As the regular seasons wind down in football and volleyball, basketball season is heating up at TSU.
FOOTBALL
Freshman Steven Newbold caught his second touchdown of the game with 1.7 seconds left and Lane Clark kicked the extra point to give the Tennessee State football team a 41-40 road win over Austin Peay at Fortera Stadium on Saturday night, Nov. 5. A six-play, 81-yard touchdown drive led by senior quarterback Ronald Butler turned out to be the difference for TSU, now 6-3 (3-2 OVC).
“I knew that we had to take care of the ball,” Butler said after the game. “We’ve still got a lot of guys outside who can make plays. The way their defense set up, I saw pre-snap reads that we could make plays. Those guys did a great job. On the last play, give credit to Steven Newbold just making a play.”
Next up for TSU is their final home game, versus Tennessee Tech, Saturday, Nov. 12 at Hale Stadium; kickoff at 3 p.m. The game is Senior Day for the football Tigers and the Aristocrat of Bands seniors.
The Tigers close out the regular season at Southeast Missouri in Cape Girardeau, Mo. Sat. Nov. 19 at 1 p.m. Listen live on FM 102.1 The Light.
2016 TSU Football Seniors
(Number/Name/Position/Height/Weight/Senior Rank/City and State)
3 David Kamara, DB, 5-10 200, Sr., Logansville, Ga. (Ole Miss)
9 Chris Sanders-McCollum, WR, 6-5 195, Sr., Fairburn, Ga. (Creekside HS)
10 Ronald Butler, QB, 6-3 180, Sr., Tallahassee, Fla. (Lincoln HS)
13 Dantwaun O’Neal, WR, 6-3 210,Sr., DeLand, Fla. (DeLand HS)
14 Antonio Justice, Jr., LB, 6-1 225, R-Sr., Montgomery, Ala. (St. Jude Educational Institute)
21 Ezra Robinson, DB, 6-1 180, R-Sr., Sarasota, Fla. (Michigan State)
46 EJ Junior, IV, RB 6-0 240, R-Sr., Middletown, Ohio (Cincinnati)
66 Jessamen Dunker, OL, 6-5 305, R-Sr., Boynton Beach, Fla. (Florida)
74 Kevin Kenton, OL, 6-2, 300, R-Sr., West Palm Beach, Fla.(Palm Beach Lakes HS)
MENS BASKETBALL
Balanced scoring and stifling defense carried the TSU men’s basketball team to a 77-43 win over Fisk in an exhibition game Thursday night, Nov. 3, at the Gentry Center. Six different TSU players scored seven or more points on the night.
Among the highlights of the game was the emergence of redshirt freshman Thomas “Trip” Davis who finally saw game action for the Tigers. He capped off his first night with a scintillating three –pointer late in the second half. He made 3 of his 4 shots, grabbed four rebounds and dished out two assists, scoring seven points in his first 13 minutes of action. TSU took its biggest lead of the night of 36 points at 75-39 on the three-pointer from Davis, who starred at Nashville’s Lighthouse Christian School.
TSU opens the regular season with three games at the Cable Car Classic in Santa Clara, Calif., beginning on Nov. 11 versus UC Davis, followed by games at MTSU on Sat., Nov. 19 and Canisius on Wed., Nov 23. Their first home game is Sat. Nov. 29 against Reinhardt at 7pm, followed by cross town trips to play at Vanderbilt on Tue., Nov. 29 and Lipscomb on Sat., Dec. 3.
WOMENS BASKETBALL
The Lady Tigers open the season Nov. 12 at Xavier, travel to Oklahoma State Nov. 15, then host Arkansas State for their home opener Saturday, Nov. 19 at 12 Noon in Gentry Center.
VOLLEYBALL
Nov. 12 is also Senior Day for the volleyball team. Seniors Chloe Watson, Taylor Patterson, and Puamana Danielson play their last regular season match in Kean Hall vs Eastern Kentucky at 12 Noon. The team record was 16-14 overall (7-7 OVC) at press time.
