By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A tough first half on the offensive side of the ball proved too costly for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Thursday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to in-state rival and Ohio Valley Conference-leading Belmont, 88-67.
The Bruin offense took advantage of 13 Tech turnovers over the opening 20 minutes, a period that saw the Golden Eagles hit just 7-of-25 tries for 28.0 percent from the field. The visitors took a 43-21 lead into the break, firing at a 48.4 percent clip from the floor and 38.1 percent from downtown.
"I was very impressed with Belmont," Tech head coach John Pelphrey said. "They came out and played really well, together as a team, even though they were down one of their better players. Man, they took care of business. Really, really impressive. Great job by their team. Excellent job by their coaches in getting them prepared. There's a reason they're in first place, and they looked like it tonight."
Belmont's offensive success continued into the second half, with the Bruins shooting 53 percent from the floor and 36 percent from 3-point range.
"From our side of it, we could not match that intensity, especially from a defensive perspective, which you really need on a night where you struggle shooting the basketball, like we did tonight," Pelphrey explained. "Our decision-making and execution certainly lacked, in the first half for sure. I think we had 13 turnovers at halftime, which is something we hadn't done. We kind of had it down to 13, 14, 15 turnovers in a game. So that was disappointing."
This half, however, the Golden Eagles matched the level of play and outscored their foes 46-45. Tech fired at 50 percent from the field and 3-point range over the final 20 minutes of the contest.
Graduate transfer Shandon Goldman exploded for a career-high and game-high 19 points on the night, leading Tech's second-half surge of offense. He drilled a career-best five triples on just six tries on the night while hitting seven of his eight shots from the floor.
Damaria Franklin chipped in 11 points and five rebounds, hitting three attempts from deep. Amadou Sylla corralled a game-high nine rebounds with five points. Jr. Clay tallied seven points, finishing just one away from the 1,000th of his career.
"At the end of the day, we've still got to learn, grow and get better with our understanding on the defensive end," Pelphrey expressed. "We have to know our jobs better. We've got to do it with a heightened sense of urgency on edge, on a repetitive basis, against the best."
The Golden Eagles will stay in the Eblen Center Saturday night for the first back-to-back home games of the season, playing host to in-state rival Tennessee State in an 8:00 p.m. CT tilt.
"When you're going against the best, on a night like tonight, and really for us, that's everybody in our league, if you want to compete against the best, you're going to have to give your best," Pelphrey said. "It starts with watching film and preparing. It starts with practicing with a lot of energy and effort. That will put you in the best situation, when the game comes around, to go out and execute."
File photo by JSU Athletics
