By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Perhaps the weather in Cookeville Thursday night was just a precursor for the type of night the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team would endure on offense, as the Golden Eagles fell to the visiting SIUE Cougars in Ohio Valley Conference action, 75-58.
Before the purple and gold could even take the court in the Hooper Eblen Center, there was a delay of more than 90 minutes during the second quarter of the Tech and SIUE women's contest due to a number of local tornado warnings. When the two sides finally took the hardwood, it was a slow start for both offenses.
The Golden Eagles (12-12, 7-6) and Cougars (17-8, 10-4) opened the evening a combined 1-for-15 from distance, with SIUE's Ray'Sean Taylor the lone shooter to find the bottom of the bucket during the stretch. The league's leading scorer put those skills on full display from that point on, kicking off a 17-5 run for the Cougars.
With his squad trailing by three, Taylor buried three straight triples to put his team back on top for good. He finished the opening stanza with 19 points and a 5-for-7 showing from deep, helping SIUE take a 39-27 lead into the locker room. The OVC's top defense stalled the Tech offense over the final seven minutes of the opening stanza, limiting the Cookeville crew to just two field goals and one free throw.
Tech went nearly 22 minutes into the contest before finally seeing one fall through the cylinder from downtown, with junior guard Jaylon Johnson finally breaking the team's 0-for-8 streak. The purple and gold couldn't string together much momentum in the second stanza, trailing by eight or more the rest of the night.
The Cougars shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the second half while limiting the Golden Eagles to a 37.0 percent mark. SIUE finished the night at 52.4 percent from the field and with a 40-27 lead on the glass. Taylor led all scorers with a game-high 28 points and a 7-for-10 display from deep.
Sophomore forward JaJuan Nicholls paced the purple and gold with 16 points and six boards, sinking seven of his 10 attempts from the floor. He picked up two steals and a block as well. Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe added 10 points to the scoring mix.
Johnson turned in nine points with three dimes, four rebounds, and two steals while junior forward Ola Ajiboye chipped in nine points, four boards, and three assists of his own in 16 minutes off the bench. Tech was held to a season-low three makes from beyond the arc on 19 attempts and just 40.7 percent shooting overall.
Tech will defend its home floor again Saturday afternoon, playing host to Eastern Illinois in a 3:00 p.m. tilt in the Eblen Center.
Photo by Jim Dillon
