Golden Eagles close out regular season versus Eastern Kentucky on Senior Night
February 26, 2016

Golden Eagles close out regular season versus Eastern Kentucky on Senior Night

Believe it or not, the regular season finale is here for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team, as the Golden Eagles (18-10, 10-5) will play host to Eastern Kentucky (15-15, 6-9) Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the second contest of a doubleheader with Tech women's squad.

Recap Box Score

By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Believe it or not, the regular season finale is here for the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team, as the Golden Eagles (18-10, 10-5) will play host to Eastern Kentucky (15-15, 6-9) Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. in the second contest of a doubleheader with Tech women's squad.

The doubleheader represents Tech's Senior Night, with a special recognition to honor the three senior players and two managers from the men's squad and four senior players and one manager from the women's team. The presentation is scheduled to take place between the two contests.

Here's a brief look at the three senior members of the Golden Eagle men's squad being recognized:

Ryan Martin: In just one season donning the purple and gold, this senior has made the most out of his opportunity, starting in 27 of 28 games in the paint for the Golden Eagles. This season, he has earned the Ohio Valley Conference's Newcomer of the Week award four times, backed behind nine double-doubles a motor that never quits. He has recorded over 200 rebounds and nearly 400 points while blocking 20 shots and shooting an impressive 79 percent from the free throw line and ranks fourth in the league in rebounding with 8.1 boards per game. He also sits in the top 10 in scoring in the OVC, averaging 14.2 points per game.  

Anthony Morse: The only four-year senior on the 2015-16 Golden Eagle squad, this senior has played in 107 games coming into tonight, including 48 starts in the post. Throughout his lengthy career, the big man has developed into one of the program's greatest shot blockers, currently ranking fourth all-time with 107 rejections. His 56 blocks this season already ranks as the eighth-best effort in school history, and ranks him as the league's top shot blocker. For his career, he has scored 400 points and hauled in over 300 rebounds, averaging 7.9 points and 6.0 boards this season.

Torrance Rowe:  In two seasons, this senior has played in 57 games and made 56 starts while becoming one of the most clutch players in program history. In his short time as a Golden Eagle, he has knocked down five game-winning or tying shots, while ranking third all-time in free-throw shooting with a mark of 83.8 percent. His 202 assists is enough to place him in the top-25 all-time in Tech history as well. For his career, he has scored over 800 points while littering his name throughout the Tech record books with numerous single-game performances. This season alone, the point guard has erupted into an OVC Player of the Year candidate, leading the team with 17.9 points and 4.4 assists per game, ranking third and fourth in the league, respectively. In conference play alone, the three-time OVC Payer of the Week sits atop the scoring list, averaging 18.9 points per game while averaging over 37 minutes of playing time. 

For additional information on the game or to reserve tickets to the game, contact the Athletics Ticket Office in Eblen Center or call (931) 372-3940. Tickets may also be purchased online at TTUsports.com.

Fans can listen to the action live on 106.1 The Eagle with Roger Ealey on the call or follow live via webstream on the OVC Digital Network broadcast by Dylan Vazzano. One more option for fans is to watch the game at home on the tube with WCTE televising its final contests of the season during the night's doubleheader.

Tennessee Tech (18-10, 10-5) vs. Eastern Kentucky (15-15, 6-9)
 Saturday, Feb. 27, 2016
7:30 p.m. CST
Eblen Center (7,500) – Cookeville, Tenn.

The Broadcasts
TV: WCTE (Tim Scruggs & Sam Brooks)
Radio: 106.1 The Eagle (Roger Ealey)
Webcast: OVC Digital Network (Dylan Vazzano)

ABOUT EASTERN KENTUCKY
Tech rounds out regular season play on Senior Night, playing host to Eastern Kentucky Saturday, Feb. 27 in a 7:30 p.m. tilt.

Eastern Kentucky is in its first season under the direction of head coach Dan McHale.

The Colonels are currently 14-15 overall and 5-9 in OVC play, coming off an 86-78 loss to Belmont on their home court last Thursday.

This season, Eastern Kentucky is 10-6 at home and 4-9 on the road.

Last season, the Colonels compiled a 21-12 overall record and 11-5 mark in the OVC, finishing 1st in the East Division regular season standings and 2nd overall.

This marks the 132nd meeting all-time between the two programs, with EKU owning a 72-59 advantage. Tech is 36-28 all-time in the series when playing in Cookeville.

