TUSKEGEE, Ala. | Home sweet home.
24 hours after leaving the court against Morehouse College in Atlanta, the Tuskegee University men's basketball team returned home for the first time in 12 days and picked up their first victory of the season behind four players in double figures.
Austin Cherry came off the bench to lead Tuskegee in scoring as they defeated Johnson C. Smith 61-53 at Chappie James Arena in non-conference action Sunday afternoon.
The sophomore finished the night with 19 points in 27 minutes off the bench, connecting on 50 (6-of-12) percent of his shots from the floor including a pair of baseline drives that put the game out of reach in the second half. Sophomore
Joshua Culver finished with his first double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while blocking a pair of shots and connected on 5-of-7 shots from the floor in the win.
Sophomore
James Eads finished the night with 11 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the free throw line, before fouling out with four minutes to play.
Myles Thomas finished with 10 points for the Golden Tigers, who narrowly missed having five players in double figures as
Travis Flagg finished with eight.
Tuskegee (1-8) led all but nine minutes of the game (all in the first half), took the lead for good with a pair of free throws by Thomas with 2:49 to play breaking the third tie of the half and giving Tuskegee a 24-22 lead. The lead was extended five over the next minute behind a basket from Cherry, and a three-pointer from Flagg with 1:21 to play in the half. The Golden Tigers finished off the half with a pair of free throws by Eads, before Johnson C. Smith missed a three-pointer at the buzzer giving Tuskegee a 31-24 halftime advantage.
After Johnson C. Smith (3-5) closed to within four at 38-34 with 15:54 to play in the contest, Tuskegee outscored the Bulls 8-5 over the next eight minutes to extend the lead to 46-39 with 7:40 to play in the contest.
The lead grew to as many as eight for the Golden Tigers, until Johnson C. Smith cut the deficit to just four at 55-51 with 1:34 to play in the game. However, Tuskegee scored six of the final eight points from the free throw line – Thomas, Flagg and Cherry – to put the game away and hand the Golden Tigers their first victory of the year.
Tuskegee finished the day shooting 34.7 (17-of-49) percent from the floor and 31.6 (6-of-19) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 72.4 (21-of-29) percent from the free throw line, while forcing 13 turnovers and outscoring Johnson C. Smith 14-2 in bench scoring.
Johnson C. Smith was led by Robert Davis with 17 points and five rebounds, while Christian Kirchman added 13 points and three assists. The Bulls shot just 28 (14-of-50) percent from the floor and 21.4 (3-of-14) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 75.9 (22-of-29) percent from the free line, while winning the rebounding battle 43-37.
Tuskegee returns to action December 14 on the road in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) action against Clark-Atlanta University. The game is part of doubleheader with the women's program and will be carried by the Tuskegee Digital Network.
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