Tuskegee falls to Columbus State in non-conference play
Tuskegee men's basketball (7-4, 2-2 SIAC) fell to Columbus State, 72-60, inside of Daniel "Chappie" James Center in non-conference action on Friday evening, ending their two-game win streak.
The Golden Tigers struggled out the gate at the start, finding themselves down 9-0 before the first media timeout before Steve Dulley (Kansas City, Mo.) made a three to end the scoring drought.
Minutes later, Devin Booker (Chicago, Ill.) scored on consecutive possessions, including a three-pointer at the 11:58 mark to reduce the deficit to 13-8. Tuskegee cut the lead to two after the under-12 media break, however Columbus State responded with four unanswered to go up 17-11.
Trailing by seven with just under eight to play in the first, Dulley sank a pair of free throws before sinking a three on the next possession to pull within three at 21-18 and the Golden Tigers went into the final media timeout of the half down just 25-22. The two teams continued the tight battle for the remainder of the period, with Columbus State holding on to a 30-25 lead at halftime.
Tuskegee opened the second half with four unanswered points to get within a single point, however the Cougars responded with what would prove to be a crucial run, allowing just a single point over the next few minutes and going up 42-31 with 14 minutes to play.
Despite a run to get back under double-digits, Columbus State regained control and went up 14 with 10:10 to play, and a game-high 22 at 68-41 at the 6:16 mark.
The Golden Tigers began to cut into the lead moments later, starting with a pair of free throws from Booker followed later by consecutive threes from D'Anthonthy Pennington (Kansas City, Mo.) to pull the score to 68-51 before a Cougar timeout.
Following the final media break, Tuskegee nailed two more threes this time from Pennington and Dulley to pull within 13, followed by a Cougar turnover and layup from Kasume Draper (Conyers, Ga.) to make the score 70-59 with 1:46 to play, however did not have enough time to complete the comeback.
Booker led the Golden Tigers in scoring on the evening with 16 points along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Dulley and Pennington were also in double figures, as Dulley finished with 14 points and four rebounds, while Pennington totaled 11 points, three assists and three steals.
Tuskegee shot 30.8 (20-for-65) percent from the field, 39.1 (9-for-23) percent from three, and 57.9 (11-for-19) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Columbus State finished with shooting splits of 43.8 (21-for-48) percent from the field, 29.4 (5-for-17) percent from deep, and 80.6 (25-for-31) percent from the charity stripe.
The Golden Tigers outscored the Cougars in points off the bench (35-27), fast break points (13-12), and points off turnovers (25-15), however Columbus State led in points in the paint (28-18) and second chance points (14-8).
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