Image via Tennessee State Basketball/IG
Tennessee State capped off its 4-game homestand with a wire-to-wire, 83-56 beatdown of Western Illinois.
Although the Tigers shot poorly from downtown (21.1%, 4-19), TSU overall shot 51.5% (34-66) from the floor and dominated inside, scoring 58 points in the paint.
Tennessee State jumped on the Leathernecks, building a double-digit lead less than 5 minutes into the game. Western Illinois never led in the first half, falling behind by as much as 19 points and trailing 43-27 at the end of the first 20 minutes.
The Tigers continued to pour it on in the second half, quickly pushing their advantage north of 20 points on Aaron Nkrumah’s three-pointer that made the score 52-31 at the 17:24 mark. JC Brooks’ layup made the score 68-38 and the rest of the game was officially garbage time, as TSU’s lead would balloon to as large as 81-43 as they would cruise to the 83-56 victory.
Antoine Lorick III led four Tigers in double figures with 18 points. Aaron Nkrumah added 16 points, as did Jabrion Spikes, which was a season high. Travis Harper III, TSU’s last double-figure scorer, pitched in with 13 points.
The win lifted Tennessee State to 16-8 overall and 9-4 within the confines of OVC play. TSU returns to action Thursday, February 12 against Southern Indiana; tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 pm CST. A win will give the Tigers 10 OVC wins for the fourth consecutive season.
