Golden Eagles Comeback Falls Short in 76-70 loss to Morehead State
Tennessee Tech men’s basketball trailed by eight at halftime, mounted a second-half comeback, but fell short 76-70 to Morehead State on Saturday at Eblen Center.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
38 | 38 | 76 |
|
|
29 | 41 | 70 |
Team Stats
Morehead State
| Game Statistics | Morehead State | Tennessee Tech |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (27-65) | (26-57) |
| Field Goal % | 41.5% | 45.6% |
| Rebounds | 39 | 32 |
| Assists | 14 | 10 |
| Turnovers | 7 | 8 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 8 | 6 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 19 | 15 |
| Pts in the Paint | 28 | 40 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 11 | 7 |
| Bench Pts | 30 | 33 |
By Jeff Bowe, TTU Athletics Media Relations
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech men's basketball trailed by eight at halftime, mounted a second-half comeback, but fell short 76-70 to Morehead State on Saturday at Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles fall to 7-12 overall and 2-6 in OVC play with the six-point loss, and MSU improves to 9-10 overall and 5-3 in conference action with the win. Dani Pounds led the team with 15 points on 4-of-6 from the field, all off the bench, converting on 7-of-8 free throws while grabbing four rebounds. Pounds has scored in double figures in two of the last three games.
Pounds had 10 points in the first half to mark the only Golden Eagle in double digits at the break.
Tech struggled from the field in the first half, shooting 10-of-28 (35.7 percent), but a second-half surge led by nine points by Mekhi Cameron and eight points by Malik Ferguson brought the Golden Eagles as close as three points.
Ferguson cuts it to 3️⃣
— TTU Men's Basketball (@TTU_Basketball) January 17, 2026
MSU 70, Tech 67 - 2nd half (44.5)#WingsUp pic.twitter.com/GyUSy92Njr
Despite finding itself down 16 points with 9:09 left to play, TTU rallied and went on an 8-0 run with 1:53 left to cut the deficit to single digits. The Golden Eagles made it a 70-67 game with a two-pointer from Ferguson with 1:10 left in the game. The game would turn into a free-throw shooting contest for the final minute as Morehead State put it away from the stripe.
Ja'Quavian Florence pushed it on a fast-break and drove the lane for an easy layup, cutting the deficit to four points, 74-70, with eight seconds left, but a free throw by George Marshall made it a five-point game, and that would send the Golden Eagles to the six-point loss, 76-70.
Cameron finished with 12 points, going 5-of-9 from the field, and 1-of-3 from three as well as 1-for-3 from the free-throw line with three rebounds. Ferguson posted 10 points on 4-of-9 from the field, going 2-of-2 from the line.
JaJuan Nicholls led the team with five rebounds while recording six points on 3-of-6 shooting from the paint. Ty Owens paced the Golden Eagles with three assists, while adding six points.
Overall, the Golden Eagles outshot the Eagles 45.6 percent to 41.5 percent, but MSU held an advantage in three-point shooting, 38.1 percent to 25.0 percent, and from the free-throw line 77.8 percent to 68.2 percent.
Morehead State won the rebound battle 39-32 and the turnover battle 7-8. MSU also held the lead for 32:07 while TTU led for just 3:14.
The game was tied four times, and there was only one lead change.
George Marshall led MSU with 16 points on 4-of-9 from the field, 3-of-5 from three, and 5-of-6 from the line. Josiah Green was second on the team with 13 points on 5-of-11 from the field, including 3-of-7 from three. Marshall and Green tied for the MSU lead with three made three-pointers.
Anouar Mellouk finished with a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards.
NEXT UP
Tech hits the road for three straight, traveling to Lindenwood on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7:30 p.m. The Golden Eagles visit SIUE on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 4 p.m., and then head to Nashville to face Tennessee State on Tuesday, Jan. 27 at 7:30 p.m. CT, closing out the road trip before returning home against Little Rock on Jan. 31.
PURCHASE TICKETS
Tickets for Tennessee Tech Men's Basketball are on sale now – call (931) 372-3940, visit the Hooper Eblen Center ticket office, or order online at TTUsports.com.
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