By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was just one of those nights for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team. For all the effort and tenacity shown by the purple and gold on its home floor in the Hooper Eblen Center, the visitors from Morehead State (13-6, 10-2) were just better Saturday afternoon, taking the 74-55 victory.
"Well, obviously Morehead is one of the best teams in our league right now," Tech head coach John Pelphrey said. "They're playing great. They're a hot basketball team – I think they've won nine in-a-row now. In that stretch, they've become the best defensive team in our league, and they brought their defense tonight in Cookeville."
The Eagles used a superior attack from inside and out to do its damage on the night, shooting 55.6 percent from the floor and 43.8 percent from downtown. Morehead scored 44 points in the paint while forcing 18 turnovers and making 20 assists.
Tech struggled to find its form offensively, particularly in the second half. The Golden Eagles (2-16, 2-9) were held to just 31 percent from the floor and 1-for-16 from 3-point range over the final 20 minutes. For the game, the home squad finished at 37.3 percent from the field and 17.9 percent from deep.
"I thought we had some good opportunities. We didn't make a lot of them. They forced us into 18 turnovers. That's a credit to them and their defense. I thought they played well down the stretch. All night long, we had to deal with the big fella [Johni Broome], which we didn't really have an answer for him. We tried some different things. We tried to play him in single coverage. We tried to double coverage him. Zone kind of worked there for a little bit in the second half, but…he's good.
"They have a good team. They were able to run their offense and get the right contributions at the right time on the perimeter down the stretch. So they deserve a lot of credit."
Broome led everyone on the floor with 22 points and 13 rebounds. He scored seven of the team's first 12 points, leading to an early 11-point lead. Tech cut the deficit to within one midway through the first half, but couldn't find enough offensive consistency with a short bench and Morehead State pulled away in the second stanza.
"We've got three guys out and Mars [Damaria Franklin] didn't really get a chance to practice all week long because of an injury at Murray State," Pelphrey explained. "It's just that kind of year and we're banged up a little bit. We've got to go with what we got. I thought those guys really competed hard. Certainly, we can play better in some spots, but you saw guys diving on the floor and chasing guys down. Morehead State was just better than us tonight and you have to tip your hat to them."
On the same night he was honored with a commemorative basketball to celebrate his 1,000th-career point back on Jan. 16 in a home win over Tennessee State, Jr. Clay showed his scoring prowess in leading the Golden Eagles with 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting.
A Chattanooga native, Clay now ranks in a tie for 30th on the program's all-time scoring list with two-year sensation and Tech Hall of Famer, Damien Kinloch. He also tallied three steals, moving into a tie for 10th all-time in program history with Marc Glanton.
Sophomore Keishawn Davidson led the team with six assists on the night, chipping in five points and three boards. Neither Clay nor Davidson left the floor once until they were both spelled with 1:23 left to play in the game.
Graduate transfer Shandon Goldman scored 11 points with a team-high eight rebounds while dishing out three dimes. Franklin added eight points, four boards and a career-high four steals off the bench.
The Golden Eagles will once again prove to be road warriors with a two-game stretch west next week. Tech will start with a Thursday evening tilt at Southeast Missouri on Feb. 4. Play will continue at UT Martin on Saturday, Feb. 6.
Photo by Matt Dexter, TTU Athletics
