Freshman Asante Gist scored a game-high 17 points, but a poor shooting night from behind the arc and at the free throw line doomed the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team in a 63-49 loss to Tennessee State University on Thursday at McBrayer Arena.
The Colonels scored six straight to cut a 12-point Tennessee State lead in half with 9:43 left in the game, but the home team missed on a chance to extend the run. Junior Zach Charles missed the second of two free throws, that would have made it a five-point game, and TSU’s Spencer Delano put a stop to the comeback bid with a three-pointer on the other end.
That trey began a run of five unanswered that put Tennessee back in front by 11. Eastern never got closer than eight the rest of the game.
Eastern (8-11, 1-3 OVC) shot 19 percent from three-point range (5-for-26) and missed 12 of its 20 free throw attempts (40 percent).
Sophomore Nick Mayo finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Charles had six points and a team-best 11 boards.
Wayne Martin recorded a double-double for the Tigers (12-5, 3-1 OVC), finishing with 14 points and 17 rebounds. Spencer contributed 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three-point range.
TSU shot just 37 percent from the field, but made 8-of-20 from long range for 40 percent. The Tigers turned 16 offensive rebounds into 14 second-chance points.
An 11-3 spurt late in the first half turned a three-point game into an 11-point margin for Tennessee State, but Eastern Kentucky scored the final five points of the first half, including a three-pointer by Mayo from the right wing with nine seconds before intermission, and went to the locker room down by six, 32-26.
The Tigers scored 13 of the first 20 points of the second half to move in front by 12, 45-33, before Eastern made its second half run.
EKU will play host to Belmont on Saturday. Tip-off at McBrayer Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Steve Fohl
Associate Director of EKUSports Communications