By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MARTIN, Tenn. – A see-saw affair that featured four double-digit runs went to the home team Thursday night, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell to red-hot UT Martin in the Elam Center, 80-69.
Winners of six straight contests and tied for the lead in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with one game to play in the regular season, the Skyhawks (20-10, 13-4) used a big second-half explosion on offense to earn the victory on the night. The Golden Eagles (10-20, 5-12) lost the turnover battle, 12-4, and war on the offensive glass, 11-7, providing UT Martin with 73 attempts from the field in the up-tempo battle.
While the purple and gold hauled in more total rebounds, 43-39, and out-shot the Skyhawks, 44.1 percent to 38.4 percent, it was the home squad's showing from downtown that was the big difference in the tilt. Martin hit 14-of-33 tries from distance while the Golden Eagles finished the evening 7-for-21 from deep.
Tech's defense held its own for the first 19 minutes of the contest, limiting UT Martin to just 27 points with just under 60 seconds before the break. The Skyhawks closed ranks in that small span, scoring seven points to trim the Golden Eagle lead to just 36-32 heading into the locker room.
The Cookeville crew used a 10-0 run to move out front early, taking as large as a nine-point lead in the opening stanza. After Tech moved back out by seven to start the second half, UTM turned in its own double-digit run, scoring 11 straight for a four-point lead.
Trailing 49-43 less than halfway into the second period, the Golden Eagles swung right back with an 11-0 run, their second of the double-digit variety of the night. Back up by five, Tech's advantage didn't last long, as the Skyhawks flipped the script one more time with 12 consecutive points to move out front for good.
The second run seemed to kick UT Martin's offense into high gear for good, as the blue and orange rolled to 48 points in the second half to pull away and earn the all-important win.
Sophomore guard Josiah Davis turned in another spectacular performance to stay hot over his last 10 games, leading the purple and gold with 20 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He also snagged five rebounds.
Senior guard Diante Wood produced 15 points and eight boards while fellow senior guard Jayvis Harvey added 12 points to the mix. Rookie guard Kyle Layton rounded out Tech's double-digit scorers, tallying 10 points with five rebounds of his own. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe just missed a double-double, scoring nine points with a team-high 11 boards.
UT Martin's Jordan Sears exploded for a game-high 28 points, hitting five triples while finishing 7-for-8 from the charity stripe and with seven assists. Desmond Williams knocked down four treys on his way to 16 points while two-time defending OVC Player of the Week Jacob Crews added 13 points and seven rebounds to the effort. Issa Muhammad picked up a double-double with 11 points and 15 boards.
The Skyhawks head into the final contest of the regular season tied for first place in the league with Morehead State and Little Rock.
As for the visitors from Cookeville, the squad's journey to the Ohio Valley Conference tournament will now take some help. Tech needs a victory against the Trojans in Little Rock, the only team with a longer winning streak than the Skyhawks after securing their eighth straight W on Thursday.
A Golden Eagle win coupled with a loss by Southern Indiana at home to Southeast Missouri would present Tech with the final spot in the league tournament next week. Should the Screaming Eagles defeat the Redhawks, the last bid to the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind. would come down to which OVC unit claims the No. 1 seed.
If both TTU and USI claim victories, the purple and gold would need Morehead State to also fall at home on Saturday to Lindenwood.
Tech will square off with the Trojans on Saturday afternoon, visiting Little Rock, Ark. for a 3:00 p.m. CT regular-season finale.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
