EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Tennessee State men's basketball team got a 23-point showing from the bench, but fell 69-67 to the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles on the road Thursday.

The Tigers (8-8, 1-2) had four players score in double figures, led by Ej Bellinger, who had 16 points. Justin Williams tacked on 13 points off of the bench and Christian Brown chipped in as well with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Brown pulled down five offensive rebounds to lead the Tennessee State offense which grabbed 13 boards and turned them into six second-chance points.

The Tennessee State defense caused its share of mistakes in Thursday's game, forcing 14 Southern Indiana turnovers. Those takeaways turned into 17 points on the offensive end of the floor. Kinyon Hodges led the way individually for the Tigers with two steals.

How It Happened

After falling behind 22-4, Tennessee State went on a 12-0 run with 12:11 left in the first half, culminating in a three from Bellinger, to narrow its deficit to 22-16. Southern Indiana answered back and added to its lead, leaving the Tigers down 40-33 entering halftime.

Tennessee State narrowed its deficit to 47-44 before going on a 5-0 run to seize a 49-47 lead with 10:27 to go in the contest. Southern Indiana re-asserted control, outscoring the Tigers 22-18 the rest of the way to hand Tennessee State the 69-67 loss.

Game Notes

» The Tigers held the Screaming Eagles to only 38.5 percent shooting from the field.
» The Tennessee State bench came alive by adding 23 points to its scoring output.
» The Tennessee State defense forced 14 turnovers.
» Tennessee State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 13 offensive boards in the game.
» Ej Bellinger led the Tigers with 16 points.
» Tennessee State got a team-high seven rebounds from Christian Brown.

Next Up

TSU will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as they are set to travel to Morehead State for a 2:00 p.m. CT tip.