By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The 2023-24 campaign officially came to a close for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles fell to Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Little Rock, 81-43, at the Jack Stephens Center.
The Trojans (20-11, 14-4) clinched a share of the league title with both UT Martin and Morehead State, both of whom also won Saturday to finish 14-4 in OVC play. Little Rock will head to the OVC Tournament next week in Evansville as the No. 1 seed thanks to tiebreakers over the Skyhawks and Eagles.
For the Golden Eagles (10-21, 5-13), the injury-riddled 2023-24 season is officially in the books following the loss in Little Rock. The Tech offense struggled to find its footing all day while the Trojans pulled away midway through the first half, stepped on the gas pedal, and never looked back.
The purple and gold shot just 30 percent from the floor in the contest while being forced into 20 turnovers. On the flip side, Little Rock shot 56 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from distance, and a highly efficient 20-of-23 from the charity stripe.
The Tech turnovers proved costly on the day, leading to 25 of Little Rock's 81 points. The Trojans outpaced the Golden Eagles 40-23 in the opening half and 41-20 over the final 20 minutes.
Freshman guard Kyle Layton led the Cookeville crew with a career-high-tying 14 points in the contest, sinking a pair of triples while racking up a pair of steals. Sophomore guard Josiah Davis contributed 13 points and five rebounds while sinking a career-best three shots from distance on five tries.
In his return to Little Rock, sophomore forward and Trojan transfer Daniel Egbuniwe tacked on 11 points while draining three attempts from downtown. He chipped in four boards, two steals, and two blocks as well.
Competing in his final contest in the purple and gold, senior guard Diante Wood was held scoreless while battling foul trouble, but still made his impact felt with a team-high four assists to go along with three boards.
Also taking part in his swan song as Golden Eagle, senior guard Jayvis Harvey added two points, three rebounds, a block, and assists to the mix. He wrapped up his two-year career with Tech ranked second in program history in career 3-point field goal percentage, sinking 102-of-257 attempts for a mark of 39.7 percent to sit behind only Frank Davis' showing of 40.7 percent.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
