Tech claims third win of the season, tops Southeastern Louisiana 81-62
November 24, 2014

Tech claims third win of the season, tops Southeastern Louisiana 81-62

Tennessee Tech went to work in earnest in the second half Monday night, controlling the boards and scrambling the floor with baseline-to-baseline defense, and used balanced scoring to roll to an 81-62 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in Eblen Center.

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By Rob Schabert, Assistant A.D. for Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech went to work in earnest in the second half Monday night, controlling the boards, scrambling the floor with baseline-to-baseline defense, and using balanced scoring to roll to an 81-62 victory over Southeastern Louisiana in Eblen Center.

Up three at halftime, Tech (3-1) shot 60 percent in the second period and limited the visiting Lions (0-4) to 38.5 percent accuracy. Tech had a 22-7 rebound advantage while posting a 49-33 scoring difference in the second half. Tech shot a blistering 53.6 percent (30-for-56) for the game.

Five players scored in double figures for coach Steve Payne's squad, topped by Josiah Moore's 16 on 6-for-9 shooting including a 3-for-5 effort from long range. Freshman Aleksa Jugovic was 4-for-6 from 3-point range and finished with a career-best 14 points.

Tech also got a double-double from post Charles Jackson with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three blocked shots and hit 5-for-8 of his shot while notching his fourth consecutive double-double. He is the first player to open his Tech career with four straight double-doubles since Hall of Fame inductee Damien Kinloch in 2001-02.

Dwan Caldwell scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds, and Torrance Rowe added 11 points, five rebounds and a game-high seven assists.

Southeastern Louisiana had four players in twin digits, led by Andrew Guillory with 17 and DeVonte Upson with 16. Zay Jackson, a transfer from Murray State playing his first season with the Lions, added 13 points and four assists, and Onochie Ochie had 10 points. That foursome scored all but six of the Lions' points.

The first half proved to be a rabbit chase, with SELA holding the edge for seven minutes and Tech sitting on top for 12 minutes. The largest Lion lead was five points, the last time at 10-5.  Tech's largest margin in the half was eight points, that coming with a 23-15 difference with 7:19 to play.

Southeastern Louisiana pulled to within one point, 30-29, in the final minute before Anthony Morse banked in a layup with 35 seconds to play for the halftime score of 32-29.

SELA had a 40-28 edge in points in the paint, but the Golden Eagles had better depth with a 38-16 margin off the bench.

The Lions tied things early in the second half at 34-all, and hung close for the first five minutes of the second period, tying things again at 40-40 with 14:58 to play.

That's when Tech seemed to take control with a 15-5 run, with Moore (7) and Jugovic (8) accounting for all of the points. Moore scored a pair of layups and a 3-point play, while Jugovic dropped in a pair of treys and added a layup.

Tech's lead went to 15 points, and eventually ballooned to 18 on a crowd-pleasing dunk by Jackson with 2:31 to play.

Neither team has to wait long to get back in action, and they can both do so without bothering to review a new scouting report. The same two teams will face off Wednesday night in Hammond, La., with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. CT. That game will be the Lions' first home game after four on the road to get the year underway.

Roger Ealey will have the call from the sidelines on 106.1 The Eagle on The Golden Eagle Sports Network.

Tech's next date at home comes on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when the Golden Eagles host Lipscomb in a 6 p.m. game. For ticket information, please visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center (931-372-3940).

GOLDEN EAGLE NUGGET: Hey, 19! Tech's 19-point victory comes two days after the Golden Eagles erased a 19-point deficit for a 69-67 win over Chattanooga on Saturday, the largest comeback in more than a decade.