AMERICUS, Ga. __ In the final game of the 2023 calendar year, Tuskegee men's basketball fell to Georgia Southwestern on Saturday afternoon, 77-71 inside the Storm Dome in non-conference action.
The Golden Tigers fought Georgia Southwestern to the very end of Tuesday's game before the Hurricanes prevailed in the end with the six-point win.
Tuskegee native
Martez Jones had a game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds for the Golden Tigers, while sophomore
Kusamae Draper had 12. Guards
Kevin Sesberry and
Kris Mickens both added nine points in the contest.
After an even start to the game, including two ties and one lead change over the first nine minutes of play, Georgia Southwestern jumped out to a 19-11 lead with just over eight minutes to go in the half. The Golden Tigers fought back to get within a single possession at 21-18 after a second chance score from Draper, before a pair of free throws from Jones pulled TU within a point at 21-20.
Georgia Southwestern would go on to score six in a row to lead 27-20 and the Hurricanes would lead 30-24 at the half, as they led just over 18 minutes of the first 20 minutes of play.
Following the high-scoring first half, Tuskegee cut the GSW lead during the first few minutes of the second half, and later took the lead at 38-37 after a 14-5 run to start the frame. The Hurricanes retook the lead on the next possession with a three-pointer, holding onto the advantage until the 11:45 mark as Mickens tied the game at 46-46 with a layup in the paint.
With the score tied 47-47, Tuskegee continued its strong play, going up as many as five on two occasions following back-to-back scores from Draper to go up 56-51 with 8:35 remaining. Following a timeout, GSW fought back, tying the game nearly a minute later at 58-58.
The two teams battled back-and-forth over the next few minutes, trading a pair of leads before finding the score tied for the final time at 63-63. After heading into the final media timeout of the game up one, the Hurricanes closed the game on a 11-6 run, holding off the Golden Tigers last efforts in the 77-71 contest.
The Golden Tigers shot 53.1 (26-for-49) percent from the field and 41.7 (5-for-12) percent from long range on the day, compared to 42.1 (24-for-57) percent from the floor and 31.4 (11-for-35) percent from three-point range from the Hurricanes.
Jalen Johnson had 23 points, five assists, and five rebounds to lead Georgia Southwestern, followed by 12 points from Jordan Johnson and ten from Christian Koonce in the win.
Tuskegee returns to action on Thursday night, hosting Allen inside the Daniel "Chappie" James Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on Golden Tiger Sports Network (GTSN).
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