their first victory of the 2020-21 season, defeating visiting Southeast Missouri (2-6, 0-2), 72-63 to end a long and tough 2020 calendar year on a high note.
"I thought it was a real hard-fought basketball game and both teams really competed," Tech head coach John Pelphrey said. "We feel very fortunate to get a win. We're obviously very excited about that. We have a lot of respect for them. They were very well organized and were a very physical basketball team. I'm proud of guys for being able to stand up and meet that challenge."
The offense, led by junior guard Jr. Clay, paced the Golden Eagles early, taking a 15-point lead into the half with 38 points on the board. In the second, half, turnovers and fouls found their way into the mix, allowing the Redhawks to close the gap to within four points with six-and-a-half minutes to play.
"It wasn't pretty at times down the stretch," Pelphrey explained, "and we still probably had too many turnovers, by three or four, for us. We probably had too many fouls, by three or four, for us."
The defense was special in the contest, forcing 19 SEMO turnovers and racking up 12 steals. The purple and gold also outworked the Redhawks on the glass, gaining a 35-30 advantage.
"I thought more than anything tonight, the guys really went after it," Pelphrey added. "They tried. Whether there was a result or not, I though the guys tried to give their best effort, and that's all we can ask for. I thought they stayed present.
"We had to overcome some good play by them. We had to overcome some challenging calls. And when things don't go your way, that's part of the game. Don't come unplugged. Don't be distracted or whatever the case. Maybe it's your poor play. I thought tonight, we kind of stayed with it, especially offensively. For us to be able to score 72 points we have to get some production out of a lot of different people."
Amadou Sylla turned in one of his best showings of his career while making his first start of the year. The junior notched 13 points, including eight big ones early in the contest, and seven rebounds. He scored each of Tech's first six points as the team opened the night on an 11-2 run.
Off the bench, JUCO transfer Damaria Franklin added 11 points, a team-high eight boards and two steals while graduate transfer Shandon Goldman posted six points on a pair of clutch triples down the stretch. Keishawn Davidson scored nine points with four assists
"I thought Amadou Sylla got us off to a great start in the first half," Pelphrey said. "[Shandon] Biggie Goldman made a couple of big shots for us; timely, 3-point shots. I believe they were both in the second half, if I'm not mistaken. I thought Damaria Franklin had an impact.
"I thought Austin Harvell and Kenny White, with their energy and effort, had an impact in the game. Keishawn [Davidson] sprained his ankle on the 27th and really didn't practice. He worked hard with our athletic trainer Chuck [Cushman], and thought they did a good job. They got him to where he could compete in the basketball game."
The star of the night was Jr. Clay, who balled out to the tune of a season and game-high 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals. He set career highs with 11 free throws made and 14 attempted while making a 3-pointer for the 20th-consecutive game dating back to last season. Shooting 50 percent from the field, he turned in his 56th double-digit scoring contest to climb the all-time leaderboard into a tie for 19th.
"For me, I thought that Jr. Clay was amazing tonight," Pelphrey expressed. "He's had a lot going on, with a death in his family, and he spent some time there away from the team. We were certainly supportive of him with where he needed to be. But I've been in those emotional situations, and for him to be able to go and do that and come back to this basketball team – he was a man tonight.
"He was a baller tonight. He just played the game the way it's supposed to be played. He just made the right plays. He took care of his team. He made the game easy for himself. When there was a moment in time to be smart and crafty, he found his way to the free-throw line. Fourteen free-throw attempts is awesome. He made huge plays on defense and got us easy baskets in both halves. And I thought he led. I thought he led. He was talking the right talk all night long.
"This was a team win, there were several great performances by different people, or it would not have happened. But I thought tonight, he was just a baller. He was a baller, he was going to lead us to victory and we're really proud of him. This wasn't the first time he's had a good time. Tonight was just different."
With the win, the Golden Eagles collected their third-straight victory over the Redhawks and fourth-straight against SEMO in Cookeville. Pelphrey moved to 4-0 in his coaching career against Southeast Missouri, including a 3-0 mark while at Tech.
Tech will look to snag its first victory on the road and in the year 2021 on Saturday, Jan. 2 with a trip to Eastern Illinois. The 4:00 p.m. CT tilt kicks off a three-game road slate for the purple and gold, with a visit to "Death Valley" and match-ups with Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State on the horizon.
File photo by Thomas Corhern
