NASHVILLE, TN — Jr. Clay totaled 20 points and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. added 20, but the Tennessee State men's basketball team fell to the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 93-81 at the Gentry Center on Saturday.
TSU will enter the OVC Tournament as the fourth seed and will meet the winner of SEMO/Lindenwood at 6:30 PM from the Ford Center in Evansville, Ind.
The Tigers (18-13, 10-8) had three players score in double figures, led by Clay, who had 20 points, seven rebounds, eight assists and two steals. Fitzgerald Jr. tacked on 20 points and Christian Brown helped out with 13 points off the bench.
David Acosta pulled down three offensive rebounds to lead the Tennessee State offense which grabbed 12 boards and turned them into 12 second chance points.
Tennessee State did a great job disrupting Southern Indiana shots in the contest, coming away with five blocks. Acosta led the way individually for the Tigers with two rejections.
How It Happened
After falling behind 9-7, Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run with 14:35 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Brown, to take a 15-9 lead. Southern Indiana then responded to tie things up at 37-37 heading into halftime. Tennessee State took advantage of seven Southern Indiana turnovers in the period, and scoring 12 points of those tunrovers.
Southern Indiana then snagged a 53-47 advantage before Tennessee State responded by going on a 5-0 run, finished off by Brown's three, to shrink the deficit to 53-52 with 12:29 to go in the contest. Southern Indiana responded and outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 93-81. Tennessee State took care of business in the paint, recording 28 of its 44 points in the lane.
Game Notes
» The Tigers were active in affecting shots on the defensive end, tallying five blocks as a team.
» Tennessee State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
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Jr. Clay led the Tigers with 20 points and
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. added 20.
» Tennessee State got a team-high seven rebounds from
Jr. Clay.
Up Next
TSU will play the winner of SEMO/Lindenwood on Thursday at 6:30 PM (ESPN+, 102.1 FM)
