image via Tennessee State Athletics
It was a rough night in Knoxville for Tennessee State, as they were soundly beaten by the University of Tennessee, 89-60.
The Tigers stumbled out of the gate and quickly found themselves in a double-digit hole, falling behind by as much as 26 points. Tennessee State did themselves no favors in the opening 20 minutes, shooting just 20.7% (6-29) from the field,7.1% (1-14)from downtown and committed 13 turnovers.
The Volunteers continued to pour it on in the second half, building as much as a 34 point advantage. Although the Tigers were overmatched, they showed heart, continuing to battle, whittling the Tennessee lead down to 25 points three times but would ultimately taste an 89-60 defeat.
Aaron Nkrumah led a trio of Tigers in double figures with 19 points. Travis Harper II added 17 points and Antoine Lorick III added 12 points.
Ja’Kobi Gillespie led a quintet of Volunteers in double figures with 17 points; Amaree Abram and Nate Arment had 15 apiece, DeWayne Brown II added 13 and Felix Okpara chipped in with 11 points.
Tennessee State returns to action Tuesday, November 25 when they head to Asheville, NC to take on UNC Asheville. The Bulldogs defeated the Tigers 92-74 when the two teams last matched up on December 1, 2024.
