By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team looks to right the ship Saturday afternoon, squaring off with Little Rock in the Hooper Eblen Center in Ohio Valley Conference action at 3:30 p.m. CT.
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+.
Thursday's match-up marks just the fifth in program history between Tech and Little Rock. The Trojans own a 3-1 advantage in the short series, including victories in each of the past three meetings. The Golden Eagles claimed the inaugural contest on Jan. 19, 2023, topping the Trojans on their home court, 77-75. Little Rock returned the favor two weeks later, besting the purple and gold in Cookeville, 91-89.
Last season, the Trojans used strong offensive showings to pick up a pair of wins, starting with an 81-75 decision in the Hoop on Dec. 28. Rodney Johnson Jr. tallied 12 points and eight rebounds in the loss. In last year's regular-season finale, Little Rock dominated on its home court to the tune of an 81-43 decision. Kyle Layton led Tech with 14 points in the ball game.
Little Rock enters Saturday's contest following a thrilling, road win at Southeast Missouri on Tuesday. The Trojans edged the Redhawks, 73-71, with Johnathan Lawson hitting a go-ahead jumper with 1.1 seconds to play.
SEMO trailed 13-0 right out of the gate, but tied things back up thanks to a 15-2 run before the Trojans pulled back out ahead by double figures. In the second half, the Redhawks held Little Rock without a field goal for more than seven minutes, slowly pecking away at another double-digit deficit, but the Trojans came out on top with the game-winner.
Tech takes on the Trojans after suffering its second loss in a row, a 77-70 battle with Southeast Missouri Thursday evening in the Hoop. The Golden Eagles scored just 26 first-half points, falling behind by 21 at the break.
The purple and gold erupted out of the gates in the second half, pulling to within just two points before the eight-minute media timeout. Coming out of the break, SEMO turned in a 9-0 run that put the game away for good. Southeast Missouri limited the Golden Eagles to a season-low four makes from distance in the affair.
Junior guard Jaylon Johnson led all scorers in the contest with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-11 shooting. He added five rebounds and two assists to the mix for good measure. Junior forward Ola Ajiboye tacked on a season-high 13 points of his own, delivering a perfect 4-for-4 display from the floor and a 5-for-6 effort from the charity stripe. The big man dished out three helpers as well.
Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe flirted with a double-double, ending the evening with nine points, a team-high eight rebounds, and three dimes. Sells also tallied nine points, sinking a pair of triples to lead the team. Junior guard Ray Glasgow chipped in seven points in 15 minutes off the bench.
Photo by Jim Dillon
