The Skyhawks’ five-game winning streak ended Thursday night as host Tennessee Tech made 9-of-10 free throws in the final 1:20 of the game to deny the Skyhawks the road win, 74-72.

The Skyhawks made 28-of-33 free throws in the game, led by senior Jeremy Kelly, who hit 9-of-10 free throws on his way to scoring 22 points. Fellow senior Jared Newson led all scorers with 29 points. Newson helped the Skyhawks get off to a quick start by scoring five consecutive points in less than 30 seconds. Those points gave the Skyhawks their first lead of the game.

The Skyhawks shot 48 percent in the first half, but committed nine costly turnovers. Despite shooting only 33 percent, the Golden Eagles used a 19-0 advantage in bench scoring and a 9-2 edge in second-chance points to hold a slim 33-32 lead over the Skyhawks at halftime. Tech also won the battle on the boards by a count of 20-12.

A basket by Tech’s Belton Rivers with 13:54 left in the first half sparked a 9-0 Golden Eagle run, but the Skyhawks had an answer. Aided by their defense, they quickly erased their deficit. With the Skyhawks trailing by eight, Newson made a basket, then stole the ball and scored on the next play to cut the Golden Eagle lead in half. A steal and lay-up by Jeremy Kelly brought the Skyhawks to within two points at 22-20.

Another run by the Golden Eagles extended the lead to nine points, but the Skyhawks closed with a run of their own. Zerek Knight scored five points during that stretch, including a three-pointer that gave the Skyhawks a 32-31 lead with just over a minute left in the half.

The Skyhawks stayed close early in the second half by making their free throws. Their overall shooting dropped off to 36 percent as a result of their inability to penetrate the defense to get high-percentage shots. Their three-point struggles carried over from the first half, allowing Tech to get defensive rebounds. The extra possessions resulted in more scoring opportunities for the Golden Eagles.

Rebounding was the main story of the game. The Golden Eagles doubled the Skyhawks’ total of 22 rebounds. The Skyhawks were able to pull down only eight total rebounds in the second half. The Golden Eagles tripled that total with 24. The Skyhawks protected the ball well in the second half, reducing their turnover total to three. After the teams traded runs in the first few minutes of the second half, the Golden Eagles took over at around the 12:00 mark. An 8-0 run gave them a double-digit lead, but it would not last long.

The Skyhawks fought back, using free throws to trim the lead to four at 51-47 with 8:29 left in the game. Offensive rebounding helped the Golden Eagles push the lead back to double digits. Once again, the Skyhawks put together a run. This time it was an 11-1 spurt that tied the score at 63 and made the game interesting.

Kelly racked up two three-point plays during the run. Will Lewis contributed a pair of free throws to tie the score. The Skyhawks never led in the second half.

Over the final two minutes, the game was decided at the free throw line. Tech’s 9-of-10 performance during that span edged out the Skyhawks’ 4-of-4 over the same period. A pair of free throws by Tech’s Milone Clark with 14 seconds left put the game out of reach. Bubba Tolliver made a three-pointer with seven seconds left before Tech ran out the clock.

The loss dropped the Skyhawks’ record to 12-13 overall and 9-10 in OVC play as they prepared for their Bracket Buster game at Evansville.