NASHVILLE — Somah Kamara, Sanaa' St. Andre and Saniah Parker combined to score 54 of Tennessee State's 72 total points as the Tigers beat the Akron Zips 72-68 at home Friday.

Kamara led the Tigers (3-3) with 26 points. St. Andre added 16 points and Parker chipped in as well with 12 points and two steals.

Lyric Cole pulled down four offensive rebounds to lead an offense that racked up second chance opportunities for Tennessee State, grabbing 16 boards and turning them into nine second chance points.

Tennessee State forced 16 Akron turnovers while committing 15 themselves in Friday's game. The Tigers turned those takeaways into nine points on the offensive end of the floor. Cole's two steals led the way for Tennessee State.

How It Happened

Tennessee State started out the scoring by going on a 6-0 run, culminating in a bucket from Kamara, to take an early lead with 7:18 left in the first quarter. The Tigers then lost some of that lead, but still entered the quarter break with a 15-13 advantage. Tennessee State did most of its first quarter damage in the paint, scoring eight of its 15 points close to the basket.

Akron rallied to take a 22-19 lead before Tennessee State went on an 8-0 run starting at the 4:24 mark in the second period, highlighted by a three from Kamara, to take a 27-22 lead. The Tigers proceeded to tack on three points to that lead and enjoyed a 37-29 advantage heading into halftime. Tennessee State was strong from deep in the period, knocking down four three-point shots to account for 12 of its 22 points.

Tennessee State continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on a 5-0 run, punctuated by a basket from St. Andre, to expand its lead further to 57-50 with four seconds to go in the third, a score which remained until the end of the third quarter. Tennessee State played well near the basket, scoring 12 of its 20 points in the paint.

The Tigers then held on for the victory in the fourth quarter. Tennessee State fired away from deep in the quarter, knocking down three shots to account for nine of its 15 points.

Game Notes
» Tennessee State found success from beyond the arc, knocking down nine treys in the game.
» The Tigers held the Zips to only 37.9 percent shooting from the field.
» Somah Kamara, Sanaa' St. Andre, and Saniah Parker combined to account for 75 percent of the Tigers points.
» The Tennessee State defense forced 16 turnovers.
» Tennessee State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 16 offensive boards in the game.
» Somah Kamara led the Tigers with a game-high 26 points.
» Tennessee State got a game-high 10 rebounds from Lyric Cole.