January 25, 2011

Men’s basketball kicks off second half of their four-game road stint

The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team will hit the road this week for the final two games of a four-game OVC road stint, as they take on EIU and SEMO this coming Thursday and Saturday.

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech men’s basketball team will hit the road this week for the final two games of a four-game OVC road stint, as they take on EIU and SEMO this coming Thursday and Saturday.

Tech split the first two games of the stretch, going 1-1 against top-ranked OVC opponents Austin Peay and Tennessee State. The Golden Eagles snatched a thrilling win from the Govs on a last-second three by junior guard Zac Swansey, a shot that later earned the top spot on SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays of the Day list.

They followed up with a back and forth game with TSU, eventually shouldering the 71-65 loss to leave them with a record of 5-4 in the conference (9-9 overall), putting them in a three-way tie for third place.

Tip off for Thursday evening’s game at Eastern Illinois is set for 7:30 p.m. The Panthers, who are kicking off a four-game home stand, are coming off a 62-63 loss to UT Martin, which puts them at a 4-5 OVC record (8-11 overall.)

Ironically, the Golden Eagles last meeting earlier this season with the Panthers – that which TTU 20-12 over EIU – marked another of Swansey’s buzzer-beater performances when he clinched Tech’s 65-64 win in the Eblen Center on Dec. 19. The Panther’s will undoubtedly be looking to rebound from their most recent loss to avenge their first meeting with Tech this season.

On Saturday, the Golden Eagles will take on SEMO, and will be looking for some revenge of their own. The Redhawks came into Cookeville on Dec. 21 and delivered a 77-75 loss to Tech. Since then, the Redhawks have accumulated a conference record of 4-6 (5-15 overall) and will be looking to sweep the season series against Tech. Tip time for that game sits a 6:00 p.m.

Fan’s who can’t make it to the Eastern Illinois game can follow the Live Stats here while both games will be called by Roger Ealey and available on the Golden Eagle Sports Network, or on free Teamline via phone – 1-800-846-4700 – or on the internet.