By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MOREHEAD, Ky. – The battle of the boards was the difference maker of the evening for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team, as the Golden Eagles fell to longtime, Ohio Valley Conference rival Morehead State Thursday at Johnson Arena, 82-57.
The reigning league champs remained unbeaten in conference action, topping the visitors from Cookeville with a 45-20 advantage on the glass, including a whopping 18-4 advantage on the offensive side of things. Morehead State (11-4, 2-0) piled up 31 second-chance points on the night behind the elite rebounding performance, all while limiting Tech (5-11, 0-3) to just three such points.
The Golden Eagles held their own in the opening stanza, despite a 1-for-7 start from the floor that saw the Eagles push ahead by seven points. The purple and gold battle back, closing the half with much more efficiency on the offensive end of the floor.
Tech finished the first half shooting 50 percent from the floor and held Morehead State to just 3-of-14 shooting from downtown. The solid showings on both sides of the court allowed the Golden Eagles to enter the locker room trailing by just a single point at 33-32.
The Eagles found much more success in the second half of the tilt, finishing 10-of-10 from the line, 7-of-17 from distance, and shot 48.5 percent from the floor on their way to 49 points. Tech was held to just 25 points for the half, shooting under 40 percent from the field while being limited to just 10 total rebounds to MSU's 23.
Senior guard Diante Wood produced 11 points to tie for the team lead, sinking 4-of-8 tries from the floor and racking up three steals. Junior guard David Early also tallied 11 points for the Golden Eagles, hitting 5-of-9 attempts from the field.
Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. added 10 points to the mix while junior guard Josiah Davis and senior guard Jayvis Harvey each chipped in eight points.
Morehead's Riley Minix turned in a double-double with 17 points and a head-turning 19 rebounds. Jordan Lathon led all scorers with 21 points while Kalil Thomas produced 19 with a 5-for-9 performance from beyond the arc. Drew Thelwell dished out eight assists with four steals.
The purple and gold will wrap up the weekend with a Saturday showdown at Southern Indiana, visiting Evansville, Ind. for a 7:30 p.m. CT tilt with the Screaming Eagles.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
