By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – It came down to the wire, but the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team couldn't hold off a late charge by in-state rival Chattanooga Sunday afternoon, as the Mocs edged the Golden Eagles at McKenzie Arena, 68-63.
The Golden Eagles turned in a brilliant defensive effort to open the contest, holding a Chattanooga squad averaging better than 80 points per game to just 29 over the first 20 minutes of action. The purple and gold limited the Mocs to just 37 percent shooting from the floor and a 3-for-16 mark from distance.
Only four different Moc players score in the opening stanza as well, in contrast to the seven different Golden Eagles that found the bottom of the bucket. Sophomore guard Josiah Davis led the Cookeville crew in the first half, producing eight points.
Chattanooga used three quick foul calls to kick off the second half to draw even with Tech at 39-39 for the first time since the early moments of the ball game. The Golden Eagle defense tightened up following the 7-0 Moc run, allowing the offense to take back control of the lead for a spell.
It was pure war from that point on, as neither side could string along together enough momentum to pull away the other by more than four points until the final buzzer. Tech built a pair of four-point leads, but the Mocs responded with back-to-back triples to take their first lead of the second half with just under five minutes to play.
The squads traded leads down the stretch on a number of occasions, with Chattanooga taking a three-point advantage with just over a minute to play. Davis hit a brilliant bucket in the paint to cut the deficit to one with under a minute of action left, but a questionable foul call on the other end gave the Mocs a pair of free throws.
After the Mocs converted them both, junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. hit a huge contested layup with under 30 seconds to go. Forced to foul, Tech sent Chattanooga to the line for two more, both of which the home team converted with 15.2 seconds left in the ball game.
Sophomore guard Grant Strong's fadeaway attempt from beyond the arc fell just short in the waning seconds of the contest, as the Mocs corralled the loose ball and sunk two final free throws at the end.
Johnson paced the purple and gold with another impressive display on the hardwood, scoring a team-high 18 points while narrowly missing a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds. He hit 3-of-6 attempts from deep to lead the Golden Eagles.
Davis finished the day with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting, chipping in five boards and pair of steals to the effort. Junior guard David Early completed the contest with 13 points on a 6-for-13 effort from the floor, snagging three boards as well.
Strong led the Golden Eagles with four assists to go along with six points while sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe contributed six points, five rebounds, and a block.
Tech returns to action Wednesday afternoon, visiting Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C. for a 1:00 p.m. CT affair.
Photo by Ray Soldano
