NASHVILLE, Tenn. - When the game is on the line, it's nice for a
coach to know he can look to his...freshmen?
Tennessee Tech got clutch baskets down the stretch from rookies
Zach Bailey and Kevin Murphy, while junior Elijah Muhammad and
senior Daniel Northern also chipped in with some game-changing
plays in the game's final minutes as the Golden Eagles outlasted
Lipscomb, 83-72, Saturday night in Allen Arena.
With the non-conference road win, the Golden Eagles are 2-0 for
the first time since the start of the 2003-04 season.
"I'm really proud of this win," said seventh-year coach Mike
Sutton. "We had to make some toughness' plays and we came up with
some key defensive stops.
The Golden Eagles used the depth that has quickly become the
trademark of this team, with 10 different players providing
points.
"It's not just one. We had all 11 players contribute, and that's
what makes us effective," Sutton said. "Our depth is critical for
us."
Five players were in double figures for Tech, topped by junior
newcomer DJ Lindsay with 15 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Bailey had
11, while Murphy, Northern and Frank Davis each scored 10.
Lipscomb (1-1) had four players in double digits, with Thomas
Pfaff notching a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Michael Teller had 18 and eight rebounds, while Jimmy Oden scored
13 and Brandon Brown added 11.
The score was tied eight times and there were eight lead changes
during the evenly played first half. Lindsay drained a 3-pointer
with four seconds to play to give Tech a 36-34 lead at the
break.
Tech led by nine early in the second half, and stayed on top for
the first 10 minutes before Josh Slater's 3-pointer at the 9:36
mark gave Lipscomb a 60-58 lead.
The home team still held the lead with 6:40 remaining, 63-62, when
Northern canned a jumper to push the Golden Eagles to a lead they
would never relinquish.
A jumper by Murphy with four minutes remaining made it a
seven-point Golden Eagle lead, and it eventually grew to the final
11-point difference. With 2:07 to play, Elijah Muhammad knocked
down a 12-foot hanging jumper for a 76-70 lead.
In addition to his 10 points and seven rebounds, Northern also had
four blocked shots, giving him 116 to jump past Milos Babic into
second place on the Tech career list.
Will Barnes finished with eight points and topped Tech with five
assists.
The Golden Eagles shot better than 50 percent for the second time
this year, hitting 52.4 percent (33-for-63) from the field.
Lipscomb shot 39.7 percent and had a 40-36 lead in rebounds.
It was an historic night for Tech basketball, as the two teams
were playing the first road non-conference doubleheader in 26
years. The last time occurred on Dec. 4, 1982, when both teams
played in a twinbill at Auburn.
The game at Lipscomb was the first meeting between the two schools
since 1974, and the Golden Eagles improved their all-time record
against the Bisons to 37-3. Lipscomb visits Tech for a rematch on
Dec. 1.
The Golden Eagles' next game is Saturday night at 8 p.m. in Eblen
Center, when Southern Utah visits for the first-ever meeting
between the two schools.