FRANKFORT, Ky. __ Tuskegee fell in the 2023-24 season finale on the road to Kentucky State, 74-69 on Monday evening inside the William Exum Center.
Tuskegee (13-14, 12-6 SIAC) scored the first points of the game on a layup from
Martez Jones, however Kentucky State made five of its first six shots to jump out to a 12-6 lead at the 15-minute mark, and 18-14 at the under-12 media break.
The Golden Tigers made a push out of the timeout, tying the game at 21-21 after seven combined points from
Kusamae Draper and
Kris Mickens, the first of two ties in the half, before the Thorobreds finished the half strong, leading 38-33.
Kentucky State went 14-of-35 from the field in the first 20 minutes, including seven three-pointers, compared top 14-of-35 shooting from Tuskegee, with just two threes.
The Thorobreds came out in the second on a tear, extended their lead to as many as ten at 45-35 after a 7-4 start to the half. KSU led by 11 twice over the next few minutes and stretched the lead to a game-high before leading 56-45 at the media timeout with 11:45 to play.
From there, Tuskegee flipped the switch, cutting the deficit back to single figures after a pair of free throws that sparked a 18-7 run to go up 64-63 at the 5:03-mark, the first lead for TU since the 18-minute mark of the first half.
Kentucky State regained the lead with a second chance score after a pair of missed shots in the paint on the next possession to lead by one at the final media timeout. KSU then proceeded to close out the game by pushing the lead back to eight at 74-66, before taking the win in the season finale.
in all, the two programs were tied in scoring, 38-38, in the second half while Tuskegee shot 38.9 percent (14-of-36) from the field shooting 53.8 percent during those 20 minutes. For the game, TU went 28-of-69 for 40.6 percent, getting a combined 41 points from the trio of Draper, Jones, and
Kevin Sesberry.
D'Anthony Pennington was also a solid contributor, registering four points, seven assists, six rebounds, and three steals.
KSU was 27-of-68 from the field for the game for 39.7 percent. They also made ten threes, six more than Tuskegee, and ten free throws. Three Hilltoppers reached double-digit points, led by Lavar Miller Jr. who had 30, followed by Aziel Blackwell with 12 and Brandon Hill with ten.
UP NEXT
The Golden Tigers will travel to Savannah, Georgia, to participate in the 2024 SIAC Basketball Championship presented by Cricket, hosted by Savannah State from Mar. 2-9 inside of Tiger Arena.
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