All five Tech starters reach double figures as Golden Eagles top UT Martin on national TV
All five Golden Eagle starters scored in double figures as the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team cruised to a 76-63 victory over UT Martin Thursday night in Ohio Valley Conference action in front of a national TV audience on ESPNU.
MARTIN, Tenn. – All five Golden Eagle starters scored in
double figures as the Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team
cruised to a 76-63 victory over UT Martin Thursday night in Ohio
Valley Conference action in front of a national TV audience on
ESPNU.
Kevin Murphy led the all scorers in the game with 18 points and
Frank Davis scored 15 for the Golden Eagles. Alfred Jones scored
14, and didn’t miss a shot, going 4-for-4 from the field and
6-for-6 from the free throw line, while adding nine rebounds, two
assists, two blocked shots and a steal. Terrell Barnes scored a
career-high 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds, and Elijah
Muhammad chipped in with 10 points and four assists for Tech.
“I’m proud of our kids, we did some really good things
in spots tonight,” Tech head coach Mike Sutton said.
“We got a total team effort. I thought our kids played hard
and our defensive efforts were good.”
After leading by two possessions for most of the second half, Tech
built a 15-point lead with two and a half minutes to play in the
game, but UTM wouldn’t quit. The Skyhawks hit 3-pointers on
three consecutive possessions, two by Marquis Weddle, to pull
within eight only a minute later. But UT Martin wouldn’t get
any close than that as Tech converted its free throws down the
stretch to seal the 13-point victory.
Tech improves to 8-9 on the season and 2-4 on OVC play with the
win, while UT Martin falls to 2-13 and 0-6 in the OVC.
Marquis Weddle led the Skyhawks with 17 points, while Reuben
Clayton added 13 for UT Martin. Zach Jones finished the game with
10 points and seven rebounds for the Skyhawks.
Tech shot 48.1 percent (25-of-52) from the field for the game,
snapping a streak of six consecutive games shooting 50.0 percent or
better. UTM hit just 35.6 percent (21-of-59) of its shots for the
game, and went 6-of-21 from 3-point distance. Tech had 15 assists
on its 25 made baskets, and held a 40-37 edge on the glass. The
Golden Eagles turned the ball over 18 times, while the Skyhawks
gave it up 15 times.
The Golden Eagles used a 17-0 run midway through the first half to
turn a 9-7 deficit into a 24-9 lead. But the Skyhawks would make a
run of their own and close the gap to 28-23 by halftime.
Davis scored nine points in the first half on 3-of-5 shooting from
3-point distance. Barnes had six first half points as he converted
two three-point plays. Bassey Inameti nabbed five rebounds in the
first half and finished thee game with six.
On the other end of the floor Tech held UT Martin to just 30.0
percent shooting in the first half, as the Skyhawks hit just
9-of-30 shots including 2-of-10 3-pointers.
The Golden Eagles will play the tail end of their two game road
swing at Murray State on Jan. 16 before returning to Cookeville for
four consecutive home OVC contests. That stint will start on Jan.
21 against Austin Peay, and continue Jan. 23 against Tennessee
State, Jan. 28 against Eastern Illinois, and wrap up Jan. 30
against Southeast Missouri.
For ticket information please contact the Golden Eagle athletics
ticket office at (931) 372-3940, or visit TTUsports.com.
