NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team fell in the regular season finale against Belmont, 87-67.
FIRST HALF: The Tigers got out to a fast start, scoring the first four points of the game. After Belmont responded with a three-pointer,
Carlos Marshall Jr. cashed in two long-range jumpers for eight of TSU's first nine points. Tennessee State began the contest with a 12-3 lead. The Bruins dominated the next seven minutes as they went on a 24-3 run. BU logged nine steals in the opening ten minutes, while Will Richard generated nine points to give Belmont a 27-15 lead.
Marshall Jr. put an end to the scoring stretch with four straight points to trim the deficit. The Tigers rattled off an 11-3 scoring stretch to cut the Bruins' lead to four, 30-26. Belmont ended the half with an 11-2 run with five points from Jacobi Wood.
Kassim Nicholson secured a game-high seven rebounds in the opening half. BU shot 57.6% from the field (19-for-33) with 16 points off turnovers. ||
BU, 46-31
SECOND HALF: Nicholson guided the Tigers out of the locker room with six points in the first five minutes of action. The Bruins went on a 9-2 scoring stretch to grab their largest lead of the game, 61-41. Around the ten-minute mark,
Shakem Johnson scored six consecutive points for TSU. The two programs frequently went to the free-throw line; at one point, seven of the game's ten points came from the charity stripe.
Dedric Boyd converted four straight at the free-throw line. Belmont owned the paint throughout the contest, 52-28. ||
BU, 87-67
INSIDE THE STATS:
- Kassim Nicholson logged his 11th double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
- Carlos Marshall Jr. added 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field.
- Jalen Dupree flirted with a double-double as he posted eight points and nine rebounds, along with three assists and a block.
BEYOND THE BOX:
- Tennessee State will be the No. 5 seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Championships.
- The contest was the final regular season meeting between the two programs as members of the OVC.
- Entering the OVC Championships, the Tigers have won three of the last four games.
- Belmont became the first NCAA program to secure 20 or more victories in 12 consecutive seasons.
UP NEXT: Tennessee State will take on SIU-Edwardsville on Wednesday evening. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30pm at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana
