Scrappy Golden Eagles battle to wire before falling to Colonels, 85-80
RICHMOND, Ky. - Add this one to the list of the classic
basketball games in the Ohio Valley Conference lore.
Eastern Kentucky's long-range bombers against a gritty, gutsy,
fighting, scrapping effort from Tennessee Tech.
The Golden Eagles were bombed out of the gym - out of the city,
practically - and fell behind 20-6 in the opening minutes. But
coach Mike Sutton's team took it down to the wire before falling,
85-80, in McBrayer Arena.
Credit goes to the Colonels (9-7/3-3 OVC), who found an answer
after initially collapsing under the weight of Tech's ferocious
comeback. EKU stayed out front just enough throughout a hectic
second half, and hit free throws when needed, to pull out the
victory.
Credit also goes to Tennessee Tech (8-7/2-3 OVC), which just simply
would not quit. Tech battled inside and outside, and made tough
plays in a tough environment.
Frank Davis tied the school record - for the second time this
season - by making six consecutive 3-pointers. He finished with a
career-best 24 points to led Tech, He was 7-for-12 from outside the
stripe. Tech also got double figure scoring from Will Barnes with
11 and Bassey Inameti, who tied his career-high with 10 points.
Freshman Kevin Murphy also tied a career-high by leading Tech with
seven assists. Nine different players scored for Tech
EKU, which ranks fourth in the nation in 3-pointers made per game,
canned a dozen from outside the arc, led by freshman Joshua Jones
with four on his way to 25 points, and Josh Taylor, who nailed
three treys and finished with 13 points. Mike Rose, the team's
leading scorer, added 18 points and Justin Stommes scored 12.
All that action, and the game was settled when the clock was
stopped as EKU made nine of 10 free throws in the final minute to
hang on.
Eastern Kentucky could do no wrong in the first 10 minutes, and
rolled out to a 20-6 lead as the Golden Eagles got few chances to
score against a stifling EKU zone defense.
But Tech found a way, getting a couple of thunderous dunks by DJ
Linday and three consecutive 3-pointers by Frank Davis to outscore
the Colonels 24-6 and take a 30-29 lead. Will Barnes capped the run
with a dunk and a free throw for a three-point play and Tech's
first lead of the game in the final minutes.
The Colonels regained the lead at halftime, 32-30, on a 3-pointer
by Josh Taylor with four seconds to go.
The Golden Eagles surged back on top, 69-67, with 5:20 remaining on
a 3-pointer by Elijah Muhammad, but Taylor came back with a
three-point play seconds later that lifted EKU to a 70-69 lead.
That keyed a 9-0 run by the Colonels, as Rose and Taylor drained
back-to-back 3-pointers, to make it a 76-69 EKU lead.
Will Barnes hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final minute to keep
Tech in the fight, but the Colonels went 9-for-10 over the final
1:28 to ice it. Two free tosses by Jones with five seconds left
made it 85-77 before Davis banked in his final 3-pointer at the
buzzer for the final margin.
Tech had a 28-27 edge in rebounds, and had 20 assists and only 13
turnovers. The Golden Eagles shot exactly 50 percent (31-for-62)
from the field, and hit 11-for-31 from long range.
Eastern Kentucky shot 54.9 percent (28-for-51) from the field and
was 12-for-26 from long range. EKU had a huge edge at the free
throw line. Tech was 7-for-9 while the Colonels went 17-for-21.
The next game for the Golden Eagles will put Tech in the national
spotlight as ESPNU televises the contest Thursday night in Eblen
Center against UT Martin. Tipoff is at 8 p.m.
Tickets are available at the Athletic Ticket Office in Eblen
Center, which is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to
4:30 p.m. Tickets may also be ordered on the Tech Athletics website
(TTUsports.com) or on the telephone by calling 931-372-3940.
