By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – A late surge and historic performance weren't enough for the Tennessee Tech basketball team to cool down the sharp-shooting performances from Western Illinois on Thursday evening, as the visiting Leathernecks defeated the Golden Eagles in the Hooper Eblen Center, 82-69.
A tight battle for much of the first half quickly shifted in favor of the visitors from up north, as WIU (12-19, 6-14) limited the Cookeville crew (15-15, 10-9) to just 1-of-13 shooting to close the first half. The Leathernecks used a 13-3 run over the closing seven minutes of the period to take a 38-30 lead into the locker room.
Even with the Tech defense contesting a large percentage of its opponent's shots in the opening stanza, the home team just had no answer for Western Illinois' 53.3-percent shooting in the opening stanza. The Leathernecks hit 16-of-30 attempts from the field and turned around and duplicated the performance in the second half, again sinking 16-of-30 tries.
Tech's offensive cold streak continued into the second stanza, with Western Illinois pushing out to as much as a 24-point lead with 7:30 to play in the ball game. The Golden Eagles refused to go down without a fight, riding the momentum from local Sparta native Grant Slatten's hustle plays and a suddenly can't-miss mojo from junior guard Jaylon Johnson to narrow the deficit to as little as 12.
Western Illinois continued to make big shots down the stretch, holding off Tech's last-ditch effort that included three straight triples from Johnson. Despite the frenzy from the Golden Eagles late in the second half, it was a tough night shooting for the home purple and gold. WIU limited TTU to just 35.8 percent shooting from the floor, even after allowing 14 makes from downtown.
Even with the loss, Johnson delivered one of the top shooting displays in school history on his way to a season-high 31 points. The Houston, Texas native buried eight triples to tie for the second-most by a Golden Eagles in program history and the first since Hakeem Rogers hit eight against Crowley's Ridge on Dec. 4, 2016.
Cameron Crisp knocked down eight at Murray State during the 2003-04 campaign while Bobby McWilliams dropped in eight in the Hoop against Morehead State during the 1989-90 season. Corey Tillery set the single-game mark with 10 versus Warren Wilson on Dec. 6, 2018.
Johnson concluded the night with seven boards, three assists, and four steals to go with his 31 points, converting 8-of-14 attempts from distance and 11-of-20 field goals overall. Slatten chipped in eight points, three rebounds, and three steals in 19 minutes off the bench, making his minutes count while sparking the Cookeville crew in both halves.
Junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe contributed 12 points and eight boards to the mix while hitting a trio of treys. Senior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. tacked on 11 points five rebounds, and three dimes in 25 minutes of action. JaJuan Nicholls rounded out the scoring for Tech, producing seven points in nearly 19 minutes.
The Leathernecks' Trey Deveaux led the visitors with 29 points on 9-for-12 shooting with a 3-for-4 mark from deep and an 8-for-8 display at the charity stripe. Sean Smith mixed in 10 points, six boards, and six assists while Julius Rollins tallied 17 points and Ryan Myers added 16 points with four makes from downtown.
The Golden Eagles will close out the 2024-25 regular season Saturday afternoon in the Hoop with a 3:00 p.m. CT affair against Lindenwood. The contest will represent Senior Day, with Johnson Jr., Slatten, Matthew Sells, Bogdan Zimonjic, and graduate manager Jonas Alger all being recognized prior to the contest and following the women's game with the Lions at 1:00 p.m.
Photo by Jim Dillon
