Tennessee State defeated Cal State Northridge in the 2022-23 MBB SoCal Challenge in a 74-73 thriller on Monday afternoon.
The Matadors went into halftime with a one-point lead, but the Tigers wouldn’t go down without a fight. They outscored the Matadors 34-32 in the second half to come out on top.
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. led the way for Tennessee State, putting up 17 points and five assists. It wasn’t just Fitzgerald Jr. though, the Tigers’ offense was humming on all cylinders, pouring in 1.1 points per possession on 47 percent shooting from the field. The transition game was a big factor in its success, as 15 of the team’s points came on the fast break. Christian Brown added 16 points for TSU.
| Statistics | 1 | 2 | OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Offense wasn’t the issue for the Matadors. They shot 45 percent from field, scoring a healthy 1.14 points per possession. Dionte Bostick led the way, putting up 24 points to go along with five boards. It wasn’t enough though, as CSUN was unable to gather the momentum to get past the Tigers.
TSU improves to 4-1 on the season.
Both teams will wait to find their opponent for their next game. Tennessee State will take on the winner of High Point-Central Michigan in the championship game of the Sand Division at 2:30 pm PT / 4:40 pm CT. Cal State-Northridge will take on the loser.
This content was produced using Artificial Intelligence technology before being approved and published by HBCU Gameday. Sam Quick is a moniker for our AI technology and is not an actual person.