Golden Eagle men host Bryan to get season started
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - Monday's exhibition win over Anderson
College gave fans - and the Golden Eagle coaching staff - a good
look at what to expect this season: Action!
While coach Mike Sutton and his staff must replace graduated
seniors Anthony Fisher, Amadi McKenzie and Rashaud Nixon, the team
knew it could look forward to the return of centers Daniel Northern
and Ra'Shun Bryant, and guards Will Barnes, Frank Davis and Zac
Walker.
What wasn't known was just how well the eight newcomers would fit
into the scheme of things, and on Monday night the question was
answered with resounding success.
Tech cruised to a 91-56 win as the newcomers played important roles
on the floor, including 12 points from freshman Kevin Murphy.
Redshirt sophomore Alex Davis led all scorers with 17 points in his
return to the lineup after a two-year absence.
Tonight, the Golden Eagles take the next step, and this one counts.
Tech opens the regular season by hosting the Bryan College Lions
from Dayton, Tenn. The Golden Eagles play seven of their first
eight here at home, so fans will get to know this team quickly.
Tech and Bryan have met three times in past years, and Tech leads
the all-time series with wins in all three contests. The latest
meeting came during the 2004-05 season, so none of this year's
players have faced the Lions.
Tech's first win over Bryan came in the 1998-99 season under former
coach Jeff Lebo, 93-68. Sutton's team made it two wins in 2002-03
with a 104-48 rout of the Lions, and in 2004-05 kept the record
intact with a 79-45 decision.
Bryan split its first two games this season, falling to Reinhardt
College (67-59) in the opener on Nov. 1, then coming back three
nights later to defeat Tennessee Temple (68-57) by nearly the
identical score. The Lions had two more games on the schedule this
week before coming to Cookeville, hosting Johnson Bible College on
Tuesday and visiting Lee University Thursday.
Davis, a 6-foot-7 sophomore from Milwaukee, returned to action
after sitting out the spring semester of 2006-07 and all of last
year. He was 8-for-11 from the field and led all scorers with 17
points in only 19 minutes on the floor.
Murphy, a 6-6 forward from Creekside High School in Fairburn, Ga.,
had a solid introduction to the college game, going 5-for-7 from
the field and contributing 12 points, six rebounds and three
assists.
Junior guard Will Barnes also had a big night against Anderson wit
11 points and six assists.
It was a balanced scoring effort for the Golden Eagles, who shot 58
percent for the game, including 69.7 percent in the second half.
Tech also had a 36-31 lead in rebounds.
Besides those three in double figures, sophomore newcomer Alfred
Jones had nine points, four players added seven points each -
Daniel Northern, Elijah Muhammad, D.J Lindsay and Bassey
Inameti.
Inameti was on the roster a year ago as a redshirt, while Northern
was among team leaders last year when he topped the OVC in both
rebounds and blocked shots. Northern was named to the preseason
all-OVC team.
For Muhammad and Lindsay, it was the same situation as Murphy and
Jones as all were playing in front of the Eblen Center crowd for
the first time in their careers. Muhammad is a 6-foot junior guard
from Columbus, Ohio, who comes to Tech from South Suburban College.
Lindsay is a 6-foot-4 junior guard from Indianapolis who attended
Lincoln College. Jones also came to Tech from Lincoln.
For the Golden Eagle men's team, tonight's game begins a busy
stretch with three games coming up in a six-day span. On Tuesday
(Nov. 18), Tech will play at Lipscomb University in Nashville, then
come home to host Southern Utah on Saturday night (Nov. 22) and
East Tennessee on Monday (Nov. 24).
Individual game tickets and season tickets are currently on sale
and can be purchased at either the Athletic Ticket Office in Eblen
Center or by calling (931) 372-3940. Tickets are also on sale
online at TTUsports.com.
