Tennessee State surges past Tennessee-Martin 72-59

MARTIN, Tenn. (AP) — Patrick Miller scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half as Tennessee State surged past Tennessee-Martin for a 72-59 Ohio Valley Conference victory Thursday night.

The Tigers (12-10, 5-4) shot 36.7 percent in the first half (11 of 30), improving to 66.7 percent in the second (12 of 18) to sweep the season series. Tennessee State won 83-67 on Dec. 29.

The Tigers built a 10-point lead at the 9:45 mark, but the Skyhawks (3-19, 0-9) closed to 26-25 at halftime.

After Tennessee-Martin tied it 27-27, Tennessee State used a 17-4 run to push the lead into double figures for good.

Robert Covington’s 11 points were his 21st straight double-figure game for the Tigers.

Tennessee State made 24 of 34 free throws, compared to 15 of 24 for the Skyhawks, who had 20 turnovers leading to 25 Tigers points.

Dane Smith scored 13 points to lead Tennessee-Martin.