Tennessee State turned in a strong performance on the glass, turned 19 WIU turnovers into 33 points, and scored 39 points off the bench in an 87-69 defeat of Western Illinois Thursday night.
Although the Tennessee State didn’t have their shooting eye in the first half, shooting just 38.9 in the game’s opening half, the Tigers hit the glass and turned defense into offense. TSU pounded the glass, grabbing 10 offensive rebounds, which they turned into 13 points, and forced 11 turnovers, scoring 18 points off those Western Illinois miscues and taking a 38-33 halftime lead.
Tennessee State needed just 2:27 to turn their five-point halftime lead to a double-figure advantage when Travis Harper’s layup put the Tigers up 44-33. The TSU lead would eventually balloon to 17 points on Carlous Williams’ layup that de the score 50-33 at the 15.27 mark. Tennessee State was able to maintain a double-digit advantage until a Troy Knox dunk off a steal cut thread to 63-54 with 7:59 to go. The Leathernecks whittled the lead down to 65-59 on Marko Maleti’s three-pointer at the 6:09 mark. Western Illinois drew the gap to nine, 74-65 and 76-67 however they were able to draw no closer. TSU was able to quickly push the lead back to double figures on the path to an 87-69 victory.
Aaron Nkrumah led the Tigers with a stat-stuffing performance, scoring 14 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and dishing out 7 assists. Travis Harper II and Justus Jackson added 13 points apiece; Ronald Jessamy was the TSU player in double figures, scoring 12 points and snagging 7 rebounds.
Trey Deveaux was Western Illinois’ leading scorer with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Marko Maletic added 17 points of his own and Julius Rollins contributed 14 points.
The win lifts Tennessee Staye to 11-13 overall and 7-6 within the Ohio Valley Conference. TSU returns to action Saturday afternoon, taking on Lindenwood at 3:30 pm CST at Gentry Center.