TUSKEGEE, Ala. __ A tough shooting night was too much for Tuskegee to overcome as the Golden Tigers fell to Talladega, 47-41, Wednesday afternoon in their first home game of the season.
Forwards
Martez Jones led the Golden Tigers with 12 points, followed by
Kusamae Draper who finished with 10 points on the day. Jones also grabbed a team-leading six rebounds.
Tuskegee opened the scoring with a dunk from Jones on their second possession before later gaining a 7-2 lead nearly four minutes into the half. The offensive woes began shortly after, as Talladega took its first lead at 8-7 with 11 minutes to play, before going up 12-7 minutes later.
The Golden Tigers got back on the board with 7:45 to play in the half, ending a nearly nine-minute scoring drought in the half, before tying the game at 12-12 with just under six minutes to go.
Tuskegee went into the locker room at halftime down 18-16. Jones led the Golden Tigers with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting and three rebounds in only nine minutes of action due to foul trouble. Meanwhile, neither team shot well in the period, with TU shooing just 25 percent and Talladega shooting just 24 percent from the field in the half.
The game remained tight in the second, remaining a one score game until a 7-1 run from the Tornadoes extended their lead to 30-23 with just under 15 minutes to play.
The Golden Tigers clawed back over the next few possessions, reducing the deficit to just three points, at 33-30, after a fast break score from
D'Anthony Pennington at the 11:48 mark.
Down 42-39 with 4:21 to go, Pennington sank a pair of free throws after the final media timeout to pull within a single point, but Tuskegee could not carry the momentum, as Talladega finished the game with five unanswered points to close out the game.
For the game, the Golden Tigers shot 26 percent (13-for-50) from the field, 9.1 percent (1-for-11) from long range, and 56 percent (14-for-25) from the free throw line in the loss. They racked up 20 points in the paint and 11 points off turnovers in the contest.
UP NEXT
Tuskegee will travel to Georgia over the weekend take on Fort Valley State in the first conference game of the year on Saturday. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET.
Follow The Golden Tigers on Socials
Stay connected with Tuskegee Men's Basketball on Twitter (@Tuskegee_MBB), Instagram (@tuskegee_mbb) and Facebook (Tuskegee Men's Basketball). For complete coverage of Tuskegee University athletics, follow on social media at @MyTUAthletics (Twitter/Instagram), @GoldenTigerSports on Facebook, and visit the official home of Tuskegee University athletics at www.goldentigersports.com.
