Tennessee State Tiger's NCAA berth gone in 4.4 seconds

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State’s hopes of earning an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in nearly two decades vanished in the last 4.4 seconds of the OVC Men’s Tournament championship on Saturday.

In the matter of seconds it took No. 12 Murray State’s Jewuan Long to decide not to give up the ball to teammate Isaiah Canaan, the OVC Player of the Year, and take the shot himself, TSU’s postseason plans were altered.

Long banked in a layup with 4.4 seconds remaining to gave the top-seeded Racers a two-point lead.

A desperation 3-point shot at the buzzer by TSU’s Robert Covington was way off, giving Murray a 54-52 victory and sending a Municipal Auditorium crowd of 6,454, mostly decked out in Murray State blue and yellow, into a frenzy.

“That last play definitely wasn’t made for me,” said Long, who had scored only four points up to that point. “Donte (Poole) drove in and passed me the ball, and my man closed too strong to help on Isaiah, so I drove past him.”

PHOTO GALLERY: TSU vs. MSU

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