By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. – It came down to the wire, but the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team took home a clutch, 72-71 victory over VMI on the first day of the Greenbrier Tip-Off at Colonial Hall at The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Friday afternoon.
The purple and gold (3-1) led for most of the contest, building as large as a 14-point advantage in the first half. The Keydets (3-1) mounted a comeback bid with a little under seven minutes to play in the contest, battling back from a 10-point deficit.
With just 12 seconds left on the clock, VMI's Augustinas Kiudulas drew a foul and knocked down a pair of free throws to give his team its first lead of the day at 71-70. Calm, cool, and collected, the Golden Eagles and head coach John Pelphrey called for a timeout, drawing up the game-winning play.
Junior guard Jaylon Johnson provided the clinching bucket, driving down the court and sinking a layup with six seconds to go. The guard followed it up with a huge steal with four seconds on the clock, essentially icing the game and sealing the victory for the Cookeville crew.
Forcing 15 turnovers, the Tech defense also held VMI to 35.9 percent shooting from the floor and just 25.0 percent from beyond the arc. The Golden Eagles scored 12 points off the Keydet turnovers while finishing pretty efficiently from distance, a solid 11-for-30 at 36.7 percent.
It was a total team effort across the board for the purple and gold, led by Johnson and forward Rodney Johnson Jr. The two each tallied 13 points, with Johnson Jr. hauling in five rebounds and Johnson securing four boards, two steals, and a trio of triples.
Forward Daniel Egbuniwe made his 22 minutes on the court count while battling foul trouble, turning in 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting and five assists. Off the bench, junior guard Ray Glasgow chipped in 11 points with five rebounds, three dimes, and two steals.
Local Sparta, Tenn. native Grant Slatten added 10 points to the mix, corralling a team-high six boards and sinking 5-of-7 attempts from the charity stripe. Sophomore guard Kyle Layton delivered nine points with three makes from downtown and dished out a season-high six assists.
With the victory, the Golden Eagles secured a spot in the River Division Championship game on Saturday. Tech will square off with UTRGV in a 1:30 p.m. CT affair in Colonial Hall.
Photo courtesy of Greenbrier Tip-Off
