By Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech led most of the way, but just couldn't shake host East Tennessee State as the Bucs pulled ahead late and took a 53-48 victory over the Golden Eagles on Saturday.
Tech (4-2) returns to action on Tuesday as it heads down to Birmingham to take on Samford.
Peyton Carter, within an hour of her hometown of Abingdon, Va., led the Golden Eagles in scoring with 14 points as she was 5-for-9 from the field with a 4-for-7 day behind the arc. Carter also led the team in steals with three.
Reghan Grimes also scored in double figures with 12 points, including a 4-for-5 effort at the free-throw line. Grimes also had seven rebound, two assists and two steals. True freshman Chloe Larry also chipped in 10 points with four rebounds and five assists.
While graduate Anna Walker was held off from reaching the 1,000-point milestone against the Bucs, the veteran did pull down 13 boards – including three on the offensive side of the glass – as the Golden Eagles collected 33 total caroms.
Braylyn Milton led ETSU (2-4) with 20 points as she was 8-for-14 from the field with four 3-pointers and three steals. Meghan Downing led the team on the boards with eight rebounds, while Courtney Moore also scored in double-digits with 10 points.
The Golden Eagles were saddled with 20 turnovers – 10 in the third quarter alone – leading to 20 points off of giveaways. The 10 third-quarter takeaways led to 13 ETSU points out of the 15 scored in the period as the Bucs outscored Tech 15-11.
The seven-point advantage the Golden Eagles enjoyed late in the second quarter was the largest in the game, buoyed by an 8-0 scoring run. Tech led the game for 24:35 of the full 40, but the lead swapped possession 13 times with five ties.
ETSU outscored Tech 15-14 in the opening period after the Golden Eagles scored the first six points of the contest. The Bucs powered back, tying the game at 12 with a pull-up jumper with 1:11 left in the quarter. Taris Thornton responded with a fast break jumper off a turnover to retake the lead, only for ETSU to climb back on top with a free throw, followed by a layup off a steal for Milton.
Tech held ETSU to just six points in the second quarter as the Bucs were 2-for-13 from the field and 1-for-7 from 3-point range. The drought allowed the Golden Eagles to take a 27-21 halftime lead. However, with the turnovers hampering the effort, ETSU was able to outscore Tech 15-11 to make it a 38-36 Golden Eagle lead at the end of the third quarter.
Tech's last lead game with 3:53 remaining in the game as Carter drained a 3-pointer off of Thornton's offensive board to make it 46-44, but the Bucs outscored the Golden Eagles 9-2 to finish the game.
Following Tuesday's trip to Birmingham to take on the Bulldogs, Tech will then travel to Colorado on Dec. 3. After that game, the Golden Eagles will return home to wrap up the non-conference portion of the slate with an Education Day contest on Dec. 6 against the University of the Cumberlands.
Tickets for Tennessee Tech basketball are on sale – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office or order online at TTUsports.com.
File Photo | Thomas Corhern, TTU Sports Information
