NASHVILLE —Dante Harris scored 21 points, but the Tennessee State men's basketball team fell to the Belmont Bruins 87-79 on the road Saturday.

The Tigers (1-1) had four players score in double figures, led by Harris, who had 21 points, seven rebounds and two steals. Travis Harper II added 15 points and Aaron Nkrumah chipped in as well with 14 points and four steals.

Tennessee State collected 44 rebounds in Saturday's game compared to Belmont's 42, led by 11 boards from Jalen Pitre. The Tigers also put in work on the offensive glass, turning 19 rebounds into 16 second chance points.

The Tennessee State defense caused its share of mistakes in Saturday's game, forcing 17 Belmont turnovers while committing 13. Those takeaways turned into 18 points on the offensive end of the floor. Nkrumah's four steals led the way individually for the Tigers.

How It Happened

After falling behind 30-19, Tennessee State went on a 9-0 run with 4:24 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Travis Harper Ii, to narrow its deficit to 30-28. The Tigers deficit remained the same as they entered halftime trailing 34-32.

Belmont kept widening its lead after intermission, constructing a 57-46 advantage before Tennessee State went on a 5-0 run to shrink the deficit to 57-51 with 9:24 to go in the contest. Belmont responded and outscored the Tigers the rest of the way, ending the game with a final score of 87-79. Tennessee State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 18 of its 47 total points.

Game Notes
» Tennessee State lit it up from beyond the arc, knocking down eight treys in the game.
» Tennessee State lost despite a 44-42 rebounding advantage.
» The Tennessee State defense forced 17 turnovers.
» Tennessee State cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 19 offensive boards in the game.
» Dante Harris led the Tigers with a game-high 21 points.
» Tennessee State got a game-high 11 rebounds from Jalen Pitre.