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Tennessee State University

Defense
72
Tennessee St. TSU 3-14,2-12 OVC
86
Winner Eastern Ill. EIU 7-14,4-10 OVC
Tennessee St. TSU
3-14,2-12 OVC
72
Final
86
Eastern Ill. EIU
7-14,4-10 OVC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Tennessee St. TSU 26 46 72
Eastern Ill. EIU 48 38 86

Game Recap: MEN'S BASKETBALL |

Men's Basketball Closes Road Swing with Loss to EIU

Score: Tennessee State 72, Eastern Illinois 86
Records: TSU (3-14, 2-12), EIU (7-14, 4-10)
Location: Charleston, Ill.
Arena: Lantz Arena
Attendance: 0
 
CHARLESTON, Ill. --- The Tennessee State men's basketball team dropped its final game of its four-game road swing Saturday afternoon In Lantz Arena on Eastern Illinois' campus, 86-72, splitting the season series 1-1.
 
Sophomore point guard Mark Freeman had a career night, notching a career-high 28 points, 19 of which were scored in the second half comeback Big Blue attempted. Coming off a 30-point performance on Thursday, Shakem Johnson notched a career-high, and team season-high 12 rebounds.
 
TSU is now 3-14, 2-12 with six games left in the regular season.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
  • TSU's Leaders
  • The team registered a season-high 12 steals.
  • Big Blue turned EIU's 22 turnovers into 29 points.
  • 38 of TSU's 72 points (52.7 percent) were made in the paint.
  • Eastern Illinois' bench added 30 points to the scoreboard, while TSU's only had 12 – led by freshman Evan Joyner with six.
  • The Panthers shot 72 percent from the floor in the first period.
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Monty Johal notched the first points for TSU.
  • Halfway through the first half, Eastern Illinois outscored the Tigers 24-10 using its large two-man front court to produce in the paint.
  • Short scoring droughts and over 70 percent shooting accuracy left the Tigers in a 22 point hole moving into the break, 48-26.
  • At first media timeout in period two, Big Blue had outscored the Panthers 12-11.
  • Back from the timeout, Shakem Johnson slammed one down for to kick off another spurt of Tiger momentum.
  • Mark Freeman opened and closed an 11-point Big Blue run to close the 24 point gap to just 11.
  • Lulls in EIu's offense helped Evan Joyner, Shakem Johnson and Monty Johal make plays in the paint. TSU down 60-67 with nine minutes remaining in regulation.
  • TSU remained within seven for much of the next five minutes.
  • The Panthers found its rhythm and went on another seven-point run. A few quick transitions and defensive stops helped Big Blue, but wasn't enough to overcome such a deficit.
  • EIU won its fifth home game of the year, 72-86.
GAME NOTES
  • This marks the 57th meeting between the teams.
  • The Panthers improve to 26-31 in the all-time series against the Tigers.
  • Big Blue is now 8-15 against EIU when away from the Gentry Center.
  • In the last four seasons, the Tigers are 5-4 with the Panthers.
  • Under Penny Collins, TSU is 2-2.
UP NEXT
The Tigers return to Nashville for a four-game home stand beginning Thursday, Feb. 11 against Morehead State. Tip on ESPN+ and the Big Blue Sports Network is set for 8 p.m.
 
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