COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Tech caught fire from 3-point range midway through the second half on Monday evening as the Golden Eagles won the first of two meetings against Eastern Illinois over the next four days, winning 84-58.
EIU fell to 4-19 overall, 2-8 in the OVC and is now a half-game behind TTU in the OVC standings. TTU snapped a six game losing streak to move to 6-18 overall, 3-8 in the OVC.
The Golden Eagles shot 50 percent from the floor in the opening half to build a 41-31 lead. EIU was able to chip into the TTU lead several times including making their final four shots of the first half.Â
Dan Luers scored the final eight points of the half for EIU.
The Panthers shot 47 percent in the first half including 5-of-11 from 3-point range.
The second half proved to be a different story as TTU connected for 60 percent while EIU cooled off to shooting 39 percent, including just 2-of-11 from 3-point range.
TTU would string together eight straight made field goals midway through the second half as they expanded their lead. Jr Clay and Kenny White Jr hit six straight shots from 3-point range in the run. Clay led all scorers with 23 points going 6-of-8 from 3-point range. White had 17 points going 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
The Golden Eagles finished the game 14-of-28 from 3-point range and shot 55 percent from the floor for the game. TTU pushed the ball in transition finishing with a 22-0 advantage in fast break points.
EIU had three players in double figures led by
CJ Lane with 14 points.Â
Rodolfo Bolis had 11 while Luers scored ten.