Tennessee State McCall's Game Winner Sinks Lipscomb, 72-71

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked down the game-winning jumper with 8.4 seconds left to lift the Tennessee State men’s basketball team to a 72-71 road win at Lipscomb at Allen Arena on Saturday. McCall was one of three Tigers with double-doubles on the evening as TSU improved to 7-1.

Trailing by one, McCall hit a contested pull-up jumper from the top of the key for a one-point lead. The Tigers came up with a stop on the other end on the last possession for Lipscomb (3-7). McCall scored 10 points and tied his career high with 11 rebounds. Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) tallied 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) recorded 11 points and 14 boards.

On the offensive end, Ken’Darrius Hamilton (Montgomery, Ala.), Christian Mekowulu (Lagos, Nigeria) and Darreon Reddick (Belleville, Ill.) scored 10 points apiece for TSU.

In the first half, the Tigers dug themselves an early eight-point hole as Lipscomb made its first three shots from three-point range for a 10-2 advantage. Mekowulu sparked TSU’s comeback with seven points on the Tigers’ 12-3 run later in the half to give the visitors a 14-13 edge with 13:18 left before halftime.

After falling behind, a 14-0 run that included eight points from Martin gave TSU a 35-28 lead with 3:19 showing on the clock. The Tigers maintained the lead, taking a 41-36 advantage into the locker room. Martin led TSU with 10 first-half points with Reed and McCall adding eight apiece in the first half.



Out of the intermission, TSU was able to stretch its lead to double digits on a Hamilton three pointer for a 54-43 lead just over six minutes into the second half.

Lipscomb rallied from a 13-point deficit to level the score at 64-64 with 4:02 to play.

TSU held a 70-69 lead with two minutes left before two Lipscomb free throws gave the Bisons a 71-70 advantage with 1:06 left setting up McCall’s late-game heroics.

The Tigers pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds and finished with 14 more boards than Lipscomb (34) in the game. The Bisons were led on offense by 19 points for Garrison Mathews.

TSU will take on NC State in Raleigh, N.C. on Dec. 10.

GAME NOTES: TSU is now 3-3 in the all-time series versus Lipscomb… TSU earned its first road win in the series after falling to Lipscomb at Allen Arena in 2002 and 2014… Jordan Reed (Philadelphia, Pa.) picked up his second double-double of the season and 25th of his collegiate career… Wayne Martin (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had his fourth double-double of the year and 14th of his career… Tahjere McCall (Philadelphia, Pa.) added his second double-double of the season and third of his career… It is the second time Reed and Martin have had double-doubles in the same game this season… Six players scored in double figures for TSU for the second time his season… It is the first time three TSU players have had double-doubles in the same game since Nov. 20, 2014 versus Fisk.

TSU Head Coach Dana Ford

“I’m really proud of our guys. Lipscomb, all the credit in the world to them. They played really hard. They play as a team. It’s a tough guard for us because they can score inside and out. I’m just so proud of our players for being able to persevere, being resilient enough to walk out of here with literally one more point.”
- On the win

“They make so many threes they can get out on you pretty quick, in a matter of minutes. I felt like once our guys got settled in, and we started developing a low-post game, that allowed us to score the ball in the first half. You have to give them credit. They made an adjustment and took away the low-post game, and we had to find a way on the perimeter to will ourselves to a win.”
- On the ups and downs of the game

“I wanted to call a timeout and I was calling timeout, but the coach can’t call a timeout now when the ball is in play. (Tahjere McCall) did what seniors are supposed to do. I’m very proud of him, and I’m sure glad that we have him.”
- On the final play of the game

BOX SCORE

TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS