Courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the final non-conference game of the season, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team fell by a 76-73 final score to Kennesaw State at the Gentry Center on Monday night. Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) scored a game-high 25 points with Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) picking up a double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds.
Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) also finished in double figures with 10 points for TSU (9-5), which stormed all the way back from a 14-point deficit to take the lead with four minutes left.
Kennesaw State (6-10) regained the lead and hit nine free throws in the final 1:36 of the contest to pull out the road victory.
TSU opened up with a 7-6 lead on an old fashion three-point play by Martin 3:30 into the game.
Momentum quickly shifted to the Owls, however, when a 16-3 run gave the visitors a 22-10 advantage with 12 minutes to go before halftime. Kennesaw State led by as many as 13 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Reed banked in a three from just inside halfcourt as the first-half buzzer sounded to cut TSU’s halftime deficit to 42-34. The Owls shot 50 percent (15-for-30) in the first half, including 7-for-11 from three-point distance.
The Owls scored first in the second half and maintained a double-digit lead until Martin’s jumper with 13:15 left trimmed the Kennesaw State advantage down to 52-44.
Later in the half with the Owls holding a 61-52 lead, a 10-0 TSU run capped by two McCall free throws gave the Tigers a 62-61 lead.
Back-to-back threes from Nick Masterson for Kennesaw State helped the visitors take the lead for good in the final three minutes. The Tigers would get to within two points on three times in the final minute, but was never able to pull even.
Kendrick Ray scored 20 points on 7-for-16 shooting to lead the Owls, which shot 43.6 percent from the field. TSU outrebounded Kennesaw State, 39-36.
Tennessee State returns to Ohio Valley Conference play to host Southeast Missouri at the Gentry Center at 7:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES: TSU is now 3-1 in the all-time series versus Kennesaw State… The Tigers are 3-1 at the Gentry Center this season and 14-4 over the last two seasons… Christian Mekowulu (Lagos, Nigeria), who missed all of the 2015-16 season due to injury, made his first start since Feb. 28, 2015 at Belmont… Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) registered his seventh double-double of the season and the 17th of his career. Martin now has double-doubles in three-consecutive games… Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) reached 20-plus points for the second time this season and first since the season opener versus UC Davis on Nov. 11.
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