THURSDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee Tech 91, Savannah State 80
TENNESSEE TECH 91, SAVANNAH STATE 80
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team built a quick and early advantage Thursday evening and never looked back, leading Savannah State wire-to-wire to pick up its fourth victory of the season with a 91-80 decision over the Tigers (3-10) in the Eblen Center.
The Golden Eagles (4-8) opened the contest with an 8-1 run over the first three minutes, eventually extending their advantage to 14 points as redshirt freshman Hunter Vick took over early. The rookie guard helped provide a 10-point, halftime lead behind 16 points, three assists and two steals with four makes from beyond the arc.
Vick, the co-Special Olympics Player of the Game, finished the contest with a game-high 22 points, tying his season-best mark on 8-for-16 shooting. He chipped in three rebounds, four assists, three steals and a block in 34 minutes. The Camden, Tenn. native became the first Tech freshman since Bruce Oglesby in 1990-91 to post at least four 20-point outings.
He set the tone on offense while the Tech defense kept the nation's leader in 3-point field goal attempts at bay for much of the contest. Overall, the Tigers attempted just 27 triples, more than 10 less than their season average.
The defense also forced 16 Savannah State turnovers, with nine steals. On the flip side, Tech made a season-low five turnovers in the contest while racking up 16 assists on their way to a 91-point outburst.
In the second half, with the Tiger defense locked down on Vick and switching to more of a zone, it was graduate transfer Malik Martin's turn to take over on offense. The 7-footer, and co-Special Olympics Player of the Game, scored 13 of his 20 points over the final 20 minutes of the game, sinking 5-of-6 attempts at the charity stripe. He tallied four boards and three assists while making his second straight start for the Golden Eagles.
Alexander posted his third double-double of the season and seventh of his career, totaling 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. He hit five of his seven tries from the free-throw line as well while making three steals. Tillery added 10 points off the bench, sinking 2-of-5 attempts from downtown. Clay finished with nine points, five rebounds and a team-high five assists without a turnover.