Brandon Muntu scored a career-high 26 points in the 87-77 win over Little Rock | Photo: Jeff Bowe, TTU Athletics Media Relations
Brandon Muntu scored a career-high 26 points in the 87-77 win over Little Rock | Photo: Jeff Bowe, TTU Athletics Media Relations
January 31, 2026

Muntu’s Career-High 26 Points Fuels Tech's 87-77 Win Over Little Rock

Tennessee Tech men’s basketball snapped a four-game losing skid, powered by Brandon Muntu’s career-high 26 points, with an 87-77 win over Little Rock Saturday at Eblen Center.

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By Jeff Bowe, TTU Athletics Media Relations 

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech men's basketball snapped a four-game losing skid, powered by Brandon Muntu's career-high 26 points, with an 87-77 win over Little Rock Saturday at Eblen Center.

Tech moves to 8-14 overall and 3-8 in the OVC with the win, and currently sits in ninth place with the top eight making the OVC Tournament in early March. The Trojans have dropped three straight with the loss and fall to 9-13 overall and 6-5 in conference play.

Brandon Muntu shot 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-7 from three, and made all six of his free-throw attempts, resulting in a career-high 26 points in the 10-point win over Little Rock. The Golden Eagles snap a four-game losing streak, tying for the longest of the season, and upset the seventh-place team in the OVC.

Muntu has made nine threes in the two matchups with Little Rock, shooting 5-of-15 from distance back on Jan. 1, 2026, at LR, and making 4-of-7 from three-point range in tonight's win. It's the fourth time this season that he's made four or more three pointers in a game.  He surpasses his previous high of 22 points against Bethel (Tenn.) on Dec. 13, 2025, with the 26-point effort.

The senior from Calgary, Alberta, Canada was one of four Golden Eagles in double figures with Mekhi Cameron (17 pts) joining him on 6-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-6 from three, JaJuan Nicholls recorded his third straight game in double digits with 16 points (6-of-9 FG) and was second on the team with seven rebounds, and Grant Slatten made his second straight start (Seventh total) of the season and posted 10 points (4-of-8 FG). Slatten has reached double digits in two of the last three games.

The Golden Eagles owned the boards, outrebounding the Trojans 38-18, including 19 to 7 in the first half. The last time Tech won the rebound battle was vs Southern Indiana, 47-44, on January 15th. 

Little Rock held a slight edge in shooting during the first 20 minutes, going 15-of-27 (55.6%) from the field while Tech shot 16-30 (53.3%) from the field. Despite that slim advantage, the Golden Eagles led 40-35 at the halftime break. The last time Tech shot above 50% from the field as a team was 52.6% vs Tennessee State on December 30th. 

In the second half, it was all Golden Eagles, as they outscored the Trojans 47-42 and tied in shooting percentage 50%-to-50%.

Dani Pounds chipped in with eight points on 2-of-8 from the field (4-6 FT) and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, marking his first double-digit board game of the season to put him at 101 rebounds for the season. He has 277 total rebounds in his collegiate career.

Muntu scored 18 of his 26 points in the second half, going 5-of-5 from the field, 2-of-2 from three, and 6-of-6 from the line. It marked the first time since Jan. 8 that Muntu has made more than one three-pointer in a single contest (2 at EIU).

Despite having 21 turnovers in the game to Little Rock's nine, the Golden Eagles found a way to stretch their lead to as large as 21 with 13:15 left. That lead was built primarily on a 12-0 run with 13:54 left in the first half and maintained by a solid 51.8 percent (29-56) performance shooting.

Jacobe Whitted splashed a pair of big threes, finishing with six points, and Ty Owens dished out five assists and added four points.

The Golden Eagles held the lead for 35:21 and trailed for only 4:03. The lead changed hands three times, and the game was tied just once. Tech scored over 80 points for the first time since an 85-74 win over SEMO to open OVC play on Dec. 18. 

NEXT UP
 Tennessee Tech will hit the road to Nashville on Monday, making up a game at Tennessee State that was postponed due to weather last week. Tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CT, in Music City. Watch the action live on ESPN+ and listen on 106.1 The Eagle.

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