By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A back-and-forth affair much of the evening, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team pulled away from visiting Ohio Valley Conference foe Lindenwood Thursday evening in the teams' rematch in the Hooper Eblen Center, picking up a critical, 77-68 victory.
After falling to the Lions (9-19, 4-11) in their inaugural match-up back on Dec. 31 in St. Charles, Mo., the Golden Eagles (13-15, 9-6) exacted some revenge in Thursday's tilt, staying in a tie for second place in the OVC standings with UT Martin and Southeast Missouri.
Both sides delivered their fair share of mini runs throughout the evening, combining for 13 lead changes and 11 ties. Tech turned in the largest run of the evening to end the contest, flipping a 66-64 deficit with just over four minutes to play into a 77-66 advantage with 30 seconds on the clock.
Jayvis Harvey played a key role down the stretch for the purple and gold, tying the game at 66-66 with a physical layup. On Tech's next trip down the floor, the junior worked his way into the paint before kicking the ball back out to an open Jaylen Sebree, who promptly buried a long triple to put the Cookeville crew back on top.
With just under a minute in the contest and the Golden Eagle defense holding their own, Sebree reciprocated the favor, finding Harvey open beyond the arc for a huge triple and six-point lead. With the Lions fighting to stay in it, Harvey calmly sank each of his four free-throw attempts on the next two possessions to essentially ice the contest.
Tech's 13-2 run to finish the game earned the team its first-ever victory over Lindenwood. It also gave the purple and gold at least one victory over every other OVC team this season, the first time a Golden Eagle squad accomplished the feat since the 2002-23 season. It marked the first time since 2001-02 the team pulled it off in the regular season alone.
The Golden Eagle victory came behind a spectacular effort from junior guard Brett Thompson, who poured in a career-high 28 points and dished out six assists. The Oakland, Calif. native finished 10-for-20 from the field while knocking down four makes from deep and securing a pair of steals.
Harvey contributed 15 points and three dimes while Sebree turned in 14 with a team-high eight rebounds. Sebree also racked up four assists and a pair of steals. Graduate guard Ty Perry put forth nine points and five boards.
Bogdan Zimonjic turned in 10-and-a-half minutes off the bench with clutch rebounding down the stretch, hauling in four boards to help keep Tech in the mix for a league title.
Keenon Cole led the Lions with 23 points and 11 rebounds on the night while Kevin Caldwell Jr. produced 21 points. Cam Burrell tallied seven assists and eight boards.
Tech will stay in the Hoop for its final home contest of the 2022-23 regular season, hosting in-state foe UT Martin on Saturday in a 3:00 p.m. CT tilt as part of Senior Day. The Golden Eagle men's and women's basketball teams will honor their senior members in brief ceremonies between the two contests. The women will tip off at 1:00 p.m. against the Skyhawks.
Photo by Jim Dillon
