2022 OVC Men's Basketball Championship - First Round

3/2/2022 9:00:32 AM

#5 TENNESSEE STATE 77, #8 SIUE 62
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team dominated SIUE, 77-62, in a wire-to-wire victory in the first round of the 2022 OVC Basketball Championship.

The Tigers began with a three-pointer from Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. on the first possession of the game. Kassim Nicholson drained consecutive mid-range jumpers as TSU opened the contest with a 7-0 lead. After three scoreless minutes from the field, Dedric Boyd cashed in back-to-back three-pointers to extend the lead to 14-2.

With a 13-point advantage, Tennessee State extended the lead with 12 straight points. Shakem Johnson tallied a game-high 12 points in the opening stanza on 5-of-6 from the field. TSU limited SIUE to 21.4% from the field in the first half as the Big Blue led 42-28 at the break.

The two programs went scoreless for two minutes to begin the half. Carlos Marshall Jr. logged his first basket of the game to put the Tigers on the board. SIUE cut the deficit to single digits after an 11-2 scoring run.

In a two-minute stretch, Johnson scored six points to extend the advantage to double-figures. Tennessee State never trailed in the contest as the Tigers shot 44.1% for the game. Marshall Jr. tallied all of his 14 points in the second half.

Johnson posted his second double-double of the season with a season-high 22 points and 11 rebounds. Coming off the bench, Carlos Marshall Jr. registered 14 points, five rebounds and three assists.

#7 TENNESSEE TECH 78, #6 AUSTIN PEAY 51
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - For the first time since 2018, the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team tasted the sweet flavor of postseason victory, as the Golden Eagles (11-20) dominated in-state rival Austin Peay in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Wednesday evening, 78-51.

Taking part in its first OVC Tournament action since 2018 as well, the purple and gold took advantage of its final meeting against the Governors (12-17) as league foes, with No. 7 seeded Austin Peay making the switch to the Atlantic Sun Conference next season. Tech found a groove defensively in the first half and used it create transition offense that propelled the team to the quarterfinals and a match-up with No. 3 Morehead State.

The two sides battled back-and-forth early on in the contest, with the Govs using an 11-0 run to rally back from down six to up five with just under 12 minutes to play in the first half. Tech cut the deficit to just two before the next media timeout and never looked back.

Riding the sweet-shooting stroke of graduate forward Shandon Goldman, the Golden Eagles responded to Austin Peay's run with a massive stretch of offense of their own. Tech dropped 18 straight over the next five-and-a-half minutes, pushing back out in front by 13. At the break, the Cookeville crew held a 38-26 advantage, thanks in large part to four makes from distance by "Biggie" Goldman.

In the second half, it was more of the same with the defense creating offensive opportunities. Tech never allowed the Govs to pull back within single digits, expanding its advantage to as much as the 27-point final thanks in large part to the efforts of Keishawn Davidson and John Pettway.

Pettway scored all 13 of his points in the second half, finishing a perfect 6-for-6 from the field while tacking on six rebounds. Davidson was the man in charge for the Golden Eagles, however, exploding for a game-high 20 points and seven assists on 9-for-14 shooting.

Goldman connected on one more triple in the second half, concluding the night with 15 points, all from beyond the arc, and seven boards. Kenny White Jr. flirted with a double-double, settling for 10 points and a team-high tying eight rebounds. Diante Wood chipped in nine points on 4-for-6 efficiency.

Four-year guard Jr. Clay, named to the All-OVC Second Team for the fourth straight year prior to the tournament, scored nine points off the bench while also hauling in eight boards and dishing out three assists. On the night, he became just the second player in program history to record 400 points in four different seasons, joining all-time leading scorer Earl Wise in the exclusive club.

As a team, the Golden Eagles shot an impressive 53.3 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from 3-point range. Tech held Austin Peay to just 30.1 percent shooting from the field and a paltry 11.1 percent from downtown. TTU edged the Govs on the glass, 43-42, and turned in 38 points in the paint for a 14-point advantage.