Kennesaw St. fends off Tennessee St. 76-73 behind Ray

Jan 2, 2018, 10:00 pm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Kendrick Ray scored 20 points, Nick Masterson and Tyler Hooker each scored 15 and Kennesaw State held off Tennessee State 76-73 on Monday night.

Johannes Nielsen made a pair of free throws putting the Owls up 69-63 with 1:36 to go before Wayne Martin responded with a dunk five seconds later reducing Tennessee State's deficit to four.

Hooker added a free throw, Tahjere McCall answered with a pair and Kennesaw State (6-10) led 70-67. McCall's layup with 20 seconds left made it 72-70 but Tennessee State (9-5) couldn't get closer.

Darreon Reddick missed a 3 as time expired.

McCall led the Tigers with 25 points while Martin scored 20 on 9-for-11 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Kennesaw State's bench scored 27 points while the Tigers shot just 17 for 27 from the free throw line. The Tennessee State dominated the interior outscoring the Owls 36-14.