By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The most thrilling finish to a Tennessee Tech men's basketball game in more than 10 years saw Brett Thompson play hero, as the junior guard hit a mid-range jumper at the buzzer to lift the Golden Eagles to an 82-80 victory over Southeast Missouri in the Hooper Eblen Center Saturday evening.
The purple and gold avenged a loss to the Redhawks (13-12, 8-4) from just two weeks ago, a double-overtime decision in Cape Girardeau, Mo. that saw the Golden Eagles (11-14, 7-5) overcome a 22-point, first-half deficit. SEMO pulled out the 84-77 win in the end, but this time around, it was Tech's turn to celebrate.
Saturday's contest followed a similar script to the first match-up, with the home squad jumping out to an 18-point lead in the opening stanza. The Golden Eagles used incredible efficiency from distance in to take a 47-36 lead into the break, hitting 10-of-17 3-point attempts while shooting better than 50 percent from the floor.
Southeast Missouri flipped the momentum in the second half, shooting 50 percent while holding Tech to just 32 percent shooting over the final 20 minutes. The Redhawks took advantage of the situation, slowly whittling away at a 15-point deficit with just under 10 minutes to play.
Tech saw some struggles from the charity stripe down the stretch, hitting just 2-of-7 attempts in the final 2:35 while clinging to a nine-point lead. SEMO's Phillip Russell buried a triple to pull within six and Dylan Branson made it a four-point game with just over two minutes on the clock with a layup.
Golden Eagle graduate guard Ty Perry sunk his first of two freebies before Branson answered on the other end to turn it into a three-point game. After both sides traded 1-for-2 showings at the free-throw line, Russell drew a tough foul call from beyond 3-point range with five seconds to play.
The SEMO guard connected on all three free-throw attempts, tying the ball game at 80 points apiece. With a timeout in his pocket, Tech head coach John Pelphrey elected to trust his team to handle the situation at hand.
Thompson took the inbounds pass, raced down the court, stopped just outside the paint, and pulled up to bury the game-winner and send the Eblen Center crowd into a frenzy. It marked the first buzzer-beating, game-clinching bucket by a Golden Eagle since Kevin Murphy drilled a 3-pointer to defeat Austin Peay in the opening round of the 2010 OVC Tournament.
After getting out-rebounded heavily in the first contest with SEMO, Tech answered the call on Saturday with a 40-35 advantage. The Golden Eagles also dished out 19 assists to just 11 for the Redhawks.
Graduate forward Jaylen Sebree led the purple and gold with team-highs of 22 points, nine rebounds, and five assists, shooting 50 percent from the floor and 4-for-6 from distance. Thompson chipped in 16 points with four boards and four dimes on top of the game-winning bucket in his first start in Ohio Valley Conference play.
Perry joined the double-digit scoring effort, turning in 12 points with four rebounds. Diante Wood was a huge spark defensively, racking up a team-high three steals and grabbing eight boards while adding nine points and three dimes.
Off the bench, center Nolan Causwell contributed nine points and five rebounds while guard Erik Oliver put eight points on the scoreboard for the Golden Eagles. Jayvis Harvey tied for the team lead with a career-high five assists.
Russell led all scorers with 29 points and eight assists for the Redhawks. Chris Harris scored 21 with nine boards while Israel Barnes posted 13 points for the visitors.
Tech will play host to Southern Indiana for the first time in program history, squaring off with the Screaming Eagles in an 8:00 p.m. CT affair Thursday, Feb. 9. The contest will be televised nationally on ESPNU, Tech's second national broadcast of the season.
Photo by Jim Dillon