The two squads split last season's series, each claiming victories on their respective home courts. Tech won an 83-81 overtime contest in Cookeville while Eastern Kentucky won the regular season finale, 70-67.

This season, the Golden Eagles earned a tough, 89-83 victory in Richmond, handing EKU just its second home loss at the time.

The Colonels boast one of the most potent attacks in the league, ranking second in scoring with 80.7 points per game, first with a 49.2 field goal percentage and first with a 39.2 3-point percentage. They also dish out 16.1 assists per game.

Eastern Kentucky is led by Jarelle Reischel, who ranks second in the league with 18.1 points per game and ranks at the top for EKU with 6.8 rebounds per game. He also is an 78.8 percent free throw shooter.

Javontae Hawkins adds 17.1 points to the mix, shooting over 50 percent from the field whil also hauling in 4.8 boards per contest.

 Freshman Nick Mayo averages 14.5 points per game as the team's top post presence, corralling 4.9 rebounds as well. He shoots just over 60 percent from the field.

MOREHEAD STATE RECAP
Morehead State dealt the Golden Eagles their first home loss of the season, defeating Tech by a score of 69-59 Thursday evening.

Tech struggled to shoot against the league's top scoring defense, firing at just a 34.7 percent clip for the game, including 36.4 percent from 3-point range.

The Golden Eagles erased an early 14-point deficit to take their own four-point advantage, but the Eagles quickly answered, taking a 37-31 lead into the break.

Morehead State forced 14 Tech turnovers and outscored the Golden Eagles 40-16 in the paint. The Eagles also scored 20 points off turnovers and racked up 17 second-chance points after hauling in 16 offensive rebounds.

Tech kept the game close with a solid performance at the charity stripe, shooting 77.3 percent.

Senior Torrance Rowe made all nine of his free throw attempts, leading to a game-high 21 points in 40 minutes of action.

Ryan Martin notched his ninth double-double of the season, posting 12 points and tying his season-high of 14 rebounds.

Aleksa Jugovic felt it from beyond the arc, sinking 4-of-7 attempts from downtown on his way to 12 points. He also grabbed four rebounds.

Big man Anthony Morse rejected three more shots on the night, reestablishing himself as the league's leader in the category, averaging 2.0 blocks per game.

ON A ROWE
One of the league's best free throw shooters, Torrance Rowe set a program record for highest free throw percentage in a game, sinking all 15 of his attempts at the line at Murray State. The previous record belonged to Jud Dillard who went 14-for-14 against Jacksonville State during the 2012-13 season.

The senior turned in one of the best passing performances in program history against Southeast Missouri, dishing out 12 assists with zero turnovers. Only Maurice Houston posted more with zero turnovers, recording 15 dimes against Morehead State in March of 1993.

At Belmont, Rowe sank the second-most 3-pointers in a single game in Tech history, hitting 7-of-15 attempted triples on his way to 27 points.

After posting two more assists against Morehead State, the point guard now has 202 in his brief career, moving him into at tie for 24th place all-time in program history with Danny Schultz. He needs 10 more to pass Carlos Floyd for 23rd place.

This season, Rowe leads Tech in scoring with 17.9 points per game, good enough to rank third in the OVC, and with 4.4 assists per game, also ranking fourth in the league. In OVC play, he leads the league in scoring, averaging 18.9 points per game.

T-Rowe owns an 86.6 percent shooting touch from the charity stripe, ranking third in the league, and has dished out 123 assists while averaging 35.4 minutes.

BIG ANT'S BLOCK PARTY
Adept at rejecting shots around the bucket since his arrival in Cookeville in 2012, Anthony Morse has climbed up the all-time list for career blocks (listed far right).

After blocking three more shots against Morehead State, Morse now has 107 in his career and holds sole possession of fourth place all-time in Tech history. He needs nine more blocks to pass Milos Babic for sole possession of third place.

At the conclusion of his career in 1997, only three players (Adonal Foyle, Tim Duncan, and Alonzo Mourning) had more blocks in NCAA history than Tech's all-time leader, the late, great Lorenzo Coleman. With 439 rejections, he still sits 12th all-time.

Facing SIUE, the big man dominated the paint to the tune of a career-high 17 points, chipping in seven rebounds.

He gathered his second double-double with 12 points and 10 boards at APSU.

