By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team officially wraps up the 2023-24 regular season Saturday afternoon, visiting Little Rock for a 3:00 p.m. CT match-up with a spot in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament hanging in the balance.
The action can be followed live via radio with Dylan Vazzano on the call on 106.1 The Eagle while video coverage will be available on ESPN+.
Tech's journey to the OVC Tournament will take some help. The Cookeville crew needs a victory against the Trojans in Little Rock, a team boasting the longest winning streak in the league 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.
Saturday's match-up represents just the fourth between the two programs, with Little Rock holding the slight, 2-1 edge. Tech owns a 1-0 mark in the only contest at the Jack Stephens Center.
The two sides opened OVC play in Cookeville back on Dec. 28 in an instant classic that featured a ridiculous 19 lead changes and eight ties. Tech's inconsistencies at the charity stripe and with ball control led the Trojans to an 81-75 victory. The purple and gold made 16 turnovers in the contest while sinking just 17-of-27 tries from the charity stripe.
Sophomore guard Josiah Davis erupted for a then-career-high 20 points to lead Tech's effort, finishing 9-of-13 from the floor. Prior to his season-ending injury, junior guard David Early contributed 15 points while senior guard Jayvis Harvey tacked on 13 with five rebounds.
Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. mixed in 12 points and a team-high-tying eight rebounds while senior guard Diante Wood nearly matched the effort, posting 11 points and eight boards of his own. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe stuffed the stat sheet with four points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
Tech took the victory in the first-ever meeting last January, topping the Trojans on the road, 77-75. Harvey tallied 14 points in the win.
Little Rock got its revenge in Cookeville just one week later, outlasting the Golden Eagles in a 91-89 barn burner in the Hoop. Harvey exploded for a then-career-high 24 points in the rematch, finishing an impressive 6-for-8 from distance in the affair.
On Thursday, the Golden Eagles dropped a back-and-forth affair at UT Martin, falling to the red-hot Skyhawks 80-69 in the Elam Center. Both sides turned in a pair of double-digit runs, but the latest for the home team allowed them to pull away down the stretch on their way to 48 second-half points.
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.
Wood produced 15 points and eight boards while 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. Egbuniwe just missed a double-double, scoring nine points with a team-high 11 boards.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
