Image via Tennessee State Basketball
Although they fell behind by double digits in the first half, Tennessee State was able to persevere and pull out a vital 89-80 Conference win over Lindenwood.
Lindenwood’s offense came out of the gate firing on all cylinders, jumping out to an 8-1 lead that soon ballooned to a 23-9 advantage. The Lions were scorching from downtown, connecting on their first 5 attempts from downtown.
After being down 26–12 at the 12:59 mark, Tennessee State seemed to settle into the game and outscored Lindenwood 22-7 over the next 6:49 to take their first lead of the game 34-33 on a three-pointer from Dante Harris. The contest would see tied at 34 and 36 apiece before TSU took a 42-37 lead with 1:16 left in the opening half. Lindenwood tied the game right before the half at 42 on Anias Futrell’s three-pointer with 0:30 remaining.
Lindenwood took a 48-44 lead early in the second half before a slam from Travis Harper II and a Harris jumper tied the game at 48 at the 17:31 mark. Lindenwood reclaimed the lead at 50-48 on Robert Lewis’ jumper. That lead was brief as Harper II’s shot from downtown put the Tigers back in front 51-50 with 16:14 remaining. TSU showed the way until Futrell’s layup tied the matchup at 61at the 10:03 mark. The game would see ties at 63, 66, and 68 apiece before TSU finally was able to reclaim the lead at 70-68 on Carlous Williams’ jumper with 4:45 left in the contest.
Lindenwood trimmed to lead to 2 points on three separate occasions but Tennessee State was able to stave off each run, aided by timely baskets and defensive plays. The Tigers also capitalized at the charity stripe, connecting on 13-17 from the line over the game’s final 2:29.
Dante Harris led 5 Tigers in double figures with 21 points. Travis Harper II and Carlous Williams scored 17 apiece, while Aaron Nkrumah and Jalen Pitre added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
In a losing effort, Anias Futrell led Lindenwood with 27 points. Dontrez Williams added 24 points and Milos Nenadic chipped in with 11 points and 5 rebounds.
With the win, Tennessee State (18-9,12-5) is back in a tie for first place in the Ohio Valley Conference. The Tigers return to the hardwood in a nationally televised matchup on ESPNU against SIUE Saturday at 1:00 pm CST.
The Cougars defeated the 74-66 in their matchup earlier this season.
