By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
FLORENCE, Ala. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team couldn't overcome a slow start to the second half of its contest at North Alabama Thursday evening, as the Lions used a massive final 20 minutes to down the Golden Eagles, 86-71.
Just hours prior to tip, a transformer blew on the North Alabama campus, forcing a power outage to parts of CB&S Bank Arena. The outage prevented the use the Lions' video boards, shot clocks, and normal scoreboards for the contest.
UNA Athletics secured mobile scoreboards for the sidelines and used verbal cues for the shot clock at 15 seconds and 10 seconds, along with a countdown of the final five seconds.
Despite the challenges, the Golden Eagles came ready to fight right out of the gates, opening an 11-4 advantage. The Tech defense forced the Lions into three quick turnovers to jump start the lead.
North Alabama battled back to even the score and it was a seesaw battle until the final four minutes of the stanza. The Cookeville crew moved back in front by as many as eight just before the break and took a 38-32 lead into the locker room.
The Lions took their turn opening a half on fire, taking a 53-43 advantage while the Tech offense tried to find its footing. It was an ice cold start for the visiting purple and gold, missing its first seven attempts from the field while sinking five free throws prior to their first bucket of the stanza.
Things finally began to click for the Golden Eagles in the scoring department, but the North Alabama offense never cooled off, finishing 7-for-11 from distance and shooting over 60 percent from the floor until the final buzzer sounded.
UNA used a decisive advantage in the turnover battle to fuel the second-half surge, outpacing Tech 7-1 and producing 17 points off TTU miscues. All-in-all, the Lions shot 52.6 percent for the night, including a 44.4 percent showing from deep and 81.8 percent performance at the charity stripe.
Golden Eagle senior guard Jayvis Harvey dropped a career-high 25 points on 9-for-14 efficiency, sinking three attempts from downtown while dishing out a team-high four assists. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe flirted with his second straight double-double, concluding the evening with 16 points, eight boards, and three dimes.
Junior guard David Early chipped in 13 points to the effort while sophomore center David Craig enjoyed his best showing in the purple and gold with nine points and five boards. Rookie forward Rylee Samons added six points to the mix with a couple of makes from beyond the arc.
Tech returns to Cookeville for a Sunday matinee against Alice Lloyd in the Hooper Eblen Center. Tip is set for 3:00 p.m. CT.
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 Brycen Parris, UNA Athletics
