TSU Men's Basketball Defeats Alabama A&M, 83-72

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama  -- The Tennessee State men's basketball team won its first true road game of the season on Saturday night against Alabama A&M, 83-72.

Tennessee State (3-5) had a season-low 10 turnovers in the game, but forced the Bulldogs into 14 miscues.

The Tigers made the most of their good defense, scoring 21 points off of Alabama A&M (2-4) mistakes.

TSU had four players finish in double-figures in Robert Covington, Kellen Thornton, Patrick Miller and Jordan Cyphers. Covington led all scorers with 27 points while Thornton added 17.

Tennessee State head coach Travis Williams stressed taking good shots in practice during the week, and it showed, as the Tigers shot 51 percent (26-51) from the field and 79.4 percent (27-34) from the charity stripe.

TSU won the tip and Covington got off to a quick start, nailing his first shot of the game- a long three-pointer. Alabama A&M ran down the floor and countered with a jumper, beginning a fast-paced first half in which neither side took a timeout.

Covington continued to lead the Tigers on offense and scored seven of TSU's first eight points of the game. He finished the half with a team-high 14 points.

Covington may have been leading the charge, but Tennessee State also got strong first half play from Cyphers and Thornton.

Starting from the 15:43 mark, Cyphers canned six straight points for the Tigers during a one-minute span. Cypher's scoring flurry gave the Tigers a 14-8 lead.

Thornton, meanwhile, had eight points for the Tigers during the opening stanza on 4-7 shooting.

TSU finished the first half on a 9-2 run that started with 3:38 to go and led at the break, 39-31.

Both teams shot well from the field during the period, as TSU was 15-27 (55.6 percent) while Alabama A&M shot 14-27 (51.9 percent).

TSU came out of the gates with gusto, and eventually led by 13 when Thornton converted a layup with 17:27 left in the game.

The Tigers kept up the pressure and Miller nailed a jumper at the 8:52 mark to give the squad a 20-point cushion- its largest of the game.

Miller finished the game with 16 points on 4-9 shooting.

Alabama A&M whittled down the lead for the rest of the game, but couldn't get back within seven of the Tigers, and TSU walked away with an 83-72 victory.

Tennessee State had eight players finish with at least 15 minutes played.

The Tigers will go for three straight wins when they take on the Drexel Dragons at home on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

 

 

COURTESY TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION