By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
CHARLESTON, Ill. – Troubles with turnovers and a cold streak down the stretch proved too much for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to overcome Thursday evening, as the Golden Eagles fell to Eastern Illinois, 68-59, in Ohio Valley Conference action at Lantz Arena in Charleston, Ill.
The Panthers (10-10, 4-3) used a stifling defense to force the Golden Eagles (7-13, 2-5) into 18 miscues on the night, including 11 in the first half alone. Despite the early challenges with ball control, the purple and gold stayed in the fight with supreme effort and a healthy shooting display.
Tech fired at 52.4 percent from the field over the opening 20 minutes, at one point building a five-point lead during some offensive struggles by EIU. The home squad used the turnovers to create enough opportunities to overcompensate for its 37.5 percent touch from the floor in the first half, taking a 31-27 lead into the locker room.
Eastern Illinois came right out of the break with a hot touch, pushing its advantage out to 10 points just two minutes into the stanza. The Cookeville crew continued to take the ball hard into the paint, whittling away at the deficit until it trailed by just a single point at 54-53.
Coming out of a media timeout with possession, just couldn't find its shooting touch down the stretch, scoring just six more points the remainder of the ball game. The EIU defense limited Tech to 46.4 percent efficiency in the second half, allowing its offense to use a 48.0 percent mark, as well as a 12-for-18 showing at the charity stripe, to pull away.
Overall, the Panthers finished the night 16-of-24 from the line while the purple and gold struggled to make its chances count, ending the evening just 6-for-11. Eastern Illinois closed the contest on a 14-6 run over the final eight minutes, limiting the Golden Eagles to 3-for-10 shooting in that same span.
Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. paced the Tech squad with his first double-double at the Division I level, posting 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting while hauling in 10 rebounds, both team-highs in the tilt. Senior guard Diante Wood contributed 12 points, six boards, and a team-high six assists.
Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe tacked on 10 points while shooting 5-for-8 and corralled seven rebounds. Senior guard Jayvis Harvey rounded out the double-digit scoring efforts for Tech, tacking on 11 points while blocking a pair of shots.
EIU's Tiger Booker led the contest in the scoring column, dropping 26 points with an 8-for-10 line at the charity stripe. Nakyel Shelton and Kyndall Davis joined their teammate in double figures, each adding 12 points to the mix.
The Golden Eagles close out a road-heavy month of January, one that featured just a single contest in the Hooper Eblen Center, on Saturday. Tech will visit Edwardsville, Ill. for a 3:30 p.m. CT meeting with the Cougars of SIUE.
Photo by Dayton Simpson, EIU Athletics
