By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team wraps up the 2020-21 season looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Hooper Eblen Center Saturday evening. The Golden Eagles will square off with longtime, Ohio Valley Conference rival Murray State at 8:00 p.m. CT after defeating in-state foe Austin Peay Thursday night, 81-76.
Saturday also represents Senior Night for the Golden Eagles, with a brief ceremony set to immediately follow the conclusion of the contest.
Tennessee Tech (4-22, 4-15) vs. Murray State (13-11, 10-9)
Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021
8:00 p.m. CT
Eblen Center – Cookeville, Tenn.
The Broadcasts
TV: None
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: ESPN+ (Dylan Vazzano & Michael Cooper)
SERIES/OPPONENT NOTES
Saturday marks the 186th meeting all-time between Tech and Murray State, with the Racers owning a 135-50 lead in the series.
This match-up marks the longest rivalry for the Golden Eagles both in terms of match-ups and number of years playing a contest. The two sides kicked off the rivalry in 1929-30 and have met at least once in all but three seasons during that stretch.
The Racers hold a 49-38 series advantage over the Golden Eagles when playing in Cookeville.
Murray State has won each of the past six match-ups between the two programs. Tech's last victory against the Racers was a 71-67 decision in Cookeville on Jan. 7, 2017.
In last year's match-up, played in Cookeville, the Golden Eagles fell to the Racers, 81-69, in a contest much closer than the final score. Tech trailed by just one at the half, but Murray State pulled away late.
Jr. Clay (below) led all scorers in the contest with 18 points while dishing out four assists and totaling three steals.
Keishawn Davidson joined him in double figures with 11 points, five assists and four rebounds.
Also in double digits was Darius Allen, who accounted for 11 points and a team-high six rebounds.
With most categories close or equal, the contest came down to the turnover margin. Tech had 16 turnovers to just nine for the Racers.
During this year's first match-up in Murray, on Jan. 23, the Racers held off the Golden Eagles 72-63.
Shandon Goldman paced the Tech squad offensively with 17 points and four makes from distance off the bench. He added five rebounds to the mix as well.
Clay chipped in 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds while Keishawn Davidson contributed 12 points, four assists and four boards.
Shooting from beyond the arc proved to be the difference-maker in the contest, with Murray State sinking 11 tries from deep to Tech's six.
QUICK HITTERS
Tech overcame an 11-point, first-half deficit to take down in-state rival Austin Peay, 81-76, in the Eblen Center Thursday evening.
The Golden Eagles shot a season-best 56.4 percent from the field and 11-for-22 from distance, paced by the dynamic backcourt of Jr. Clay and Keishawn Davidson, who both turned in career-highs on the night.
Clay made each of the final six shots he took from field, hitting 11-of-17 tries in the game and 6-of-8 attempts from downtown on his way to 31 points. He also dished our six assists with three steals and two blocks.
Davidson hit 8-of-12 tries from the floor for a new career best of 21 points. In addition to his four huge free throws down the stretch, he also dished out six dimes.
Dane Quest produced one of his best all-around games in the purple and gold, contributing eight points, six rebounds and four assists with three timely offensive boards. The Toronto native also turned in a game-high +12 in the plus/minus column.
In Tech's win over Eastern Illinois, the team compiled a whopping 25 assists on 28 made field goals, the team's highest total of helpers since dishing out 27 on Dec. 6, 2018 against Warren Wilson.
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 NKU Athletics
