NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State men's basketball team went into halftime trailing Austin Peay 42-32, but fought back from the deficit to beat the Governors 69-65 at home Saturday.

The Tigers (6-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., who had 18 points. Christian Brown tacked on 17 points off of the bench and Jaylen Jones chipped in as well with 12 points and four assists.

Ej Bellinger pulled down three offensive rebounds to pace the Tennessee State offense which grabbed 13 boards and turned them into 13 second-chance points.

Tennessee State forced 17 Austin Peay turnovers while committing 11 themselves in Saturday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 21 points on the other end of the floor. Kinyon Hodges led the way individually with two steals.

How It Happened

Tennessee State struggled out of the gate, falling behind 42-32 heading into halftime.

After intermission, Tennessee State kept the Governors from increasing their lead before going on a 7-0 run, finished by Brown's layup, to shrink the deficit to 46-43 with 14:28 to go in the contest. The Tigers kept the rally going and took the lead for good on Brown's jumper with 00:17 left for a 69-65 comeback victory. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 22 of its 37 points in the lane.

Game Notes

» Tennessee State rallied from a 10-point 42-32 halftime deficit to win.
» The Tennessee State bench came alive by scoring 25 points to its scoring output.
» The Tennessee State defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Tennessee State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
» Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. led the Tigers with 18 points.
» Tennessee State got a game-high eight rebounds from Ej Bellinger.

Next Up

The Tigers will have eight days off, as they are next scheduled to play on December 10 at Lipscomb.