By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team returns to Cookeville to host its first home game of the 2023-24 campaign Tuesday evening, welcoming in-state rival Lipscomb into the Hooper Eblen Center for a 6:00 p.m. CT tilt.
The action can be followed live via radio with Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell on the call on 106.1 The Eagle while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will provide video coverage of the contest on ESPN+.
Tech owns a decisive, 43-12 advantage in the all-time series between the two programs, including an impressive 25-4 mark in Cookeville. The Bisons have won six of the past 10 meetings, including last season's instant classic in Nashville, a 64-63 decision that came down to the final seconds.
Up by one with just under 20 seconds to play, the Golden Eagles forced a turnover by the Bisons to take control of the ball on the sidelines in Lipscomb territory. The home squad had one foul to give and used it, resulting in a second inbounds play for the visiting purple and gold.
Rather than foul a second time, Lipscomb used its press to force a Tech turnover and Bisons star Will Pruitt drilled a jumper just inside his own free-throw line to put the home squad on top for good. Out of timeouts, the Golden Eagles rushed the ball up the floor and got two looks at a potential game-winning bucket before the clock struck zero to end the game.
The Golden Eagles enter Tuesday's affair with some second-half momentum on its side from its contest at Murray State on Friday. Trailing by as many as 23 with 11 minutes to play in the second half after the Racers opened the stanza scoring on their first nine possessions, the purple and gold closed the contest with a furious rally.
Down the stretch, Tech scratched and clawed its way back into the contest, closing to within six points at the final buzzer for a final score of 78-72. Freshman Kyle Layton put forth a monster effort off the bench in the second half, drilling three buckets from 3-point range to help cut the deficit to under 10 points.
The rookie guard ended the evening with nine points, four rebounds, and two steals with a team-high plus-minus of +15. Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. led the purple and gold with 15 points while shooting efficiently on a 7-for-12 effort.
Making his season debut, senior guard Jayvis Harvey produced 13 points, with a team-high four assists and three rebounds in 29 minutes off the bench. Sophomore guard Josiah Davis tacked on 12 points on 6-for-10 shooting to go along with five rebounds and two dimes.
Junior guard David Early chipped in nine points and two boards while sophomore guard Grant Strong led the team with six rebounds to complement four points and two assists.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech men's basketball are now on sale. To order, call 931-372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, or visit TTUSports.com.
Photo by Dave Winder, Murray State Athletics
