LINCOLN, Neb. – The Tennessee State men's basketball team suffered a hard-fought loss at Nebraska on Tuesday evening, 79-73.
FIRST HALF: Nebraska scored the first basket of the game on a jumper by Tennessee transfer, Derrick Walker.
Kassim Nicholson tallied the opening bucket for TSU with a three-pointer. After the Cornhuskers opened up a 13-3 lead, the Tigers went on a 9-0 run as four different players registered a basket. TSU took their first lead of the ballgame, 14-13, following consecutive three-pointers from
Dedric Boyd. The game went on a "see-saw" throughout the middle part of the half, as the lead flip-flopped, and Tennessee State took a 23-22 lead with a long-range jumper from
Kenny Cooper.
Cooper evened the score at 26 with his second three-pointer of the evening. At the 2:18 mark,
Boyd converted an "and-one" four-point play to give TSU a 36-32 advantage.
Boyd, a transfer from Illinois State, splashed another three-pointer with two seconds remaining to give Tennessee State an edge heading into the locker room.
Nicholson logged five points and six rebounds in the opening stanza.
Cooper posted eight points (3-4 FG, 2-2 3pFG), six assists and three rebounds. Nebraska's Walker led NU with nine points on 4-of-4 from the field. Arizona State transfer, Alonzo Verge Jr., had seven points, five assists, and two rebounds for the Cornhuskers. TSU held Nebraska to 3-of-14 from three-point range, while the Tigers cashed in 10-of-19 from deep. ||
TSU, 41-38
SECOND HALF: Nebraska went on a 7-0 run to begin the half and secured a four-point lead, 45-41.
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. recorded consecutive baskets for TSU to trim the deficit.
Nicholson scored on back-to-back mid-range jumpers to take the lead, 50-49. NU rattled off a 10-2 scoring stretch midway through the half; however,
Carlos Marshall Jr. ended the run with a three-pointer to cut the deficit within two, 61-59. With 6:06 remaining, the Cornhuskers went on a 9-1 run to extend the lead to double digits, 72-62, as Verge Jr. and Walker combined for all nine points.
Boyd stopped the drought with consecutive baskets, totaling five points to keep the Tigers within striking distance. Nebraska's five-star freshman, Bryce McGowens, sealed the deal for NU with five free-throws down the stretch. ||
NU, 79-73
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Boyd led the team with 23 points on 8-of-15 from the field and 6-of-11 from long-range.
- Nicholson posted a double-double for the second time this season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.
- Cooper logged 35 minutes, scored nine points, and dished out a season-high eight assists.
- Emmanuel Dowuona registered career-highs in points (5) and rebounds (11).
- Nebraska dominated the paint in scoring (34-18), however, TSU out-rebounded the Cornhuskers (37-35).
- NU's Verge Jr. posted his second double-double in red and white, with 18 points and a season-high 10 assists.
BEYOND THE BOX:
- Nicholson's led the team in rebounds in all five games this year.
- Nicholson, a transfer from UAB, has recorded at least nine points and nine rebounds in four of five games.
- Five Tigers tallied at least nine points against the Big Ten foe.
- TSU's started the year with four road games in five contests.
UP NEXT: Tennessee State returns home to face Southern on Sunday afternoon, with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m. at the Gentry Center.
