NASHVILLE — Kenny Cooper and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. put on a show for the Gentry faithful as the local duo combined for 26 points to lead the Tennessee State University men's basketball team to a 76-55 win over local Nashville foe Trevecca Nazarene on Wednesday afternoon in front of over 4,000+ fans. 

Cooper in his first contest in a Tiger uniform finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes. Fitzgerald also had 13 points and a team-high four assists in 27 minutes. Kassim Nicholson added 12 points and Christian Brown had 11 points as they both made their TSU debuts. 

Hercy Miller had seven points, four rebounds and two assists. Miller scored five of his seven points from the free throw line. 

Trevecca's Chris Rogers led all scorers with 16 points as his Trojans led 27-25 at the half. 

The visitors took an early lead and led by as many as nine, 23-14, after Brendan Newton came down with a slam. Fitzgerald put the Tigers into the locker room trailing by two points after a layup with 44 seconds left. 

In the second half, TSU exploded with 51 points and went on an 18-0 run to expand its lead to 59-46 with 6:37 left to play. 

The Tigers got 23 points from its bench led by Miller and Dedric Boyd each with seven points. TSU shot 35 percent from the field and finished with 36 points in the paint. 

TSU opens the 2021-22 season on November 9 on the road at Alabama A&M.