Courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics.
RALEIGH, N.C. —Battling Atlantic Coast Conference opponent NC State, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team fought to the end in a 67-55 overtime loss at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday. Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded 16 points and nine rebounds to pace TSU.
Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) added 10 points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.)pulled down 10 rebounds for Tennessee State (7-2).
The Tigers led NC State (7-2) by a 50-48 margin with 1:13 left in regulation before Dennis Smith, Jr. hit a jumper with 45 seconds remaining.
After a stop for NC State, Martin came up with a block with one second left then turned away a lob attempt to preserve the tie and force overtime with the score leveled at 50-50.
The Tigers jumped out to a 55-53 lead with 3:46 remaining in overtime on a corner three from Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.), but NC State responded by finishing the game on a 14-0 run to end overtime and pull away.
TSU led for more than 13 minutes of the first half and took a 30-28 edge into the locker room on a dunk by Christian Mekowulu (Lagos, Nigeria) off a no-look McCall pass as the half expired.
Reddick sparked the Tigers early with a block then a jumper on the other end for a 13-9 lead with 10:44 left before halftime. Later in the half with NC State up by one, TSU used an 8-2 run with threes from Delano Spencer (Atlanta, Ga.) and Ken’Darrius Hamilton (Montgomery, Ala.) for a 26-21 advantage with 3:34 showing on the first half clock.
The Tigers stretched the lead to eight points five minutes into the second half at 38-30.
The Wolfpack used an 11-0 run to retake the lead at 41-38. Martin’s layup ended a scoring drought for TSU that lasted nearly eight minutes.
In the final five minutes of regulation, the lead exchanged hands five times and there were two ties. Martin’s spinning layup gave the Tigers a 42-41 lead with 4:30 left.
After a three on the other end, Reddick drilled a three late in the shot clock for a 45-44 advantage with 3:47 remaining. The largest lead for either team down the stretch was a 49-46 TSU edge on a Martin layup with 2:06 on the clock. NC State went onto level the score at 50-50 before outscoring TSU 17-5 in overtime.
Terry Henderson led NC State with 21 points with Smith, Jr. adding 19. Beejay Anya finished with a double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds.
TSU outrebounded NC State, 48-45, and had 30 points in the paint to NC State’s 24.
Up next, the Tigers host Alabama State at the Gentry Center on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Saturday marked the first all-time meeting between TSU and NC State… Tennessee State was playing its eighth game away from home in 2016-17… TSU held a 30-28 halftime lead… Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded his third game of the season with double-digit rebounds… Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) has scored in double figures in all but two games this season… Tennessee State is now 0-15 versus teams that currently make up the Atlantic Coast Conference… TSU is 1-2 in overtime games under Dana Ford… TSU’s last overtime game was in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament first round in last year’s season finale.
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