TUSKEGEE, Ala. __ The Tuskegee men's basketball team will host a pair of Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponents over the weekend to close out the four-game home stretch to open 2024 starting with Kentucky State on Saturday at 12 p.m. inside of Daniel "Chappie" James Center.
Tuskegee enters Saturday afternoon with a record of 3-11 overall and 2-6 in SIAC play. The Golden Tigers split their first two games of the year, defeating Allen 73-70 in overtime, before falling 96-73 to Benedict last Saturday.
Tuskegee took two of three matchups between the programs last season, winning in both locations. The Thorobreds upset the Golden Tigers in the SIAC Basketball Tournament opening round, on March 1, 2023. The loss ended a six-game win streak for Tuskegee in the series.
So far this season, Tuskegee has been led by sophomore Kusamae Draper, averaging 14.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. He led the team with 25 points and seven rebounds, playing just 29 minutes in Saturday's loss against Benedict. Junior Martez Jones is averaging 13.4 points and a team-high 10.5 rebounds per game. D'Anthony Pennington leads the team in assists, dishing out 3.3 assists along with his 12.9 points per contest.
Kentucky State comes into the meeting with a record of 4-8 and 1-7 in league play. The Thorobreds defeated Simmons, 97-75 on Tuesday at home.
KSU has been led so far this season by a trio of double figure scorers in Josiah Mitchell, Ogien Ayo, and Lavar Miller Jr. Mitchell leads the team at 16.8 points along with 3.4 rebounds per game, while Ayo averages 13.2 points and 7.4 rebounds, followed by Miller with 12.5 points per contest. Three other scorers on the team score at least 8.5 points on the season.
Tuskegee has won four straight meetings against Central State, with the last loss coming in 2020.
The Marauders have a mark of 2-13 overall and 1-7 in SIAC play. The team dropped their last two games, falling to Clark Atlanta (69-67) and Morehouse (78-53), both at home.
Central State has been led so far this season by Willie Jackson, averaging 19.5 points per game, followed by Steven Key II, scoring 14.3 points per game for the Marauders. Zavian Jackson is the last double figure scorer, averaging 11.1 points per game, while Raveon Thomas leads the team in rebounds, grabbing 6.9 rebounds to go along with his 8.5 points per contest.
Monday's action is set to start at 3 p.m. and can be seen live on the Golden Tigers Sports Network with live stats also available. For links to follow all of Tuskegee's games this season, click here: MBB SCHEDULE.
How to Follow the Golden Tigers: For complete information on Tuskegee Golden Tigers Men's Basketball, visit GoldenTigerSports.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
