MOREHEAD, Ky. – The Tennessee State men's basketball team suffered defeat at Morehead State, 67-54, on Monday evening.
FIRST HALF: After almost two minutes of play,
Kassim Nicholson registered the first basket of the game on a tip-in. Morehead State responded with a jumper off the backboard from Ta'lon Cooper.
Carlos Marshall Jr. regained the lead for TSU, 7-4, with consecutive baskets, including a three-ball in transition. The Eagles battled back with a 7-2 scoring stretch to gain the advantage. With seven minutes to go,
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. recorded back-to-back three-pointers to give Tennessee State a one-point lead, 26-25. Morehead State logged a 9-2 run as four players contributed to the MSU streak. The Eagles threw down a tip-in as time expired to extend the edge to nine points. TSU shot 50% (13-of-26) from the field in the opening stanza. Morehead State led the points in the paint, 16-10, despite the Tigers out-rebounding MSU, 16-11. ||
MSU, 41-32
SECOND HALF: Morehead State's second-year freshman, Johni Broome, registered consecutive baskets to spark the momentum out of the break. Tennessee State logged five points in the opening five minutes of the second half, as
Marshall Jr. cashed in an "and-one" opportunity. The Tigers reached the bonus with ten minutes remaining. During the middle of the half, MSU went scoreless from the field for almost five minutes. With 4:02 remaining, TSU cut the deficit to 59-49 as the Eagles' held a double-digit lead for most of the half.
Marshall Jr. drained a long-range jumper to cut MSU's lead to single-digits, 61-52, with three minutes to go. In the last two minutes, the teams exchanged free-throws as MSU sealed the game in the closing stages. Tennessee State's leading scorer,
Marshall Jr., scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, in large part to a perfect 8-of-8 from the charity stripe. ||
MSU, 67-54
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Kassim Nicholson logged his sixth double-double of the year with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
- Carlos Marshall Jr. posted a game-high 22 points, four rebounds and three steals.
- Morehead State's Johni Broome secured his OVC-leading 13th double-double of the season with 17 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks and three steals.
BEYOND THE BOX:
- Nicholson's tied for second in the OVC with six double-doubles.
- Marshall Jr. has scored in double-figures in seven of the last nine games.
- Tennessee State is 2-8 on the road this season, dropping the last four away games.
UP NEXT: Tennessee State will continue the road trip in Illinois as TSU takes on SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday evening and Eastern Illinois on Saturday afternoon.
