NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team fell to Southern on a last second reverse layup, 82-80.
 
FIRST HALF: Carlos Marshall Jr. secured the opening bucket for TSU with a mid-range jumper, off an assist from Kenny Cooper. Cooper drained a three-pointer, to grab an early five-point lead. The Tigers extended the lead to six, 8-2, after three consecutive free-throws from Kassim Nicholson. Southern took the lead following a 10-2 scoring stretch, with Tyrone Lyons contributing five points to the run. The game remained a battle throughout the half as the two teams exchanged the lead multiple times. In the first half, Marshall Jr. recorded a team-best nine points and three rebounds. Cooper went a perfect 2-for-2 from long-range, totaling six points, three rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes of action. For the Jaguars, Lyons led the way with a game-high 11 points as he converted 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. Tennessee State out-rebounded Southern, 20-15, and out-scored the Jaguars on second-chance points (11-2). || SU, 33-32
 
SECOND HALF: The Tigers logged an 11-2 scoring stretch to take a four-point lead, 45-41. Four separate players contributed to the run, as Emmanuel Dowuona added four points on a layup and two free-throws. TSU held a five-point lead at the midway point, 57-52, following a Dedric Boyd jumper. With 5:32 remaining, SU's Lyons drained a three-pointer to give Southern a 67-66 lead, which they did not relinquish. At the 2:17 mark, Boyd converted two free-throws to cut the deficit to three, 76-73. After forcing a missed shot, Shakem Johnson spilt a pair at the charity stripe. Trailing by three, with 31 seconds left, Marshall Jr. splashed a three-ball to tie the game. On the final possession, the Jaguars' P.J. Byrd registered the game-winning basket on an up-and-under reverse layup. || SU, 82-80
 
INSIDE THE STATS:

• Three Tigers registered double-digit scoring, as Marshall Jr. led the team with 14 points.
• Cooper, a graduate transfer from WKU, posted eight points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
• Tennessee State dominated the second-chance points, 19-2.
• TSU secured 16 more rebounds than SU, 39-23.
• Southern's Terrell Williams Jr. rattled off a game-high 19 points on 5-of-8 from the field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw line.

BEYOND THE BOX:

• Tennessee State's scored the initial basket in five of six games.
• Cooper's swiped multiple steals in three games this season, while securing at least one steal in five of six games.
• TSU went to the free-throw line a season-high 33 times (27-33).

UP NEXT: Tennessee State will play their fifth game on the road as they travel to Georgia State on Tuesday evening, with tip-off scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in Atlanta, Georgia.