By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball continues the busiest portion of the 2024-25 schedule this weekend, a stretch that features four games in eight days, taking part in the River Division of the Greenbrier Tip-Off in White Sulphur Springs W.Va. on Friday and Saturday.
Competing at Colonial Hall at the famed Greenbrier Resort, the Golden Eagles open the multi-team event with a 2:30 p.m. CT tip against VMI Friday afternoon. The tournament concludes on Saturday with the purple and gold slated to take on either the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley or Charleston Southern at either 11:00 a.m. or 1:30 p.m., depending on the results of Friday's contests.
The action can be followed via live stats or via live stream on passthaballlive.com.
Friday's match-up marks the first in program history between Tech and VMI. Should the Golden Eagles square off with UTRGV, it would represent the 14th meeting between the two schools and first since the purple and gold fell on a half-court buzzer-beater to the Vaqueros in a tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas back on Nov. 15, 2013.
UTRGV owns a slight, 7-6 edge in the all-time series with the Golden Eagles. If Tech were to take on Charleston Southern, it would be just the second tilt between the two programs all time, with the Cookeville crew boating a 93-66 win in Charleston, S.C. on Dec. 28, 1999.
VMI enters the tournament with an unblemished, 3-0 record on the year, turning in blowout wins on its home court over Washington College and Christendom. The Keydets also picked up a 76-71 road victory at Bellarmine last Saturday.
UTRGV comes into the weekend 1-2 overall, falling at Nebraska to open the year and dropping a 99-86 decision to No. 15 Creighton on the road. The Vaqueros bounced back on Sunday with a dominant win over Champion Christian College.
Charleston Southern also owns a 1-2 record heading into the event, falling at Clemson and North Florida to open the season. The Buccaneers rebounded with a massive, 58-point win against Morris College on Monday.
The Golden Eagles head into their tilt with VMI boasting back-to-back wins following a tight, five-point loss at Georgia to open the season. On Tuesday, Tech held on to defeat a feisty West Georgia squad in the Hooper Eblen Center, 76-73.
Junior Daniel Egbuniwe had a big day for the purple and gold, leading the way with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks. The forward finished 7-for-10 from the floor with three assists for good measure.
Fellow forward Rodney Johnson Jr. chipped in 10 points and seven rebounds to tie for the team lead. The senior was 5-for-7 from the field with three assists of his own.
Sophomore guard Kyle Layton delivered 10 points and a pair of steals to the effort while junior guard Ray Glasgow kicked in 10 points on 4-for-7 shooting in 13 minutes off the bench. Junior guard Jaylon Johnson mixed in eight points, nine assists, five steals, and four boards on the night.
All 10 Golden Eagles that saw the floor produced at least two points and secured at least one rebound in the contest. The home squad ended the day shooting 52.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from distance.
Johnson Jr. was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Monday after averaging 19.5 points on 68.0 percent shooting, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 steals over the team's first two games of the year. He also finished an impressive 5-for-6 from beyond the arc.
Season tickets for Tennessee Tech men's basketball are now on sale. To order, call 931-372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, or visit TTUSports.com.
Photo by Jim Dillon
