Image via TSU Basketball
Courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics
OPENING TIP: Tennessee State looks to extend its winning streak to three games Thursday night when it visits defending Ohio Valley Conference champion SIUE. The matchup concludes the first half of the league schedule with the Tigers tied for second place in the OVC standings at 6–2, alongside Little Rock. SIUE enters the contest tied for sixth at 4–4 in conference play with Southeast Missouri and Eastern Illinois.
The Matchup:
Tennessee State (12-6, 6-2) vs. SIUE (11-8, 4-4)
Date/Time: Thursday, January 22 at 8:00 PM
Location: Edwardsville, Ill. | First Community Arena
TV: ESPNU | ESPN+
SERIES INFORMATION VS. SIUE: Tennessee State leads the all-time series 14–9, despite dropping all three meetings last season, including a narrow loss to SIUE in the OVC Tournament semifinals.
NKRUMAH ADDS ANOTHER WEEKLY HONOR: Tennessee State senior guard Aaron Nkrumah was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Tigers to a pair of victories by averaging 27.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.0 steal per game while shooting 58.8 percent from the field and 83.3 percent from three-point range. The 6-foot-6 senior from Worcester, Mass., posted a career-high 30 points with seven rebounds and five assists in a 105-100 overtime win over Morehead State before recording a double-double with 24 points and a season-best 11 rebounds two days later. Nkrumah ranks first in the OVC and fourth nationally in steals (2.9 per game), second in the league in scoring (16.8 ppg) and sixth in field goal percentage (42.9 percent), earning his third OVC Player of the Week honor of the season.
SOUTHERN INDIANA BY THE NUMBERS:
2: Jalen Pitre finished with two blocks, leading TSU in rim protection.
3: Aaron Nkrumah shot 3-for-3 from three-point range, the most made threes by a TSU player in the game. He also grabbed eight rebounds, second-most on the team.
9: Dante Harris scored nine points, adding two assists and two steals.
10: Tennessee State finished with 10 steals as a team, disrupting Southern Indiana’s offensive rhythm.
11: Travis Harper II scored 11 points while adding three rebounds.
13: Tennessee State used a 13–0 run from 7:23 to 4:34 of the second half to turn the game in its favor.
17: Antoine Lorick III scored 17 points on 8-of-13 shooting, finishing as TSU’s second-leading scorer. 5: Lorick III also recorded five assists and added two blocks.
20: Tennessee State scored 20 fast-break points.
24: Aaron Nkrumah led all scorers with 24 points, shooting 8-of-14 from the field and 5-of-8 from the free-throw line.
42: Tennessee State scored 42 points in the paint, more than double Southern Indiana’s total.
