OPENING TIP: The second of a three-game homestand is set for Saturday morning as the Tiger host South Carolina State at 11 am. TSU is coming off a 10-point victory over Fisk on opening night Monday.
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN: TSU expanded its partnership with Cromwell Media naming 102.1 FM The Ville as the flagship station for TSU men's basketball. "The Voice of the Tigers" Greg Pogue returns for his 11th season behind the mic and will be reunited with his longtime partner Albert Dawson. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the contest not the actual tip time in doubleheader situations. The action can also be heard on the TSU Tigers app.
The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (1-0, 0-0 OVC) vs. South Carolina State Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 MEAC)
Date/Time: Saturday, November 12 at 11:00 a.m.
Location: Gentry Center || Nashville, Tenn.
TV: ESPN+ — Dan Laing (pxp), Ron Slay (analyst)
Radio: 102.1 FM The Ville — Greg Pogue (pxp), Albert Dawson (analyst)
LIVE STATS
SERIES INFORMATION: The ninth all-time meeting between TSU and fellow HBCU South Carolina State is set for Saturday morning. TSU leads the series 5-3 after dropping a 90-88 overtime decision last year on the road. The first meeting came during the 1949-50 season when TSU defeated the Bulldogs 74-29. Since then, TSU has defeated SCS in the first round of the NCAA D2 Tournament in 1967 followed by the home-and-home series' during the 1985-86 and 1986-87 seasons. Before last season's contest, these two teams had gone idle since 1990. Last season, Marcus Fitzgerald led all scorers with 19 points and was one of five players in double figures to lead the Tigers.
SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA STATE: The Bulldogs are coming off a three-point loss (77-80) to South Carolina on Tuesday. Lesown Hallums led SCS with 20 points shooting 50 percent from the field. Rahsaan Edwards added 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists in 34 minutes. Erik Martin is in his first season in Orangeburg after spending most of his career at West Virginia.
ED MARTIN BOWL: Tennessee State and South Carolina State each had the opportunity to learn and develop under the late great Ed Martin. From 1955 to 1968, he coached at South Carolina State University, where he won seven SIAC championship teams and participated in five NCAA and three NAIA tournaments. Martin then moved to Nashville where he led TSU from 1968-1986. During his tenure, Martin took six teams to NCAA regional tournaments, won the NCAA South Regional four times, and was elected College Division Coach of the Year in 1972. He sent sixteen TSU players to the NBA, but more impressively, he had the highest graduation rate among basketball players at Tennessee institutions. Martin's career record stands at 516-254, and when 1984 he left TSU for an assistant coach position at Vanderbilt, he had the fifth-best winning percentage in the nation.
HIS MOMMA NAMED HIM CLAY, I'M GONNA CALL HIM CLAY: In his TSU debut, Jr. Clay finished with 29 points on 11-of-17 from the field and 6-of-10 from the outside. His performance against Fisk tied his second-highest output that was set at Austin Peay (1/21/21). His career-best was 31 points also against AP.
GENTRY ATTENDANCE NUMBERS: Monday's gate figures of 8,967 fans for the Fisk contest saw the sixth largest attended game at the Gentry Center and the largest under its new 9,100-seat capacity. This was the best-attended game at TSU under the Penny Collins era and the largest since Murray State on Feb. 23, 2012, when 10,125 spectators saw the 14th-ranked Races defeat TSU.
