Tech’s Golden Eagle basketball teams continue their Ohio Valley Conference schedule Saturday night against in-state rival Belmont. The doubleheader will kick off at 5:30 p.m. in the Hooper-Eblen Center.
Both men’s and women’s teams lost in their first meeting against the Bruins by single digit amounts. The Golden Eagles come into the match up looking to avenge their losses as they head down the home stretch of their schedules.
Turnovers were the story for the women’s team in its last matchup against Belmont. The 17 turnovers were costly for the team even though they were shooting an impressive 59.7 percent from the field. The Bruins were able to capitalize off of the Golden Eagles’ mistakes, scoring 16 points off the giveaways.
Junior Diamond Henderson, the team’s leading scorer, finished with a game high of 29 points on the night. The team looks to follow her hot hand, along with strong post play from junior Candace Parson, in hopes of capturing a win this weekend.
“The game plan is to limit their scoring,” said Henderson. “The things we have to do this time around is defend their 3-point shot, get ball movement on offense and limit their offensive rebounds.”
The women’s team comes into this game with a record of 8-13 overall and 5-3 in the OVC. They are currently ranked third in the OVC East Division.
The Golden Eagle men suffered a 2-point loss when they last faced off against the Bruins in Nashville. The team is looking to have their best shot of knocking off the conference leaders at home Saturday. Tech has played very well this season at home, and, thus far, are 7-2 in the Hooper-Eblen Center.
Belmont, who earlier in the season beat the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, defeated Tech 64-62 in their first match up this season. The team was led by seniors Jeremiah Samarippas and Dennis Ogbe, who finished with 16 and 14 points respectively.
The game came down to the wire in its final seconds. After back to back turnovers by both squads, Samarippas was left to take the last shot with seconds to go on the clock. The senior guard missed the shot attempt that would have pushed the game into overtime.
“We got smacked by Belmont at home [last season],” said Samarippas. “I want to beat them this year. I don’t like Belmont.”
The men’s team comes into this game with a record of 10-13, 3-5 in the OVC. They are currently ranked fifth in the OVC East Division.
Tipoff for the men’s game is at 7:30 p.m., directly following the women’s game. Saturday isJackson County and Overton County Night. Residents of those two counties can purchase tickets at the game for $1 per person.
