October 28, 2015

Purple Palooza gets Tech basketball season off to a soaring start

Kids of all ages, dressed in a wide variety of costumes, paraded around Eblen Center Tuesday night, and the Tennessee Tech basketball teams had a night of fun as the Golden Eagles hosted the fourth annual Purple Palooza to get Halloween Week off to a soaring start.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- They came from near and far, kids of every age, dressed in any costume you could imagine, to trick-or-treat around the packed concourse of Eblen Center as Tennessee Tech hosted the fourth annual Purple Palooza.

Once the kids had loaded their goodie bags, the fans spread out around the inside of the arena to watch the Golden Eagle men's and women's basketball teams have some fun. In a twist on past years, the two teams were combined to create two coed squads to battle in a 20-minute scrimmage that featured some dunks and some 3-point bombs.

After one student won a contest that provided him with free Papa John's Pizza and Pepsi for a year, the hoops fun continued with a 3-point/dunk contest between four teams. Each of the four teams included a 3-point shooter from the women's team, and a 3-point shooter from the men's squad, each attemptimg to make as many 3-poointers in 30 seconds as possible. It wrapped up with the dunks, with scores added to the points earned from long range.

Fun for the fans, indeed, but loads of fun for the players, as well as they took a break from their more intense preparations toward the quickly approaching start of the 2015-16 season.

The evening wrapped up with fans invited to join the players, along with the cheer and dance squads, to dance on the floor. It finished with all of the players signing autographs and greeting the fans.

The Golden Eagle women get the season underway first with 6 p.m. exhibition games on Saturday, Nov. 7 and Tuesday, Nov. 10. The regular season begins with a doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 14, following the Homecoming football game. The women's contest tips off at 5:30 p.m. with the men's at 7:30 p.m.

Season tickets are on sale now, as well as Hoop Troop memberships for youth, and group packages. Visit the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or call (931) 372-3940 for additional ticket information or to purchase tickets.