Golden Eagles look to ride momentum into Thursday tilt with Western Illinois
February 14, 2024

Golden Eagles look to ride momentum into Thursday tilt with Western Illinois

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team looks to pick up its third straight Ohio Valley Conference victory Thursday evening, playing host to new league foe Western Illinois in a 7:30 p.m. CT affair in the Hooper Eblen Center.

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By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team looks to pick up its third straight Ohio Valley Conference victory Thursday evening, playing host to new league foe Western Illinois in a 7:30 p.m. CT affair in the Hooper Eblen Center.

The action can be followed live via radio with Roger Ealey and Frank Harrell on the call on 106.1 The Eagle while Dylan Vazzano and Steve Smith will provide video coverage of the contest on ESPN+. Fans are encouraged to wear gold as part of the game's Gold Rush promotion.

Thursday's match-up represents just the third all-time between the two programs, with both sides boasting a victory on their respective home floors during the 1988-89 campaign. Tech owns a 1-0 advantage when competing in Cookeville and the Hoop.

In just his fifth game after taking over as head coach for Tom Deaton, who left the program following the first five games of the 1988-89 season, future TTU Sports Hall of Famer Frank Harrell took his Golden Eagle squad to Macomb, Ill. Tech dropped a nail-biter, 72-66, despite boasting four double-digit scorers.

Future Hall of Famers Earl Wise (the program's all-time leading scorer), Milos Babic, and Anthony Avery all contributed heavily on the Tech side, with Wise and Avery tying for the team lead with 16 points. Babic delivered a double-double with 15 points and 14 boards while Jerome Rodgers (whose daughter, Ayanna, is a redshirt freshman member of the Tech volleyball team) tacked on 10 points.

Making the return trip to Cookeville less than a month later, the Golden Eagles slugged out a 65-60 victory over the Leathernecks to even the series. Avery led the way this time around, boasting 19 points with six assists while Wise turned in 13 points. Rodgers again produced 10 points while Milos Babic added nine points and six blocks to the mix.

On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles avenged a 30-point at the hands of Tennessee State in Nashville back in January with a dominant, 70-50 victory over their in-state rivals in the Hoop. The purple and gold were especially stingy on the defensive end of the floor in the second half, using a 23-3 run to take over the contest and outscore the visiting Tigers 43-21 over the game's final 20 minutes.

Junior forward Rodney Johnson Jr. was a steady force for the Cookeville crew in the first half, leading the way with 11 points to keep his team in the mix. Despite seeing the floor for just four minutes in the second stanza due to foul trouble, the Bryan, Texas native tacked on eight more points, tying for the team lead with 19 for the night while hauling in five rebounds.

Leading the Golden Eagles in scoring and rebounding for the second straight game, sophomore guard Josiah Davis turned in a trio of highlight-reel dunks and was a perfect 7-for-7 at the charity stripe while using his high-energy motor to drive the offense. The Kitchener, Ontario native ended the evening with 19 points, eight boards, and three assists.

Joining the double-digit scoring club on the night was senior guard Diante Wood, chipping in 10 points and four rebounds off the bench. Sophomore forward Daniel Egbuniwe turned in eight points and three dimes while senior guard Jayvis Harvey and freshman guard Kyle Layton recorded seven points and four assists each.

Photo by Jim Dillon