Score: Tennessee State 90, Crowley's Ridge 68
Records: TSU (1-3, 0-2), CRC (3-10)
Location: Nashville, Tenn.
Venue: Gentry Center
Attendance: 116
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NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team earned its first victory of the season Saturday evening at home over Crowley's Ridge College, 90-68.
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"Our guys needed to see what winning feels like. We needed to get some guys in the game, get some rotations in and build our confidence," said Coach Brian "Penny" Collins.
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Four Tigers notched double-digit scoring on the way to a 90-point win, including center
Josh Linder, who finished with 10 points, six rebounds. Alongside Georgia State transfer was Nashville-native Marcus Fitzgerald, Jr. who led the team with 17 points, registering a career-high in front of his city.
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"It's been a crazy year," said Collins. "We've had five or six games canceled, we played the reigning champs in the first game of the season and then played them again seven days later and a true road game. It's definitely an opportunity for us to get better and sharpen up our guys' skills. I'm glad we were able to come out with a win and at the same time learn some valuable lessons."
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INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- TSU Leaders
- Four Tigers scored double digits for the first time this season.
- 23 points were scored off of the Pioneers' 19 turnovers.
- 46 percent of TSU's points were made in the paint.
- TSU led by as much as 25 late in the second half, 84-59. Â
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HOW IT HAPPENED
- The Pioneers of Crowley's Ridge hit the floor with some heat in the first few minutes of play, outpacing the Tigers 14-10 in just five minutes of action.
- Three quick turnovers early on for Big Blue hurt its chances of a speedy recovery.
- Josh Linder's second-chance layup ended a three-minute scoring drought.
- Crowley's Ridge shot 1-of-8 after a hot start.
- Big Blue began to establish dominance in the post, where many of its points have been made this season, with 12-of-29 points occurring in the paint and seven minutes left in the half.
- Monty Johal led the Tigers with 10 as TSU went on a 15-2 run, marking his career high in points with 75 percent of the game left to be played.
- A recovery and then some was made with 4 minutes left on the clock as TSU led by 15.
- Big Blue closed the period up 40-30.
- Donnie Malone pulled up from beyond the arc for his first bucket of the season, Tigers up 57-43.
- Shakwon Barrett attempted an alley oop to Yusuf Mohamed who was fouled on the way up, taking him to the line for two.
- Marcus Fitzgerald made back-to-back field goals increasing the Tigers' lead to 23 and his career high points to 17.
- When available, Fitzgerald dished the ball to Moody for a wide-open three ball. Â
- Devonte Lanier subbed in and made an immediate impact with a series including a bucket, a steal and a fast-break layup adding energy to the floor.
- Tigers claimed their first victory, 90-68.Â
GAME NOTES
UP NEXT
The Tennessee State Tigers return to the Gentry Center for a Tuesday afternoon matchup to Chattanooga, Dec. 22. Tip on ESPN+ and the Big Blue Sports Network is set for 2 p.m.
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Gallery: (12-19-2020) Men's Basketball vs Crowley's Ridge
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