By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It took an extra five minutes, but the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team finished off the season sweep of Ohio Valley Conference rival UT Martin Thursday evening, topping the visiting Skyhawks 71-66 in overtime in a thrilling finish at the Hooper Eblen Center.
Downing their in-state foe in an extra period for the second time this season, the Golden Eagles (14-14, 9-8) officially clinched a berth into the OVC Tournament in Evansville, Ind. from Mar. 5-8.
The purple and gold burst out of the gates to open the contest with a 17-3 run, limiting the Skyhawks (12-17, 8-10) to a 1-for-10 start from the field. UT Martin responded with a 10-0 run coming out of the under-12-minute media break, but the Golden Eagle defense locked back down to close the half.
Tech held the visitors from Martin to just 29.6 percent shooting and a 4-for-18 mark from distance over the opening 20 minutes of the night, taking an eight-point lead into the locker room at 33-25. The Skyhawks rebounded to the tune of 51.9 percent efficiency in the second half, opening the frame with three triples to cut the deficit to just three points.
Once again, the Cookeville crew responded in kind, producing a 10-3 run to push back out to a 50-39 advantage with 9:16 to play. That double-digit lead stayed in place until the 3:08 mark on the clock, with the Golden Eagles seemingly safe with a 58-48 edge.
UT Martin's Tarence Guinyard took over the contest to close regulation, scoring 17 of the Skyhawks' final 20 points while pulling his team to within three in the closing seconds. The visitors raced down the court, found Josue Grullon near the right wing, and prayed as the guard's 25-foot prayer found pay dirt with 0.8 seconds to play, squaring the ball game at 62-62.
The Skyhawks seemed to take all the momentum in the building, opening the overtime period on a 4-0 run while Guinyard launched his career night up to 26 points and 12 rebounds. Never deterred, the Golden Eagles used the final three minutes to build a 9-0 run and pick up a massive, 71-66 win.
Junior guard Jaylon Johnson earned a trip to the charity stripe, sinking both ends of a 1-&-1 to cut the deficit to two. Tech's next trek down the court resulted in a foul drawn by junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe, who calmly knocked down both of his attempts to knot the tilt once more.
After Guinyard missed a contested layup with two minutes to play, Johnson took his turn with the rock, drove into the lane, and drained a tough jumper off the glass to give the Golden Eagles the lead for good. The Tech defense came up with three consecutive stops on the defensive end of the floor, forcing a pair of turnovers and gathering another missed attempt in the paint by the Skyhawks.
Johnson converted three of his four tries from the free-throw line over the final 16 seconds of the night, pushing the lead out a 71-66 with eight seconds to play. Tech then wisely fouled the Skyhawks with two seconds to play, sending Carlos Cortijo to the line for a 1&1 attempt. The guard missed off the front edge of the rim and time ran out as Guinyard attempted one final trey after gathering the loose rebound.
Putting together a massive performance for the purple and gold, senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. just missed a double-double while leading Tech with 18 points and nine rebounds. The veteran ended the night 7-for-14 from the floor and an impressive 4-for-8 from downtown, mixing in a career-high three steals.
Johnson tallied 16 points with a 9-for-10 showing at the stripe and seven boards. He paced the Cookeville crew with four assists and four steals as well. Local Rickman native Matthew Sells continued his hot shooting from beyond the arc, dropping 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from distance while mixing in three dimes and a season-high six rebounds.
Sophomore forward JaJuan Nicholls was efficient with a 4-for-6 night from the field, tallying eight points with a pair of dimes. Egbuniwe hauled in eight rebounds while chipping in five points, two assists, and two steals.
The Golden Eagles will continue their four-game homestand to close the regular season Saturday afternoon, playing host to in-state rival Tennessee State in a nationally-televised contest at 1:00 p.m. CT on ESPNU in the Hoop. Saturday will serve as both Legend's Day (with Tech basketball alumni invited back to be recognized and several championship teams set to be honored) and Gold Rush (with fans encouraged to wear gold with free t-shirts being distributed throughout the contest).
Photo by Jim Dillon
