FRANKFORT, Ky. | The Tuskegee University men's basketball team pulled away late to win their third consecutive game, defeating Kentucky State University 88-82 in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) game Saturday evening.
 
Tuskegee (4-12, 3-4 SIAC) led most of the way, leading for all but 1:53 of the contest en route to the victory. The Golden Tigers used 40 points off the bench, led by Thomas Massey with 10 points – outscoring the entire Kentucky State (5-10, 4-4 SIAC) bench by himself. They also outscored Kentucky State 44-32 in the paint.
 
The Golden Tigers jumped ahead early behind junior point guard Travis Flagg, as the point guard scored the first 10 points for the Golden Tigers in the game – outscoring Kentucky State by himself in the first two minutes. The junior finished with 15 points and three assists in the victory for Tuskegee.
 
Although Tuskegee led almost the entire way, they had to rely on free throws down the stretch as Kentucky State trimmed a 12-point deficit down to five with 1:21 remaining on a Malcolm Smith free throw. The Golden Tigers went 6-of-6 from the line in the final minute with James Eads, Cam Grepke and Daniel Roach each hitting a pair down the stretch.
 
While Flagg and Massey each scored in double figures, junior Elijah McMillan led Tuskegee with 18 points – hitting seven of his 12 shots from the floor. Austin Cherry came off the bench to grab six rebounds, while Grepke finished with nine points and four assists.
 
The Golden Tigers shot 52.5 (31-of-59) percent from the floor, which included just 18.8 (3-of-16) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 82.1 (23-of-28) percent from the free throw line, while winning the rebounding battle 44-27.
 
Dorian Jordan paced three Kentucky State players in double figures, finishing the day with 26 points and eight assists. Malcolm Smith added 22 and Reggie Breeden 20 in the loss for the Thorobreds.
 
Kentucky State shot 45.2 (28-of-62) percent from the floor and 26.3 (5-of-19) percent from beyond the arc, while also shooting 63.6 (21-of-33) percent from the free throw line.
 
Tuskegee returns to action Monday night against Central State at 7:30 pm (est), with the game being carried on the Tuskegee Digital Network.
 
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