Tech bows in overtime for second time this week
For the second time in four nights, the Golden Eagles lost an Ohio Valley Conference road game in overtime. This time, Austin Peay tied the game in the final minutes then claimed a 77-72 win in the Dunn Center.
Tech stays on the road with game Saturday at
Appalachian State
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech had a road victory within
its grasp Thursday night, leading almost the entire contest at
Austin Peay, but the host Govs tied things in the final minutes and
went on to hand the Golden Eagles a 77-72 overtime loss in the Dunn
Center.
It was Tech’s second consecutive overtime game, following a
109-102 double-overtime loss at Tennessee State Monday night. It
was Tech’s fifth overtime game this season.
Tech’s record slipped to 7-10 in the Ohio Valley Conference
and 13-15 overall, including 1-4 in overtime games. Austin Peay,
16-12 overall, moved into a tie for third place in the league with
a 10-6 conference record.
Kevin Murphy paced Tech in scoring with 21 points along with seven
rebounds. Elijah Muhammad added 15 points, eight rebounds and five
assists and Frank Davis scored 15. Alfred Jones had eight points
and eight rebounds for the Golden Eagles, who had a 42-39 edge on
the glass.
Wes Channels scored 24 points to lead APSU and Anthony Campbell
added 23 points and seven rebounds. Duran Roberson scored 10
points, and John Fraley finished with seven points and 11
rebounds.
Campbell hit a 3-pointer with 24 seconds to go in regulation to
knot the score at 67 and Tech missed a potential game-winner on the
final shot with just three seconds remaining in regulation.
After each team scored a basket in the overtime, the Govs jumped on
top 71-69 on a tip-in by Campbell. With under two minutes to play,
the Golden Eagles missed a shot and APSU got a bucket by Roberson
for a 73-69 lead.
Murphy made one free throw to get the difference down to 73-70,
before Channels hit two charity tosses with 22 seconds left for a
75-70 lead.
Murphy scored a basket with six seconds left to make it a
three-point game, but the Golden Eagles couldn’t get a
turnover and the Govs added two more free throws for the final
margin.
Austin Peay led 2-0 in the opening minute, but the Golden Eagles
took control for the rest of the first half, leading by as many as
13 points before heading into the break with a 37-29 lead.
The Golden Eagles continued to lead throughout the second half.
Austin Peay finally was able to catch Tech, tying the game at 50-50
with 10:19 to play, and again at 59-59 with 5:18 remaining.
But the home team never led until Roberson hit a jumper from the
corner to give the Govs a 64-63 lead with 2:06 remaining, their
first since the 2-0 advantage on the game’s opening
basket.
Murphy answered with a 16-foot jumper and Jones added a putback
with 55 seconds left for a 67-64 Tech lead. The Golden Eagles
missed a golden opportunity after a missed APSU 3-pointer, when
Muhammad was fouled. However, he missed the front of a one-and-one
and Campbell hit a 3-pointer with 24.2 seconds remaining to tie
things, his fifth trifecta of the game.
The Golden Eagles step outside the OVC on Saturday night with a
Bracket Buster game at Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. Tipoff is
at 6 p.m. CST.
Fans can follow all of the action on Teamline via the telephone or
the Internet. The second portion of the broadcast will also be on
WHUB am 1400, which will join the contest after the TTU
women’s game at Austin Peay is completed.
