By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball embarks on its journey for its first Ohio Valley Conference Tournament crown with a bid to the NCAA Tournament on Wednesday evening, taking on in-state rival and No. 8-seeded UT Martin in a 6:00 p.m. CT affair in the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
The action can be followed live via radio with Dylan Vazzano and Frank Harrell on the call on 106.1 The Eagle while Jeff Hem and Marcus Wilson will provide video coverage of the contest on ESPN+.
The Cookeville crew makes its first trip to the OVC Tournament since finishing within an inch of claiming its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1963 during the 2022-23 campaign. The Golden Eagles fell in a thrilling championship battle with Southeast Missouri in overtime.
Should the No. 5-seeded Tech squad defeat the Skyhawks, it would be greeted by a 6:00 p.m. match-up against No. 3 Little Rock Thursday evening. Another win would create a rematch with the No. 1-ranked Redhawks of SEMO on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in the semifinals. The championship game is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening.
Contact the TTU Ticket Office today to reserve your tickets to this year's OVC Tournament. You can visit the TTU Ticket Office Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.; 1:00 p.m.-4:30 p.m. CT or call 931-372-3940. There is a $5 processing fee on each order. For more information on the tournament, please click here. If you have any questions, please contact the TTU Athletics Ticket Office.
Wednesday's match-up marks the 64th in program history between Tech and UT Martin. The Golden Eagles own a commanding, 44-19 advantage in the series, including a 2-0 lead when competing at a neutral site.
The last time the two sides squared off in Evansville, the purple and gold reigned supreme, clinching a spot in the OVC Championship game with a 78-63 win over the Skyhawks. Jaylen Sebree delivered the best game of his Golden Eagle career, dropping 28 points with 14 rebounds and four assists while hitting four triples.
When the two sides battled 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.
In the rematch with the Skyhawks in Cookeville on Feb. 20, it took another overtime period for the purple and gold to sweep the regular-season series. UT Martin tied the contest on a 25-foot prayer with under a second to play, but the Golden Eagles dominated the free-throw line in the extra session, pulling off a 71-66 win.
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.
Johnson averaged 18.5 points per game against UT Martin in 2024-25, shooting a whopping 95.5 percent clip (21-of-22) from the free throw line. Nicholls averaged 15.5 points on 63.6 percent shooting (14-of-22) while Johnson, Jr. had 18 points, nine rebounds, and three steals on Feb. 20.
UT Martin enters Wednesday's contest after dropping its regular-season finale at home to Morehead State, falling 59-47 on Senior Day at the Elam Center. The Skyhawks lead all of NCAA Division I men's basketball with eight one-point or overtime losses, seven of which have come in league play and two of which have come at the hands of the Golden Eagles.
Tech takes on the Skyhawks after falling in another tough, late loss at home, a 76-74 decision to Lindenwood on Senior Day. The Lions erased a 12-point Tech lead with 5:35 to play, sinking the game-winning free throws following a foul call with just over three seconds to play.
Junior guard Jaylon Johnson ended the evening tied for the team lead with 22 points, sinking 8-of-9 tries from the free-throw line. He added five rebounds and a team-high five assists to the mix while extending his streak of consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer to all 31 games this season.
Sophomore forward JaJuan Nicholls matched his teammate's scoring effort on a perfect night from the field, scoring 22 points on 9-for-9 shooting. He also tied for the team lead with seven rebounds with junior forward Daniel Egbuniwe, who corralled seven boards with seven points and four assists.
On Tuesday afternoon, Jaylon Johnson was named to the All-OVC First Team and OVC All-Newcomer Team, the first Golden Eagle to earn First Team honors since Jaylen Sebree in 2022-23. He averaged 14.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 1.5 steals per game, leading the OVC in assists and the purple and gold in scoring and steals.
Photo by Thomas Corhern
