Tennessee State Falls to Tennessee Tech in Overtime, 87-81

BOX SCORE  |  RADIO CALLS

Final Score: Tennessee State 81 - Tennessee Tech 87 (OVERTIME)
Records: TSU (6-9, 1-3 OVC) – Tennessee Tech (11-6, 3-1 OVC)
Venue: Gentry Center
Location: Nashville, Tenn. 
Attendance: 1,127

NASHVILLE --- In a back-and-forth game, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team suffered an 87-81 overtime loss to Tennessee Tech on Saturday at the Gentry Center in Ohio Valley Conference play.

Christian Mekowulu and Delano Spencer scored 20 points apiece for the Tigers (6-9, 1-3 OVC) with Darreon Reddick adding 17.

TSU trailed by 13 points in the second half before storming all the way back and had the lead with 15 seconds to play in regulation. A corner three from TTU’s Shaq Calhoun with 12.1 seconds left forced overtime with the scored tied at 73-73.

The Golden Eagles (11-6, 3-1 OVC) outscored TSU, 14-8, in overtime.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• TSU LEADERS
  • Points – Christian Mekowulu, Delano Spencer - 20
  • Rebounds – Ken’Darrius Hamilton, Delano Spencer, Darreon Reddick - 7
  • Assists – Armani Chaney- 5
  • Blocks – Christian Mekowulu- 5
• TSU was 0-for-2 from the free throw line in the first half, finished 17-of-23 in regulation, shooting 81 percent in the second half.
• There were nine ties and nine lead changes in the game.
• Delano Spencer scored in double digits for the 13th time this season, 24th time in his career.
• Christian Mekowulu reached double digit points for the 22nd time, eighth this season.
• Darreon Reddick scored in double figures for the fifth time this year and 35th of his career.
• Mekowulu recorded a career high five blocked shots.
• TSU outscored TTU in the paint by a 28-22 margin.

 HOW IT HAPPENED

• TSU scored the first nine points of the game with Ken’Darrius Hamilton picking up a three and a dunk in the first four minutes.
• Throughout the first half, Tennessee Tech cut the TSU lead down to one on three occasions, but the Tigers were able to maintain the lead.
• TSU took its largest lead of the first half on a three from Jalen Duke with 3:35 showing on the first half clock to put the score at 31-22 in favor of the home side. The Golden Eagles were able to cut TSU’s lead to 33-30 at halftime.
• Tennessee Tech took its first lead of the game on a three from Curtis Phillips Jr. 1:30 into the second half for a 38-35 edge.
• The Golden Eagles’ advantage grew to 13 points at 68-43 with 12:04 remaining.
• TSU clawed its way back into the game and leveled the score with nine points in a row including a three and layup from Delano Spencer. The Tigers regained the lead on a Mekowulu layup with 7:30 to play for a 61-59 edge.
• At the final media timeout with 2:50 showing on the clock, TSU held a 66-65 advantage.
• Down one, Reddick made two free throws with 1:07 left for a 71-70 lead.
• Reddick made two more free throws with 31.5 seconds left in regulation for a 73-70 lead.
• TTU’s tied the score on a corner three pointer from Calhoun with 12.6 seconds left tied the score at 73-73. The Golden Eagles came up with a stop on TSU’s final possession in regulation to force overtime.

GAME NOTES

• TSU is now 32-33 in the all-time series versus Tennessee Tech.
• The Tigers held the Golden Eagles without a field goal for 8:02 in the first half.
• TSU played its fourth overtime game of the season.

QUOTES

HEAD COACH DANA FORD

“We have to do a better job of closing out these games. Countless games that have either come down to overtime or the last shot, and for whatever reason, we’re coming up on the wrong side of them. A lot of the credit goes to Tennessee Tech. I thought they came in the first thirty minutes of the game and really took it to us from a mentally standpoint. I guess you could say that I didn’t have the guys ready enough from a mentality standpoint, even though we haven’t changed anything that we’ve done. Man, we’ve just got to play a complete 40 minutes and pay attention to details coming down the stretch.”
- Overview of the game

“We became the aggressor. It’s pretty simple. We played harder. We wanted it more, and for guys that have stretches throughout the game when that’s the case, we have to say we want it more. We’ve got to grow up. We’ve got to grow up from that and do a better job. I’ve got to coach them and do a better job. We’ve got to be more consistent with our execution, our mentality and our attention to detail.”
- On the second-half comeback

They’re all big games, and they’re all going to be close games. We’ve got to pay more attention to detail, and we’re going to have to continue to practice it like we have ever since the middle of October. How to close out games, and close games and have an understanding of what league play is all about. Hopefully, we will start to see the fruit of our labor more consistently.”
-On upcoming road games

UP NEXT

• TSU heads to Charleston, Ill. to take on Eastern Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m.
• The game is scheduled to air on national TV on CBS Sports Network and on the radio on 102.1 The Ville.