On the year, Morse ranks first in the OVC with 2.0 blocks per game. He ranks fifth in the league with a 60.1 field goal percentage and also sits in the top 15 in rebounding with 6.0 boards per game.

GIVE ME SOME SUGAR
Off to a strong start in his sophomore campaign, Aleksa Jugovic ranks as the third highest scorer on the Golden Eagle roster.

The native of Serbia owns seven 20-point outings to his credit this season, including his career-high 27 coming against Southeast Missouri. Jugovic went 9-of-13 from the field while hitting 7-of-11 3-pointers and both free throw attempts.

He ranks third in the OVC in 3-point shooting at 43.2 percent, owning more makes and attempts than the other two players ahead of him. In league play alone, he ranks first in accuracy from downtown at 48.8 percent. He also leads the OVC at the charity stripe with an 87.5 free throw percentage, a mark that jumps to 88.9 percent in league play.

Facing EIU, he dropped 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-8 from deep.

Against SIUE, he dished out a career-high eight assists, just a game after doling out seven dimes against Eastern Illinois.

Jugovic dropped 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting at UT Martin, sinking all six of his first half field goal attempts. He was 5-for-7 from downtown as well.

He took to the mid-range jumper at EKU, sinking 8-of-13, field goals, 2-of-4 3-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws on his way to 24 points, equaling the most consecutive 20-point outings by a Golden Eagles since Jud Dillard posted four straight to end his career during the 2012-13 season.

Fans can follow Jugovic on Twitter under his handle/nickname @SerbianSugar.

Following his junior year of high school, Jugovic starred for the Serbian U-18 national team, starting at point guard at the 2013 FIBA Europe U-18 Championships.

He averaged a team-high 30.2 minutes while recording 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

The sophomore is one of three current Tech players to have earned adidas® OVC Freshman of the Week, having taken home the honor three times in 2014-15.

Jugovic was recruited by assistant coach Frank Davis, Tech's all-time career leader in 3-pointers made (251) and 3-point percentage (.407). Davis believes Jugovic can break both records in his career, and the numbers support that claim so far.

CAPTAIN COMEBACK
Named one of two team captains following last season, Torrance Rowe has accepted the role again and is leading by example.

For the eighth time in two years, the Golden Eagles completed a comeback of 10 points or more with Rowe making a large impact on the outcome. He has hit the game-winning or tying shot in four of those contests and in five total games.

In a bizarre finish, Tennessee State guard Keron DeShields was fouled from 3-point range with 5.5 seconds to play, sinking all three attempts to tie the game at 79.

Rowe raced down the court, threw up a shot fake and earned his own trip to the line for three attempts, this time with 0.5 seconds left. He sank the first two free throws before missing the final on purpose to give Tech the 13-point rally and victory.

Facing Miami (Ohio) at home, the Rowe led Tech back from a 12-point deficit thanks to five 3-pointers and 23 total points, including 13 in the second half.

After erasing a 16-point deficit that included a 14-point advantage in favor of Lipscomb at the half, the Bisons' Nathan Moran picked Rowe's pocket at half court for a wide-open layup and 78-76 lead with 17 seconds to play.

Rowe answered the bell, however, draining the game-winning 3-pointer with just eight seconds left on the scoreboard, his second game-winning three of his career.

Down by 15 points with just over 10 minutes to play Tech rallied to tie in-state rival East Tennessee State with a little over three minutes left thanks to a 3-pointer by Aleksa Jugovic, assisted by Rowe.

The senior guard then hit the final free throw to give Tech its two-point cushion that would eventually result in the final score of 63-61.

With just five seconds remaining on the clock and Tech trailing Jackson State 71-69, Rowe raced the length of the court just in time to toss in a layup and beat the buzzer to knot things at 71. Tech overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit to defeat the Tigers 86-82 in overtime.

Rowe scored 17 of the team's final 28 points, all coming with less than three minutes to play in the second half.

Familiar with rallying his troops, Rowe showed the ability to put the team on his back last season in a thrilling, comeback victory over Chattanooga.

Trailing by as many as 19 points in the second half, the senior scored a then-career-high 18 points in leading the Golden Eagles to a 69-67 victory.

With the score tied at 65 with 30 seconds remaining, he drilled the game-winning three to cap the remarkable turnaround.

