By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team returns to the Hooper Eblen Center to close out the regular season over the next two weeks, kicking off a four-game homestand with a 7:30 p.m. CT battle against Ohio Valley Conference and in-state rival UT Martin Thursday evening.
The action can be followed live via radio with Roger Ealey on the call on 106.1 The Eagle while Dylan Vazzano and Frank Harrell will provide video coverage of the contest on ESPN+. The contest will also be featured live locally on WCTE.
Thursday's match-up marks the 63rd in program history between Tech and UT Martin. The Golden Eagles own a commanding, 43-19 advantage in the series, including a 23-8 lead when competing in Cookeville.
When the two sides squared off back on Jan. 25, the purple and gold left the Elam Center with a huge, 89-85 victory in overtime. It sparked a three-game, road-winning streak, the program's longest since the 2006-07 season.
Behind the brilliant second-half play of sophomore forward JaJuan Nicholls, Tech rallied from a 10-point deficit in the first half with a 9-0 run in the second stanza to square the contest with a little over 12 minutes to play in regulation.
Leading the Golden Eagle effort with a career-high 23 points, Nicholls also hauled in seven boards while finishing with 10 field goals on 16 attempts. The youngster corralled four huge offensive rebounds as well.
Ending the evening a perfect 12-for-12 at the charity stripe, junior guard Jaylon Johnson tallied 21 points with a trio of makes from deep and a team-high four assists. Junior guard Ray Glasgow joined the group of scorers with a season-high 21 points of his own, sinking 7-of-11 tries from the floor and 5-of-6 attempts at the charity stripe. The junior also tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Nicholls, Johnson, and Glasgow became the first Tech trio to each score at least 20 points in a contest since Jayvis Harvey (22), Rodney Johnson Jr. (21), and David Early (20) accomplished the feat in the team's overtime victory at Presbyterian on Nov. 22, 2023. Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe flirted with a double-double behind 12 points and eight boards, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers.
UT Martin enters Thursday's contest following an 86-75 loss at home to visiting Tennessee State on Tuesday night. The Tigers held the Skyhawks to just 27 first-half points, taking a 16-point advantage into the locker room. UTM dropped 48 points in the second half, but it was too little too late.
Tech takes on UT Martin after dropping an 83-69 decision on the road at Southeast Missouri. The Redhawks limited the Golden Eagles to a season-low 21 points in the opening stanza, Tech found its form on offense in the second half, dropping 48 points on the scoreboard in an attempt to close the gap. The effort was completely counterbalanced by an even more impressive display by the Redhawks, who delivered one of the more elite shooting performances for a 20-minute period you will see in the game.
SEMO blew out to a 27-point lead with 8:40 to play thanks to a nearly infallible 75.9 percent shooting mark for the second half. The home squad sunk 22-of-29 attempts from the field, scoring 52 points for the half.
Leading the purple and gold with 17 points, Johnson sunk three of his five attempts from distance. Local Sparta native Grant Slatten joined him in double figures, finishing 5-for-8 from the floor on his way to a season-high 12 points with four rebounds.
Senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. tallied nine points and four boards in 22 minutes of action while Egbuniwe chipped in eight points and four rebounds.
Photo by Jim Dillon
