title image via Tennessee State basketball
As was the case with their female counterparts, the Tennessee State men’s hoops team needed extra time to settle matters with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville but like the ladies the Tigers came out on the short end of the stick, falling to the Cougars, 87-80.
After the teams swapped the lead 5 times in the opening minutes of the contest, a three-pointer from Carlous Williams put TSU up 9-7 at the 14:38 mark of the opening half. Powered by efficient offense, TSU shot 50% from the field and downtown,
Tennessee State showed the way for the remainder of the half, building as much as an 11-point advantage when Knute Wood’s three-ball brought the score to 27-16. SIUE clawed its way back into the contest, pulling to within striking distance on Declan Dillion’s layup that trimmed the lead to 35-31 with just 0:31 seconds remaining in the half.
SIUE drew even at 39 early in the second half on Ray Sean Turner’s connection from downtown with 17:01 remaining in the contest. Tennessee State would tie the game at 41 and 43 on back-to-back buckets from Ronald Jessamy. SIUE reestablished control, subsequently building a 55-46 advantage. TSU battled back, eventually knotting the contest at 63 on a Jessamy layup with 5:39 left in the game. From there the game was a close affair, with Tennessee State never allowing SIUE to get more 4 than points ahead. The Tigers sliced the lead to two at 71-69 on Aaron Nkrumah’s layup with 0:48 to go. After Kyle Thomas misfired on his jumper, Jessamy grabbed the rebound and subsequently scored and was fouled on the layup, sending him to the foul line with just 0:04 left in the contest and a chance to put the Tigers up one. In life and basketball, you have to hit your free throws, unfortunately, this was not an aim that Jessamy could live up to as he flanked the go-ahead free throw, sending the game into overtime.
In the first overtime the teams combined to shoot just 1-11, SIUE 1-8, and TSU 0-3, scoring just four points apiece. Tennessee State did themselves no favors, committing a trio of turnovers on the extra frame, and the score would be knotted at 75 as the game headed into a second overtime.
The Cougars outscored the Tigers in the second overtime 12-5, with Brian Taylor’s three-pointer with 0:46 remaking put SIUE up 85-80 and proved to be the decisive blow. A pair of free throws from Ray Sean Taylor brought the game to its final count of 87-80.
In a losing effort, Aaron Nkrumah led five Tigers in double figures with 16 points and also grabbed 8 rebounds.Carlous Williams had a double-double with 13 points and a team-high 13 rebounds; Travis Harper II and Ronald Jessamy had 11 points each, while Justus Jackson added 10 points.
Brian Taylor led the way for the Cougars with 23 points and Ray Sean Taylor added 21 points of his own.
The loss drops Tennessee State to 6-12 overall and just 2-5 within the OVC. TSU will look to bounce back on Saturday when they host Eastern Illinois; tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 pm CST.
