Tennessee State pulls out 60-52 win over Canisius

Nov 22, 2017, 04:49 am

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Ken'Darrius Hamilton knocked down five 3-pointers and scored 19 with eight rebounds and Tennessee State dominated the second half on the way to a 60-52 victory over Canisius on Tuesday night.

Tennessee State (2-2) trailed 35-26 at halftime and after a Malik Johnson layup stretched the Canisius lead to 11, the Tigers went to work. Delano Spencer, Kamar McKnight and Hamilton buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and McKnight followed with a jumper to knot the score at 37 with 16:13 left to play. Johnson's jumper regained the lead for the Golden Griffins (1-3), but Spencer's jumper and two straight layups from Christian Mekowulu gave the Tigers a 43-39 lead and they stayed out in front from there.

Spencer finished with 16 points, while Mekowulu hit 7 of 8 shots and scored 14. The Tigers' bench scored just five points, all by McKnight.

Isaiah Reese led the Golden Griffins with 16 points and eight rebounds, while Takal Molson hit 4 of 7 from behind the 3-point arc and scored 13.

Canisius shot just four free throws on the night, making three, while the Tigers hit 8 of 11 from the foul line. Tennessee State outscored Canisius 34-17 in the second half.