Team effort leads to 15-point Golden Eagle victory over Skyhawks
February 21, 2013

Team effort leads to 15-point Golden Eagle victory over Skyhawks

Tennessee Tech got double digit scoring from four players, led by Dennis Ogbe's career-high 23, to claim an 83-68 victory over UT Martin Thursday and keep alive the Golden Eagles' chances reaching the OVC Tournament.

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COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – It was an unbeatable combination for Tennessee Tech Thursday night. Four players scored in double figures and the team had one of its best shooting nights and top assist totals of the season.

All of that teamwork added up to an 83-68 victory over visiting UT Martin in Eblen Center, and kept Tech's chances of reaching the 2013 Ohio Valley Conference tournament field alive.

Junior Dennis Ogbe scored a career-high 23 points and junior point guard Jeremiah Samarrippas added a career-best nine assists with only one turnover to pace Tech, which improved to 10-16 overall and 4-10 in OVC play.

UT Martin was led by Myles Taylor with 15 points, but slipped to 7-19 overall and 4-10 in league play as the Skyhawks were eliminated from contention for the post-season tourney.

The team effort by coach Steve Payne's team included 52.9 percent accuracy from the field (27-for-51), led by Ogbe's 10-for-13 and a 5-for-6 night from Javon McKay. In addition to 23 points from Ogbe, Jud Dillard scored 21 with four assists, Samarrippas added 14 points, and McKay finished with 11. Freshman Anthony Morse led in rebounds with a game-best eight boards while Ogbe and Terrell Barnes grabbed seven rebounds each.

Joining Taylor in double figures for UTM were Mike Liabo and Bobby Jones with 12 each and Terence Smith with 10. Liabo had six assists to top the Skyhawks on the glass.

Tech jumped to a 10-point lead in the first six minutes, going up 14-4 as Samarrippas and Dillard drained 3-pointers. Tech's lead grew to 18 points (28-10) with 5:36 to play in the opening half as Matt Marseilles hit a 3-pointer.

The Skyhawks, whittled it down to an eight-point difference, 32-24, on a 3-pointer by Liabo with 2:03 to play in the half that capped an 11-2 run.  

After shooting 44 percent in the first half and taking a 10-point lead into intermission, 34-24, the Golden Eagles scorched the twine for 61 .5 percent in the second half (16-for-26).

That keyed Tech to a 20-point lead with 14:46 to go in the contest, 54-34. Tech maintained its edge, and led by 20 points, 68-48, with 7:41 remaining, before the Skyhawks rallied again and cut the difference to 12 as Jones made three free throws.

That was as close as UTM could get as the Golden Eagles made nine of their final 10 free throws in the final two minutes.

The Golden Eagles have won three straight at home in Eblen Center, where they will remain for their final three regular season contests. The next game is Saturday night when UM Kansas City visits for a BracketBuster contest, with tipoff at 7 p.m.

Tech has scheduled a "blizzard" by Golden Eagle fans for Saturday's game. For ticket information, please visit or call the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center (931-372-3940).