Hot-Shooting Tennessee Tech Beats EIU in OVC Opener

Tennessee Tech shot a blistering 74 percent from the field the second half as the Golden Eagles beat Eastern Illinois, 94-84 Thursday in the Ohio Valley Conference opener for both teams.  

EIU dropped to 3-10 on the season, 0-1 in the OVC. EIU will play at Jacksonville State on Saturday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. TTU improved to 9-5 overall, 1-0 in the OVC. TTU is 8-0 at home this year.

The teams traded the lead 11 times in a back-and-forth game. TTU extended a 38-35 lead to six points with free throws by Tre Hansbrough at 8:56 that gave the Golden Eagles a 64-58 lead.

EIU battled back to take the lead at 7:41 as Demetrius McReynolds hit a lay-up to give EIU a 65-64 lead. Casey Teson hit a pair of 3-pointers around McReynolds lay-up that gave EIU a 68-67 lead with 7:01 to play. McReynolds had 16 points and Teson added 12 as four EIU players scored in double figures.

Anthony Morse hit a lay-up and Aleksa Jugovic drained a 3-pointer which put the Golden Eaglesu up by four points, 72-68, with 6:13 to play. EIU closed the margin to two points with a Trae Anderson lay-up with 5:15 to play but could get no closer than three points the remainder of the game.

Jugovic led TTU with 26 points hitting 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Torrance Rowe had 18 second half points to finish with 21 and Ryan Martin rounded out the TTU 20 point scorers with 20.

Anderson and Cornell Johnston led EIU with 17 each. EIU shot 47 percent for the game after hitting 55 percent in the second half. TTU finished shooting a 63 percent clip and 13-of-24 from 3-point range.

The game was a back-and-forth battle with both teams putting together big runs during the game. EIU opened the game with a 9-0 run answered by an 8-0 run by TTU. 

Jugovic sparked a 10-0 run for TTU midway through the first half as he knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers. Joguvic had 14 first half points.

EIU answered the run with an 8-0 run response as Marshawn Blackmon had two lay-ups in the run.