VERMILLION, S.D. – The Tennessee State men's basketball team dropped the Sunday matinee at South Dakota, 83-66.
 
FIRST HALF: Tennessee State recorded the first basket of the game after Christian Brown swiped a steal and logged a fast-break layup. Jalen Dupree continued the scoring as he generated the next two field goals, extending the Tigers early lead. At the 12:13 mark, Carlos Marshall Jr. rattled off back-to-back three pointers to give TSU an eleven-point advantage, 22-11. The Coyotes attacked the basket throughout the first half and entered the bonus halfway through the first. USD went on a 12-0 run as Kruz Perrott-Hunt tallied 10 points during the scoring stretch. For the half, South Dakota cashed in 19-of-24 from the charity stripe to jump start the offense. || USD, 42-38
 
SECOND HALF: USD opened the half with six unanswered points before Emmanuel Dowuona converted two free-throws to trim the deficit to single digits. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. ignited a 9-2 scoring stretch for TSU as the freshman tallied six of the nine points to bring the Tigers within five. At the 6:30 mark, Fitzgerald Jr. scored on a contested layup followed by a technical foul on the Nashville native. After the tech, over the next minute of play, the Coyotes went on a 10-0 run to increase their lead to double digits. Tennessee State could not close the gap as they scored six points over the final 4:52. || USD, 83-66
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Marshall Jr. led the team with 16 points on 6-of-8 from the field, including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range.
• Kenny Cooper swiped four steals, a season-high for the transfer. In his three years at Lipscomb, the guard totaled 59 games with multiple steals.
• USD converted 39-of-49 from the free-throw line as TSU had five players with at least four fouls.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• The Tigers have scored the first bucket in every game this season.
• In three of four games, Nicholson's recorded at least nine points and nine rebounds.
• Dating back to the '19-20 season, the Coyotes are 22-4 in Vermillion, S.D.

UP NEXT: The Tigers continue the road trip at the University of Nebraska on Tuesday evening, with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 p.m. at the Pinnacle Bank Arena.