By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team looks for its third consecutive Ohio Valley Conference victory Saturday afternoon, playing host to longtime league rival Morehead State in a 3:00 p.m. dance in the Hooper Eblen Center
The action can be followed live via radio with Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell on the call on 106.1 The Eagle while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will provide video coverage of the contest on ESPN+.
Saturday's match-up marks the 164th in program history between Tech and Morehead State, the second-most tilts with an opponent in program history to just Murray State. The Eagles own a 95-68 advantage in the series, but the Golden Eagles boast a 44-26 lead when competing in Cookeville. Morehead State has claimed eight of the last nine meetings between the two rivals, including each of the past three contests.
Tech's last win in the series came on its home floor, a 79-62 decision in the Hoop on Jan. 12, 2023. Morehead State captured a close victory in the building to close last season's series, topping the purple and gold 67-60. In the two previous meetings prior, both in Morehead, the Eagles topped the Cookeville crew in decisive fashion, with scores of 64-45 on Feb. 2, 2023 and 82-57 on Jan. 4, 2024.
Morehead State enters Saturday's contest a perfect 3-0 in OVC play, topping Southern Indiana in a 70-68 thriller in Evansville back on Tuesday. The victory marked the Eagles fifth straight overall, sandwiching their first two conference wins between blowout triumphs over Kentucky Christian and Alice Lloyd.
After waxing KCU 86-63, Morehead eked out a 70-69 decision on its home floor over UT Martin in overtime. The Eagles followed it up with a 74-68 victory against Tennessee State before closing out their home stretch with a 94-63 shellacking of Alice Lloyd.
The Golden Eagles head into Saturday's affair after holding on for a win of their own over Southern Indiana, topping the Screaming Eagles 68-64 in the Hoop on Thursday evening. Tech built as much as a 13-point lead, holding on down the stretch to pick up its second straight OVC win.
Six different Golden Eagles scored at least eight points in the tilt, led by an impressive individual effort from junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe. The Memphis native delivered a double-double with 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds, rejecting a game-high three shots for good measure. He also chipped in two steals and a pair of assists.
Matching the scoring effort of Egbuniwe, senior guard Matthew Sells turned in a season-high 14 points with three assists, sinking 4-of-8 attempts from downtown. Junior forward Ola Ajiboye just missed a double-double of his own, ending the evening 5-for-5 from the floor with 10 points, nine boards, four dimes, and three steals.
Junior guard Jaylon Johnson mixed in nine points and five rebounds to the effort while Sparta native Grant Slatten chipped in nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. Junior guard Ray Glasgow added eight points and three assists off the bench.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
