WEDNESDAY'S SCORES
@Tennessee State 73, Kennesaw State 62
@Austin Peay 65, North Florida 60
TENNESSEE STATE 73, KENNESAW STATE 62
NASHVILLE - The Tennessee State University men’s basketball team rang in the new year with a win as they defeated Kennesaw State 73-62 at Gentry Center on Wednesday afternoon.
The Tigers (3-12) snapped an 11-game losing streak thanks to efficient shooting. They shot 54.8 percent against the Owls (4-11) for the game. In turn, TSU held their opponents to 32.1 percent from the floor.
Christian Mekowulu recorded his first career double-double with a team and career-high 16 points and 11 rebounds. It is the first double-double by a TSU player since Zachary Lee, Xavier Richards, and Darreon Reddick each had one against Fisk (Nov. 20).
Reddick also tied for the team-high in points with 16 on 6-of-9 shooting (66.7 percent).That total is a new career high for the freshman. He nabbed seven boards and added three assists.
Yonel Brown scored a game-high 21 points for Kennesaw State in the loss. He shot 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from the floor.
TSU went into the locker room with a 30-24 lead. It was the most points they’ve scored in the first half since scoring 31 at Lipscomb on Dec. 6. The Tigers held the Owls to 25 percent shooting for the first 20 minutes.
Gaining the lead after 4:23 of play, TSU maintained their advantage on the scoreboard for the remainder of the half. KSU scored the first five points of the game but then missed their next 14-straight attempts. The Tigers zone defense forced the Owls to settle for less-than-ideal jump shots.
The Tigers kept the petal to the metal, only allowing the Owls to pull as close as three possessions at any point during the final half. TSU shot a staggering 21-28 (75 percent) from the charity strip in the last 20 minutes to close out KSU.
Charles Tucker scored nine of his 11 second-half points from the foul line (9-for-9).
The Tigers were able to secure the win thanks to a 71.4 percent clip from the floor for the second half. Reddick scored 11 of his 16 points while Mekowulu scored nine.
AUSTIN PEAY 65, NORTH FLORIDA 60
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. - Chris Freeman scored a career-high 23 points while Chris Horton contributed a double-double as Austin Peay State University rallied from an eight-point second-half deficit to defeat North Florida, 65-60, Wednesday afternoon, in a New Year's Eve game at Dave Aaron Arena.
The victory improved the Governors to 5-8 on the season while North Florida dropped its second straight to an Ohio Valley Conference team, slipping to 7-8—the Ospreys are 0-3 against the OVC this year.
Freeman came alive in the second half, scoring 15 of his 23 points as he connected on 6-of-8 field goal attempts. After a first half that saw APSU shooting just 43.3 percent, including 1-of-7 from three-point range, the Govs concentrated on getting the ball inside to Horton and Freeman. That effort intensified during the game's final 12 minutes when Zavion Williams entered for the first time since Dec. 6 with a knee injury. Williams' ability to get into the lane and deliver to Horton, who had a team-high four assists, and Freeman, proved decisive in the rally.
In fact, he entered the game with the Govs trailing 47-42 and after Williams missed a three pointer in his first offensive trip, APSU scored on seven of its next 10 offensive possessions. It included a pair of Freeman conventional three-point plays, both set up by Williams' passes. The second three-point play with 3:04 left gave APSU the lead for good, 60-57.
However, that lead was precarious in the game's final minutes. Leading 61-60 with 1:23 left, Govs' freshman Josh Robinson had a shot roll out and in the ensuing scramble North Florida ended up with the basketball. The Ospreys got the ball inside to Chris Davenport, who went up for a go-ahead dunk over Freeman. However, the APSU senior forward rejected the shot and Horton ended up with the rebound with 1:08 left.
Again Robinson ended up with the basketball with the shot clock winding down. He drove the lane but this time dished to Freeman, who laid it in to give APSU a 63-60 advantage with 34 seconds left. The Ospreys had two chances to tie the game on the next possession, but after making 7-of-10 three pointers in the first half, they failed to connect on two straight in a span of five seconds.
After the second miss, Khalil Davis grabbed the rebound and was fouled with nine seconds left. Davis, however, missed both free-throw attempts. But Horton came across the lane to grab his 10th rebound and immediately dished it to the better free-throw shooter, Williams, who made both free tosses to seal the deal.
Freeman finished 10-of-15 from the floor while Horton, in scoring 13 points, was 5-of-8. He also had four blocked shots to go with the same number of assists. Davis finished with 11 points. The Govs shot 52.2 percent (12 of 23) in the second half to finish at 47.2 percent (25 of 53) overall.
Davenport led North Florida with 16 points while Jalen Nesbitt added 12. Leading scoring Dallas Moore, who entered the game at 17.5 points per game, finished with just five points. APSU's defense limited the Ospreys to 31 percent (9 of 29) in the final half and overall 37.5 percent—North Florida was 0-of-11 from three-point range in the second half.