By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – An inspired second-half effort lifted the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to its second straight win in the comfort of the Hooper Eblen Center Saturday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles topped in-state rival Tennessee State, 77-74, in a nationally televised contest on ESPNU.
The purple and gold overcame a 10-point deficit in the first half and led just under six minutes of the ball game, using a strong defensive front and timely scoring to notch a big Ohio Valley Conference victory on their home court.
The Tigers (14-15, 10-8) shot an elite rate in the opening half, firing at a 64.3 percent clip from the floor. Despite being held to just over 40 percent from the field in the same span, Tech's defense kept it in the contest, forcing eight turnovers.
In the second half, the Golden Eagles (15-14, 10-8) methodically worked their way back into the contest, cutting the deficit to four. TSU pushed its advantage back to 10 one last time with 14:32 to play, but the Tech defense took over from that point on.
Over the next seven minutes, the Cookeville crew held the visitors to just two points erasing the hole and taking its first lead of the contest on a Kyle Layton triple. The Tigers tied the contest twice, evening things at 58-58 one more time before the Golden Eagles jumped back on top for good with six minutes to play.
Tech built its own lead to as high as nine points with 56 seconds to play, but Tennessee State refused to go down without a fight. TSU trimmed the deficit to three with 33 seconds left on the clock and even forced a turnover on Tech's next inbounds play.
The Golden Eagle defense held strong, gathering a clutch defensive rebound and sinking three of the final four free throws of the game to secure its three-point victory.
Leading the way for the purple and gold was senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr., dropping a game-high 20 points while tying for the team lead with eight rebounds. Junior guard Jaylon Johnson tacked on 15 points with seven assists, sinking 10-of-14 attempts from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe connected for 11 points while hauling in eight boards. He didn't finish stuffing the stat sheet there either, accumulating three assists and a whopping five steals. Layton rounded out Tech's double-digit scorers, contributing 10 points with a pair of steals.
Local Rickman native Matthew Sells buried a trio of treys on his way to nine points off the bench while junior forward Ola Ajiboye produced three points, six rebounds, and two dimes.
The purple and gold continue their four-game homestand next Thursday, playing host to Western Illinois in a 7:30 p.m. affair in the Eblen Center.
Photo by Jim Dillon
