By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team is set to take on first-time opponent Southern Indiana Thursday evening, playing host to the new Ohio Valley Conference foe Screaming Eagles in an 8:00 p.m. CT tilt in the Hooper Eblen Center.
Fans will have plenty of options to follow the action should they be unable to attend in person, with Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell providing radio coverage on 106.1 The Eagle and Robert Ford and Richie Scheuler sharing the call on both ESPNU and ESPN+. The game can also be heard on the WTTU student radio station 88.5 FM.
The contest will represent Tech's second nationally-televised contest in OVC play this season after defeating SIUE on ESPNews two Thursdays ago, 80-68. The match-up also represents a Blackout Game, with all fans encouraged to wear black. Fans who do don black will be eligible for a number of fantastic prizes while the first 1,000 fans will receive a free t-shirt. More information on the prizes, as well as rules and restrictions, can be found here.
Southern Indiana comes into the contest on a three-game skid, with all three losses by five or less points and two occurring in overtime. Prior to the streak of losses, the Screaming Eagles had turned in five consecutive victories. USI dropped an overtime decision at UT Martin on Jan. 28, 86-83 to start the tough run.
Last Thursday, USI fell to Tennessee State at home, an 80-76 decision in Evansville. The Screaming Eagles followed it up by hitting a dramatic, buzzer-beating 3-pointer to send Saturday's showdown with league leader Morehead State to an extra session. The visiting Eagles took control in overtime, downing Southern Indiana 71-66.
This marks the first-ever meeting between Tech and Southern Indiana.
The Golden Eagles enter Thursday following a thrilling victory over a smoking-hot Southeast Missouri squad, one that saw junior guard Brett Thompson race the distance of the court with five seconds left, pull up just outside the paint, and bury a game-winning buzzer-beater for an 82-80 win. 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.
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.
Following Thursday's match-up, Tech will hit the road for a trip down I-40 and an in-state battle with league-rival Tennessee State in Nashville. Tip for the contest is slated for 3:30 p.m. CT Saturday afternoon at the Gentry Center.
Photo by Jim Dillon
