NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team fell to Austin Peay, 54-52, on Saturday afternoon in the Dunn Center.
FIRST HALF: Emmanuel Dowuona logged the first basket of the game about two minutes into the contest. The Governors responded with a basket of their own to tie the game at two, the closest margin until the final seconds. Tennessee State rattled off 11 unanswered points to increase the lead to double-digits, 13-2. Austin Peay went on a 9-2 scoring stretch to bring the game within four, 15-11.
Kassim Nicholson flirted with a double-double in the first half, as he posted eight points and nine rebounds. The Tigers shot 42.3% from the field and dominated the boards, 23-16. ||
TSU, 29-19
SECOND HALF: Neither team scored for the first two and a half minutes, before APSU's Carlos Paez drained a three-pointer to bring the game to single-digits. The programs flip-flopped baskets throughout the first ten minutes of the half. Austin Peay cut the deficit to four, 39-35, with 12 minutes remaining. TSU answered with a three-pointer from
Dedric Boyd and a jumper from
Jalen Dupree. With eight minutes left,
Kenny Cooper extended the lead to 47-37 after a three-ball. With just under five minutes remaining, APSU's Tariq Silver splashed a long-ball to cut the TSU lead to five, 50-45. Austin Peay's Caleb Stone-Carrawell converted a three-pointer with 49 seconds left to even the score at 52. With three seconds on the clock, Silver gave Austin Peay its first lead of the game. In the final five minutes, Tennessee State scored just two points. ||
APSU, 54-52
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Kassim Nicholson logged his ninth double-double of the season with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
- Shakem Johnson recorded 10 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
- Four players registered double-figures in scoring for TSU.
- No player for either team scored over 12 points.
BEYOND THE BOX:
- Nicholson led the team in rebounding for the 19th game this season.
- The Tigers' top two scorers, Carlos Marshall Jr. and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., combined for three points on 1-of-3 from the field.
- Tennessee State is 4-10 on the road, compared to 6-5 at home.
UP NEXT: The Tigers will return home to face off against SIU-Edwardsville on Thursday evening with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
