NASHVILLE — Jr. Clay scored 21 points, but the Tennessee State men's basketball team fell to the UT Martin Skyhawks 77-66 at the Gentry Center on Thursday evening. 

Clay added six rebounds and three assists to his 21-point game to lead the Tigers (10-8, 2-3 OVC). Adong Makuoi helped out with 13 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Dedric Boyd chipped in with eight points and six rebounds.

Led by Makuoi's three offensive rebounds, Tennessee State did a great job crashing the offensive glass, pulling down 12 boards that resulted in 12 second-chance points.

Tennessee State did a great job disrupting UT Martin shots in the contest, coming away with eight blocks. Makuoi's four rejections led the way individually for the Tigers.

How It Happened

Tennessee State started out the scoring by going on an 8-0 run, culminating in a three from Boyd, to take an early lead with 18:30 left in the first half. The Tigers then surrendered that lead and entered halftime down 38-29.

UT Martin kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 75-61 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run, finished off by Justin Williams' layup, to shrink the deficit to 75-66 with 35 seconds to go in the contest. UT Martin responded and outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 77-66. Tennessee State made the most of four offensive rebounds to tack on six second chance points out of 37 total in the period.

Game Notes

» The Tigers were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, recording eight blocks as a team.
» Tennessee State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
» Jr. Clay led the Tigers with 21 points.
» Tennessee State got a game-high eight rebounds from Adong Makuoi.

Up Next
TSU will hit the road to face Tennessee Tech on Saturday at 3 p.m.