ONE SHOT, ONE OPPORTUNITY
After receiving just one year of eligibility from the NCAA following his transfer from South Plains College, Ryan Martin is out to make the most of his lone season at the Division I level.

The native of London, England was heavily recruited by St. John's University and drew interest from Arizona State, Gonzaga, VCU, Utah State and Louisiana, but the uncertainty of his status with the NCAA cooled most teams away from the big man.

Steve Payne loves Martin's energy level, raving about a motor that never seems to quit. He likes that the Brit plays with emotion and can use it to his advantage.

The senior possesses great rebounding ability and the option to step back and knock down shots from beyond the arc.

Against Robert Morris, Martin tied his career-high in points with 20 and added 10 boards. It marked his first double-double.

Against SIUE, Martin dominated inside for a career-high 26 points, going 8-for-13 from the field and 9-of-10 from the charity stripe. He added seven rebounds as well.

He tallied his ninth double-double of the season against Morehead State, scoring 12 points while tying his season-high by corralling 14 rebounds.

On the year, Martin is averaging 14.2 points and 8.1 rebounds, the best mark on the team and fourth best in the league. He ranks ninth in the OVC in free throw percentage, hitting at a .790 clip.

ON THE DEFENSIVE
Steve Payne listed Shirmane Thomas as the top defender heading into the 2015-16 Tech squad, citing his physical strength, toughness and willingness to stick his nose in there and get a stop.

The guard has notched 24 steals and seven blocks so far while grabbing 3.5 rebounds per game, including a career-high seven at Iowa and against Tennessee State.

ROGERS THAT
One of Tech's most valuable scoring options, Hakeem Rogers has made the most of his opportunities coming off the bench this season, averaging 9.8 points and shooting 39.3 percent from 3-point range in just 18.5 minutes per game.

One of four JUCO transfers on the team, Rogers became the first Tech player to hit four triples in his Golden Eagle debut in over 15 years, scoring 18 points.

Rogers owns three 20-point outings this season, including back-to-back 20-point performances during Tech's most crucial two-game swing of the year.

Against Tennessee State, the junior posted a career-high 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting, including a 4-for-6 showing from beyond the arc.

In Tech's victory over Belmont, Rogers dropped 20 more on the scoreboard, firing at a 7-for-12 rate from the floor. He also recorded a career-high three steals.

EARNING A SPOT
A walk-on to the Tech roster back during the 2013-14 season, Mason Ramsey has done plenty to earn the respect of his teammates and coaches in his two seasons in the purple and gold.

The local Livingston, Tenn. native was awarded a scholarship by Steve Payne following the 2014-15 season, Ramsey's first year of action on the court in Eblen Center.

After redshirting in 2013-14, Ramsey became the first Tech freshman since 1986-87 to open his career with a double-double, posting 14 points and 14 rebounds.

At Jacksonville State, the sophomore played a career-high 31 minutes, scoring five points and grabbing six rebounds.

GOOD GENES
Courtney Alexander II has one of the best role models in which to model his game after that a freshman collegiate player can have. And he lives in the same house.

His father, Courtney Alexander Sr., was the 13th overall selection by the Orlando Magic in the 2000 NBA Draft.

Courtney Sr. went on to play three seasons in the Association, including stints with Dallas, Washington and New Orleans.

He also led the NCAA in scoring with 24.8 points per game as a senior at Fresno State.

Alexander II notched his first career double-double against Mississippi Valley State, posting career-highs with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He has four games with seven or more boards this season.

SOUTHPAWS
True freshman Courtney Alexander II is changing the hand he shoots with for the second time in his young career. As a prep player, the forward shot primarily with his left hand, making the switch to his right during his senior season. The rookie began the transition back to his left hand for the 2015-16 season in October.

Torrance Rowe also shoots left-handed as did former Golden Eagle and current Graduate Assistant Manager Mitchell Hill.

FAMILIAR ROOTS
By far the youngest player on the roster, Micaiah Henry hardly looks like a typical 18-year-old. At 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds, there is plenty to work with in the post for the Tech squad. The youngster will sit out the 2015-16 season as a redshirt.

He also comes from some familiar territory to the Golden Eagle program, hailing from Columbia High School (Ga.).

TTU legend Lorenzo Coleman, Tech's all-time leader in blocked shots also attended Columbia High School. The post also posted the most double-doubles in program history with 40 in four years.

Photo by Charles Goodin, Jim Dillon and Tony Marable