COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – ‘Tis the season, but Tennessee
Tech is taking the idea of giving a little too far.
For the second consecutive game, the Golden Eagles gave their
opponents a big head start with a 12-0 lead to open the game, but
this time couldn’t recover. High Point shot a sizzling 58.3
percent in the second half on the way to an 80-69 non-conference
victory over Tech in Eblen Center Wednesday night.
Just five nights earlier, Tech trailed Jacksonville State 12-0 but
rallied to claim a two-point conference road win.
This time, Tech scrambled back to tie the game once in the second
half, but the Panthers drove to the basket for layups and made
their free throws for the 11-point victory. High Point was
17-for-23 at the line in the second half.
Tech’s record slipped to 2-4, snapping a brief two-game win
streak. High Point, meanwhile, won its third straight to improve to
5-3.
Junior Kevin Murphy was the scoring leader for the Golden Eagles,
netting 17 points, while senior Alfred Jones added 11 points and
five rebounds. Point guard Zac Swansey had nine points and six
assists. Terrell Barnes had a team-high eight rebounds.
High Point got double-digit scoring from four players, topped by
Nick Barbour who fouled out with 1:05 to play after delivering 18
points. Corey Law had 15 points and seven rebounds, Shay Shine
added 13 points and eight rebounds, and Tehran Cox hit for 13
points.
The Panthers played a physical game and controlled play under the
basket, getting eight blocked shots and forcing Tech to shoot 36.4
percent from the field. The visitors had a 46-34 advantage on the
boards.
A 12-0 run to open the game put the Panthers in control early, but
Tech battled and cut the difference to seven late in the half. High
Point took a nine-point lead into halftime, 34-25, after Murphy
drained a 3-pointer with 21 seconds to go.
The Golden Eagles opened the second half with a 9-2 run to pull
within two points, 36-34, but Barbour’s 3-pointer ended that
stretch. Jones and Murpny hit back-to-back jumpers to tie the game
at 41-41 with 14:05 remaining
Each team hit two free throws and it was 43-43 with 13:45 to go,
when High Point engineering a 12-2 run to regain the advantage.
Simms hit six and Law four in that run, leaving the Panthers with a
55-45 lead with 8:58 to play.
Chase Dunn (4) and Jud Dillard (5) did all the scoring in a 9-2
Tech run that trimmed the difference to five points, 59-54, with
6:53 to play. Tech was still within six points with 3:16 remaining,
before Law ignited a 7-0 run and turned a close contest into a
13-point game, 76-65, with 1:17 left on the clock.
Tech’s long holiday homestand continues Saturday night when
the Golden Eagles host Lipscomb at 7 p.m.