Once again, it took late-game heroics, but Tennessee State was able to pull out a 72-70 win over Little Rock. Aaron Nkrumah’s three-pointer with 0.6 was the decisive basket that propelled the Tigers to victory.
Little Rock scored first on Isaiah Lewis’ fastbreak layup, giving the Trojans an early 2-0 lead. U can not The Trojans would build as much as a 7-point advantage, showing the way until Brandon Weston’s layup gave the Tigers their lead of the evening, 14-13 at the 10:20 mark. The rest of the half saw the teams take turns out front and also featured five ties, including the halftime score of 31 apiece.
The second half played itself similar to the first in that was close in the initial moments, the two teams swapped the lead before Little Rock took the lead after the game was tied. The Trojans took the lead at 42-39 following a three-pointer by Johnathan Lawson at the 16:02 mark. Tennessee State soon narrowed the gap to a single point at 46-45 on Antoine Lorick III’s shot from downtown. TSU drew even at 52 on a Justus Jackson three-ball with 8:33 left in the contest. The Tigers built a 67-59 lead and seemed to be on the verge of seizing control of the game, however a
2:07 minute stretch in which TSU committed 3 turnovers and went 0-1 from the floor allowed Little Rock to knot the game at 67 with 1:50 to go in the game. The game would be tied at 69 on a Tuongthach Gatkek slam dunk. He was fouled on the dunk by Carlous Williams sending him to the line. Gatkek converted the free throw, putting the Trojans up 70-69 with 0:45 to go. TSU turned the ball over on the ensuing possession, however, they were able to force a Little Rock shot clock violation, giving them the ball and a chance to win with just 7 seconds left. Aaron Nkrumah buried a three-pointer with under a second left to propel the Tigers to a 72-70 victory.
Aaron Nkrumah and Justus Jackson led Tennessee State with 13 points apiece. Brandon Weston scored 12 and Antoine Lorick III added 10 points.
Isaiah Lewis led the Trojans with 20 points; Johnathan Lawson added 15 points and Tuongthach Gatkek chipped in 13 points
Winners of four in a row, Tennessee State is 10-12 overall and has climbed above .500 in OVC play with a 6-5 record. TSU returns to action Saturday, hitting the road to take on Southeast Missouri; tip-off is scheduled for 4:00 PM CST.
