By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
MACOMB, Ill. – A back-and-forth battle from tip to finish, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team came up just short in its Ohio Valley Conference opener Tuesday evening, falling at Western Illinois in a 71-68 match-up in Macomb, Ill.
More of a slow-paced affair over the opening 10 minutes, the Golden Eagles (4-7, 0-1) fought through some early turnover trouble to stay in the fight. The Leathernecks (7-5, 1-0) shot out by as much as eight points in the opening stanza, using a 13-2 run to do the damage.
Tech answered back with a 7-0 run down the stretch, closing the gap before junior guard Ray Glasgow buried a triple with under 25 seconds to play in the half to square the contest. The stalemate carried into the locker room, with the Cookeville crew boasting a lot of offensive advantages over the opening 20 minutes.
Heading into halftime, the Golden Eagles boasted a 48.1 percent shooting touch from the floor and a 41.7 percent mark from distance. Tech seemed to carry that momentum into the second half, quickly pushing out by four points.
Mekhi Cameron suffered a lower-body injury while attempting a turnaround jump shot just before the first media break of the second stanza, forcing an early exit for the senior guard on the night. Western Illinois pounced on the potential momentum shift, delivering a 9-1 run to jump back on top.
The visiting purple and gold battled back to tie the contest twice around the 10-minute mark and even took the lead one final time with 9:12 on the clock after junior guard Jaylon Johnson made an athletic layup through contact and finished off the old-fashioned three-point play with a free throw.
The Leathernecks responded with an 8-2 run that put them back on top for good, although not without some last-minute drama. Trailing by four with 30 seconds to play, Tech battled for back-to-back offensive boards and gave Glasgow the opportunity to sink a contested layup and head to the line for his own three-point play.
The junior buried the free throw with 14 seconds on the clock, bringing Tech to within a point and forcing intentional foul tactics. Western Illinois sunk the first attempt before missing its second try, but was able to corral the ensuing rebound and get two more free-throw attempts with another Golden Eagle foul.
A couple of conversions saw the Cookeville crew trail by four again, but the team still wouldn't give in. Glasgow drilled another shot from downtown with just 1.2 seconds to go in the contest, once again making it a one-point game.
Western Illinois sunk two more free throws before the Golden Eagles took one last attempt to force overtime. Redshirt junior guard Grant Slatten made a perfect baseball pass that found the hands of senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr.
The Tech veteran hauled in the pass, turned around, and got off a decent look with two defenders on him, but the ball rolled around the iron and back out, securing a victory for the Leathernecks.
Despite the loss, a pair of Golden Eagles delivered arguably their best outings of the season in the tilt, led by a season-high 20 points off the bench from Glasgow. The Bronx, N.Y. native finished 7-for-9 in just under 20 minutes for the visitors, sinking four treys on six tries and snagging five rebounds for good measure.
Johnson Jr. produced his first double-double of the year, scoring 19 points while hauling in a career-high 16 rebounds. He added three assists to the mix as well. Joining in on the double-digit scoring efforts was Jaylon Johnson, who provided 12 points and a pair of dimes on the night.
Cameron tallied seven points and five boards in just 18 minutes of action before exiting the ball game with the injury. Junior forward Ola Ajiboye chipped in two points, six rebounds, three dimes, two steals, and two blocks.
The Golden Eagles head southwest to continue OVC action on Thursday, squaring off with Lindenwood in St. Charles, Mo. in another 7:30 p.m. CT match-up.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
