Lights Out: Golden Eagle firepower tops Tennessee State in shootout
Three Golden Eagles topped 20 points as Tennessee Tech treated its home crowd to a 92-86 OVC win over Tennessee State in the Eblen Center in the team's first home game in nearly a month.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
36 | 50 | 86 |
|
|
43 | 49 | 92 |
Team Stats
Tennessee State
| Game Statistics | Tennessee State | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (29-56) | (31-52) |
| Field Goal % | 51.8% | 59.6% |
| Rebounds | 25 | 25 |
| Assists | 13 | 17 |
| Turnovers | 17 | 17 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 21 | 15 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 14 | 11 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 0 |
| Bench Pts | 26 | 6 |
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Junior Jud Dillard and seniors Zac
Swansey and Kevin Murphy all topped the 20-point mark Thursday
night to lead Tennessee Tech to a 92-86 victory over Tennessee
State in an Ohio Valley Conference shootout in Eblen Center.
Tech (10-6/2-1 OVC) used the three-star performance to claim a
victory in its first home conference game of the year, following a
six-game road trip. It was Tech’s first home contest in
nearly a month.
Tennessee State (8-8/1-2 OVC) had five players in double figures
and kept things close until the final minute.
Dillard went 11-for-13 from the field and hit all seven of his
free throws to score a career-high 29 points and also led Tech with
six rebounds. Murphy also notched 29 points, while Swansey added 20
on the strength of his 6-for-7 effort from outside the 3-point arc.
The OVC leader in both assists and steals, Swansey added four
assists and three steals.
Swansey dropped in four consecutive 3-pointers midway in the
second half, including three bombs in a 66-second span, that might
have proved to be the deciding factor. His streak erased a TSU lead
and gave Tech a six-point cushion that the Golden Eagles were able
to hold onto over the final eight minutes.
It was the first time in four years that Tech has had three
players top the 20-point mark in the same game. The last time came
on Jan. 31, 2008, when Anthony Fisher (21), Amadi McKenzie (21) and
Frank Davis (20) did it at UT Martin.
Robert Covington topped Tennessee State with 14 points and nine
rebounds, and Patrick Miller also socred 14. Jordan Cyphers scored
13, Wil Peters had 11 and Kenny Moore netted 10.
Tech shot 58.5 percent from the field (31-for-53) including
9-for-14 (64.3 percent) from long distance. The Golden Eagles were
21-for-25 at the free throw line and posted the team’s
second-highest scoring output of the year. It was the most points
scored by any league team in an OVC game this season.
Tennessee State was also in-range, shooting a solid 51.8 percent
(29-for-56) from the field and 10-for-19 (52.6 percent) from
3-point land. The Tigers went 18-for-22 at the free throw
line.
TSU had a 26-25 edge in rebounds, which weren’t plentiful in
a game where there were more makes than misses.
A hot-shooting Golden Eagle squad owned the lead for 19 of the 20
minutes in the first half, forcing Tennessee State to play catch-up
the entire period after Tech had jumped out to a 10-0 lead to open
the contest.
A 3-pointer by Swansey capped the 10-0 run to start the game.
After the Tech defense held TSU scoreless for the first three
minutes, Covington’s 3-pointer snapped the run.
The Tigers pecked away at the Golden Eagle lead, eventually
battling all the way back to tie the game at 25-25 with 8:13 to
play in the period on another 3-pointer by Covington.
Tech was able to reclaim the advantage behind the two-pronged
scoring of Dillard and Murphy, and went back up by seven points.
The Golden Eagles led by seven points four times in the final seven
minutes, including a 43-36 margin at halftime.
The Tigers used a 12-2 run to open the second half, capped by
three points by Chris Conner, to claim their first lead of the
contest at 48-47 with 15:30 to play. Three-pointers by Covington
and Jay Harris helped TSU surge out front by six, 59-53, for its
largest lead of the game.
A jumper by Peters with 9:12 left put TSU on top, 62-61, but it
proved to be the last lead of the game for the Tigers.
That’s when Swansey knocked down three straight 3-pointers
and Tech was up, 70-64. The Tigers crept back to within one,
77-76, on a trey by Cyphers but Tech responded with seven
consecutive free throws. Tech went 13-for-14 at the charity stripe
over the final 2:30.
The Golden Eagles will be back in action in Eblen Center on
Saturday night when they welcome defending OVC Tournament champ
Morehead State for a 7:30 p.m. match. It’s the second game of
a doubleheader, following a 5:30 p.m. women’s game between
the two schools.
Morehead State overcame a 13-point second half deficit Thursday to
claim a 63-55 win at Jacksonville State.
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