Tigers Win 5th Straight With Big Plays Late In The 2nd Half

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Bryson Etienne scored TSU’s final four points and came up with a huge steal in the final 41 seconds as the Tigers held off a late Bethune-Cookman rally for its fifth straight win Monday night inside Moore Gymnasium.

Playing inside a venue that has proven to be a home court advantage for BCU in SWAC play, the Tigers quickly pulled the crowd out of the game as they led from the opening tip. Both teams took time to feel each out like a boxing match but TSU began to strike with a vengeance on both sides of the court as they outscored BCU 31-16 over the final 15 minutes for a 40-22 halftime lead.

TSU opened the first four minutes ready for BCU’s early punch as they withstood a three-pointer from their leading scorer Joe French early as the lead was 17 (46-29) with 16:23 left. However, the Wildcats began to heat up from the field and slowly turned the contest around as they went on a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to find themselves down 50-43 at the 10:32 mark.

From there, it was about will and survival for the Tigers as they survived two turnovers over the next minute as Karl Nicholas dunked home a putback for an important bucket and a 52-43 lead. The Tigers regained the momentum after the dunk as it sparked a 6-0 run which increased the lead to 56-43 after a Brison Gresham dunk off an A.J. Lawson assist. But once again, BCU charged back as TSU committed three turnovers over the next 2:14 and BCU heated up with a pair of three-pointers as a 9-0 run saw TSU’s once-safe lead dwindle down to 56-52 at the 5:16 mark.

TSU would use the free throw line to hold BCU off over the next two minutes and Jordan Gilliam scored a big basket off a backdoor cut to keep TSU up 61-54 as the clock read 3:19. However, BCU’s long-range shooting came up big as Kevin Davis nailed a top of the key three-pointer on the ensuing possession for a 61-57 TSU lead.

AJ Lawson drew a big foul driving to the basket and hit 1-of-2 free throws for a 62-57 lead but Davis was the thorn in TSU’s side again with another three-pointer from the same location to cut the deficit to 62-60. TSU would miss a three-pointer on its next possession and Davis was fouled. Davis hit 1-of-2 free throws which prevented a tie.

TSU missed its next shot attempt and the Wildcats had a chance to move ahead or tie but Bryson Etienne forced BCU to call a timeout as he denied BCU to get the ball into the hands of its point guard to start the offense with 50.9 seconds left.

After the timeout, the TSU defense made the game’s biggest stop as they forced BCU into a shot clock violation and a huge turnover. Etienne would take matters into his own hands once again as he drew a foul and scored the basket for a 64-61 lead with 31 seconds left. The important free throw was missed and BCU drew a foul on the next possession with a chance to draw within a point.

The Wildcats missed the front end of the one-and-one but regained possession after TSU failed to secure the rebound. On the inbounds play, Etienne came up huge again with a steal and was fouled. He made both free throws for a 66-61 lead as BCU misfired on its next attempt. Unfortunately, TSU couldn’t create further separation due to missed free throws which gave BCU another chance as they closed to 66-63 after a layup. Two more missed free throws allowed the Wildcats to have a shot at tying the game in the closing seconds but the shot was short as TSU picked up a big win with a huge stretch of games on the horizon.

Nicholas led TSU with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and three assists while Etienne added 13 points and seven rebounds. Gilliam scored 11 as he was perfect from the field.

TSU is back home on Saturday against Grambling State for a 3:30 p.m. start as fans are encouraged to wear maroon in addition to being treated to a host of festivities throughout the game.