Tigers Battle Drake To The End In Seesaw Contest

DES MOINES, Ia. – For the second consecutive contest, the TSU men’s basketball team battled to the final buzzer as Drake squeaked out a 77-71 win on Saturday evening.
 
TSU welcomed PJ Henry back in a big way as the senior guard hit four three-pointers in the first half en route to a 26-19 first half lead with 9:39 remaining. However, the Bulldogs responded with a 22-4 run to close out the half as they went into the break ahead 43-30. During the run, TSU struggled from the field with 10 missed three-point attempts while Drake connected on seven shots.
 
Despite the tough ending to the first half, the Tigers would put it behind them to open the second half as Henry and Jonathan Cisse drained baskets to cut the deficit to 10 at the 16:15 mark. Kolby Granger and Kehlin Farooq combined to score nine points over the next three minutes to spark a 15-4 run as TSU regained a 57-54 lead with 11:53 remaining.
 
From there it was a back-and-forth contest as there were seven lead changes over the next eight minutes. Drake claimed a 72-69 lead with 2:37 left as TSU would miss its next two shot attempts but a Jahmar Young, Jr. free throw cut the Bulldog lead to 72-70 as the clock read 1:53.
 
The Tigers would only add a free throw from that point as Drake connected on 3-of-4 free throws and a basket to pull away for the win.
 
Henry scored 27 points and dished out four assists while Farooq added 12 points. Young, Jr. grabbed six rebounds while scoring seven points.
 
TSU is back in action on Tuesday at Purdue for an 8:30 p.m. start.