Image via Tennessee State Basketball
Just 10 games into the Nolan Smith era, the team has its first signature win, defeating UNLV in the Jack Jones Classic.
Despite tying the game on multiple occasions, TSU spent the majority of the first half playing from underneath, only taking a brief 10-8 lead. The Rebels took a 29-20 lead on a pair of Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn free throws with 4:48 left in the half. A 7-0 spurt by the Tigers trimmed the lead to 29-27 on Travis Harper II’s pull-up jump shot at the 1:50 mark, however, UNLV would take a 33-29 advantage into halftime.
TSU reclaimed the lead for the first time in the second half on Dante Harris’ jumper that brought the count to 37-36 at the 16:16 mark. UNLV tied the game at 42 on Tyrin Jones’ alley-oop slam dunk with 12:13 remaining in the half. The game would see ties at 44, 46, and 47 all before UNLV reclaimed the point when Howie Fleming Jr connected from downtown, making the score 50-47. Tennessee State tied the game at 56 on Travis Harper’s connection from downtown with 4:41 left in the contest. UNLV reclaimed the lead, 58-56, on the next possession when Fleming canned a step-back jump shot. Jalen Pitire’s layup tied the game back at 58 with 3:40 left in the second half. UNLV pushed back in front, 60-58 on a pair of Fleming free throws. Dante Harris, who was called for the foul that led to the aforementioned free throws from Fleming, made it for it by tying the game at 60 on a foray to the basket with 1:13 left in the game.
Kimono Hamilton turned the ball over on the subsequent UNLV possession and Tennessee State was able to make the extra possession count, taking a 62-60 lead on Aaron Nkrumah’s layup with under a minute to go in the contest. Harris was able to get a steal on the Rebels’ next possession and Nkrumah was fouled, sending him to the charity stripe with 0:07 remaining. Nkrumah split the free throws, giving Tennessee State a 63-60 lead. Hamilton’s would-be game-tying three-point attempt was no good, preserving a 63-60 win for the Tigers.
Aaron Nkrumah and Travis Harper II led the way with 12 points apiece; Carlous Williams was the other Tiger in double figures with 10 points. Nkrumah also pulled down a high 8 rebounds. The Tigers also forced 11 steals on the evening, and 18 turnovers overall. Although Tennessee State equalled UNLV with 13 offensive rebounds, they were able to convert those boards into 16 points, as opposed to just 7 for UNLV. The Tigers’ defense held Nevada-Las Vegas to just 37.1% (19-51) shooting in the contest.
In a losing effort, Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was the only UNLV player in double figures with 13 points.
Up next for the Tigers is a meeting with the conference for UT Martin on December 18. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST.
