By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team is set to go back out on the road for a two-game stretch, starting with a Thursday night tilt at in-state and Ohio Valley Conference rival Austin Peay.
Tip is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT in Clarksville at the Winfield Dunn Center and will follow the 4:30 p.m. contest between the Golden Eagle and Governor women's teams.
Tennessee Tech (2-13, 2-6) at Austin Peay (7-4, 3-2)
Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021
7:30 p.m. CT
Winfield Dunn Center – Clarksville, Tenn.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: ESPN+ (Bob Belvin & Zach Glotta)
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
Thursday marks the 146th meeting all-time between Tech and Austin Peay, with the Golden Eagles owning a 74-71 lead in the series.
This match-up marks the longest in-state rivalry for the Golden Eagles and the third-longest running series in terms of contests in program history. Tech has only faced Murray State (184) and Morehead State (155) more often than Austin Peay.
The Govs hold a 35-30 series advantage over the Golden Eagles when playing in Clarksville, but haven't defeated the purple and gold at home since Jan. 25, 2014.
Tech has won each of the past two match-ups with Austin Peay in Clarksville, including an 86-80 victory on Feb. 15, 2018 and a 72-66 win on Jan. 9, 2016. The purple and gold has also won six of the last 10 meetings between the two teams.
Austin Peay has won each of the past two tilts between the two programs, including last year's affair in Cookeville.
The Govs defeated the Golden Eagles at the Eblen Center last season, 75-62, with reigning OVC Player of the Year Terry Taylor playing up to that billing.
Taylor led all players with 27 points and 12 rebounds in a contest that saw only the Govs' five starters recording a point for the visitors.
On Tech's side, Jr. Clay (below) led the offensive effort with 20 points on top of four assists and a pair of steals. Darius Allen had 10 points with nine boards and three steals while Keishawn Davidson posted eight points, six assists and three more steals.
QUICK HITTERS
Keishawn Davidson dropped a career-high 19 points on 7-for-9 shooting and a 3-for-3 showing from deep in Tech's win over TSU. He also dished out six assists with two steals.
In the contest, Jr. Clay became the 37th member of Tech's 1,000-point club and moved into 36th in program history in career scoring.
Damaria Franklin added 16 points with a career-high four assists while center Marcus Hopkins added career-highs of 10 points and six rebounds in the win.
At EKU, the Golden Eagles drilled 15 3-pointers in the contest, tied for the fourth-most in a single game in program history.
Tennessee Tech earned its first win of the 2020-21 campaign by defeating SEMO 72-63 on Dec. 30, 2020, holding off a second-half surge by the Redhawks.
The win snapped an 11-game skid for the Golden Eagles, the longest in program history, after going through arguably the toughest non-conference slate in the history of the team.
A year after facing nine opponents who had won 20 games the previous season, Tech loaded up on a tough gauntlet yet again for the 2020-21 campaign.
Six of Tech's seven non-conference opponents won at least 19 games a season ago, with No. 10-ranked Tennessee as the only team with less (17).
Six of Tech's seven non-conference games came on the road, with the match-up against in-state rival Chattanooga the lone tilt in the Eblen Center.
At the conclusion of its final non-conference tilt at Western Kentucky, Tech's seven foes not in the OVC had combined for a 44-10 mark in 2020-21.
OVC opponents Austin Peay, Belmont and Murray State each compiled 21 or more wins a season ago and will square off with Tech twice this season, just adding to the incredibly challenging slate in 2020-21.
Through six games, Tech already has more double-doubles (three) as it did all of last season (two).
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 Matt Dexter, TTU Athletics
