Courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics.
MURRAY, KY. — The Tennessee State men’s basketball team suffered a 92-83 road defeat to Murray State on Saturday morning in the Ohio Valley Conference opener at the CFSB Center. Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led the way with 19 points and 16 rebounds for his second-consecutive double-double.
For TSU (9-4, 0-1 OVC), five players scored in double figures on the day including Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.) with 17, 14 for Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) and 12 from A’Torey Everett (Dallas, Texas) to go with 11 for Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Martin’s 19.
The Tigers clung to a 43-35 halftime edge and led for more than 26 minutes, but the Racers (7-8, 1-0 OVC) outscored TSU by a 57-40 margin in the second half.
A 13-4 run early on helped the Tigers jump out to a 17-9 advantage eight minutes into the game. The Racers battled back, taking a 22-19 lead with 8:34 left in the half on a layup from DaMarcus Croaker.
Trailing 31-30 with 3:30 remaining in the half, Tennessee State utilized another 13-4 run highlighted by nine points from Martin en route to a 43-35 halftime lead. Martin had a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds by halftime.
With TSU plagued with foul trouble, Murray State climbed back into the game, securing a 69-66 lead with 7:50 left on the second half clock.
Back-to-back big plays from Reed leveled the scoring at 83-83 in the final minute. The redshirt senior came up with an offensive board and putback with 1:20 left before a steal and breakaway dunk with 56.9 seconds remaining evened the score.
The Racers closed the game on a 9-0 run to earn the victory. Seven of Murray State’s final nine points came from the free throw line.
Murray State shot 35-for-43 from the free throw line for the game, while TSU finished 20-for-26 from the charity stripe. The Tigers had a 38-34 rebounding edge in the game. Jonathan Stark posted a game-high 26 points for the Racers.
Up next, TSU returns home to host Kennesaw State at the Gentry Center on Jan. 2 at 6 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Tennessee State is 17-52 in the all-time series versus Murray State… TSU is 6-4 in games away from home this season… The Tigers are 1-2 under third-year Head Coach Dana Ford in Ohio Valley Conference Openers.
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