McCall scores 24, leads Tennessee St. past E. Illinois 66-61

Jan 6, 2017, 11:14 pm

CHARLESTON, Ill. -- Tahjere McCall had 24 points and four steals to lead Tennessee State to a 66-61 win over Eastern Illinois on Wednesday night.

Keron DeShields scored 14, while Wayne Martin had 10 points and eight rebounds for Tennessee State (11-4, 2-0 Ohio Valley).

After a jumper by Lucas Jones put Eastern Illinois up 2-0, Tennessee State went on a 15-3 run and never again trailed.

The Tigers led by as many as 17 in the first half, but Eastern Illinois (4-11, 1-2) slowly chipped away. The Panthers tied it 42-all midway through the second half, and used a 10-3 run -- including 3s by Demetrius McReynolds and Cornell Johnston -- to make it 60-59 with 39 seconds to play.

McCall sandwiched two pairs of free throws around a layup by Eastern Illinois' Trae Anderson to give Tennessee State a 64-61 advantage with seven seconds left.

Anderson, who led the Panthers with 20 points, missed a potentially tying 3-pointer a few seconds later.