SUNDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 64, @Coppin State 55
@Tennessee Tech 97, Hiwassee 60
TENNESSEE STATE 64, COPPIN STATE 55
BALTIMORE - Ending the four game road-swing with its first Division I win, the Tennessee State men’s basketball team defeated Coppin State 64-55 Sunday afternoon in PEC Arena.
Big Blue’s defense helped the Tigers break its three-game losing streak, boarding 37 to Coppin State’s 35, forcing 23 turnovers. Stokley Chaffee, Jr. grabbed seven while putting up four points, as redshirt junior Donte Fitzpatrick-Dorsey led the game with 18 points, marking his sixth game with double-digit points, and his fourth as the Tigers’ leading scorer.
Leading by six at the half, Big Blue increased its lead to as much as 13, leading for 37:09 of the afternoon – the largest lead versus a DI opponent this season.
TENNESSEE TECH 97, HIWASSEE 60
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - An overall team effort from top to bottom led the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team to its second straight win Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Eagles (3-7) cruised to a 97-60 victory over visiting Hiwassee College (7-8).
For the second consecutive contest, Tech shot over 50 percent from the field and 70 percent from the charity stripe. TTU won the battle on the glass, snagging 44 over Hiwassee's 31. The Golden Eagles also improved on the turnover battle.
After making 24 against Warren Wilson on Thursday, the purple and gold turned it over just 15 times while forcing the Tigers into 24. The Golden Eagles tallied a season-high 17 steals, turning them into 32 fast break points.
The Golden Eagles received a ton of support from the bench on the day, with the Tech subs accounting for 51 points. That bench production led to seven Tech players scoring at least nine points and two more tallying seven. A total of 12 Golden Eagles saw the floor, with 11 snagging a rebound.
Part of that group to sub in the second half was the Special Olympics Player of the Game, Vassar. The Northwestern transfer erupted for a career-high 20 points, including 16 during a six-minute stretch after checking in. His performance helped extend the Tech lead from 19 to 35, as the Chicago native poured in 16 of the team's 18 points during the stretch.
Vassar finished the contest with a game-high 20 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. Junior big man Micaiah Henry chipped in 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting and three free throws while freshman point guard Jr. Clay tallied 10 points and five rebounds.
Courtney Alexander II posted nine points and a team-high seven rebounds. Also scoring nine on the night were Hunter Vick, who tied for the team-lead with five assists, Jared Sherfield and Garrett Golday, both of whom snagged four steals.
Making his Golden Eagle debut after sitting out the first nine games of the season due to injury was graduate transfer Malik Martin. The former USF big man played 18 minutes off the bench, scoring seven points on 3-for-5 shooting.