TUESDAY'S SCORES
Tennessee State 86, @UT Martin 75
TENNESSEE STATE 86, UT MARTIN 75
MARTIN, Tenn. - Ronald Jessamy finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds and Knute Wood had a career-best 19 points as the Tennessee State men's basketball team defeated UT Martin, 86-75, on Tuesday evening at the Elam Center.
The Tigers (14-14, 10-7) had five players score in double figures, led by Wood, who had 19 points. Carlous Williams helped out with 15 points and six rebounds.
The Tennessee State offense was impressive from downtown, knocking down 12 threes on 24 attempts. Wood hit five treys for the Tigers in the contest.
Tennessee State forced 14 UT Martin turnovers. The Tigers turned those takeaways into 21 points on the offensive end of the floor. Aaron Nkrumah's six steals led the way for Tennessee State. The Tennessee State shot 50 percent from deep.
After falling behind 17-15, Tennessee State went on a 14-0 run with 8:26 left in the first half, culminating in a bucket from Nkrumah, to take a 29-17 lead. The Tigers then added four points to that lead by the end of the period and entered halftime with a 43-27 advantage. Tennessee State relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down seven shots to account for 21 of its 43 points.
Tennessee State kept its lead intact before going on a 10-0 run to grow the lead to 76-54 with 7:12 to go in the contest. The Skyhawks narrowed the margin somewhat before the game was over, but the Tigers still cruised the rest of the way for the 86-75 win. Tennessee State got a boost from its bench in the period, as non-starters accounted for 19 of its 43 total points.