Spencer comes in in 2nd half to spark Tennessee State 70-56

Jan 19, 2019, 12:09 pm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Delano Spencer, who missed the first half after an allergic reaction during pregame, scored his 11 points, including three 3-pointers, in the second half when Tennessee State pulled away from Austin Peay 70-56 on Thursday night.

Kamar McKnight scored 13 points, Darreon Riddick had three treys and 12 points and Armani Chaney added 10 points for Tennessee State (8-10, 3-4 Ohio Valley), which shot 50 percent.

The Governors were up two early in the second half before the Tigers went on a 15-2 run with Spencer and Hamilton scoring five points each. Spencer had a 3-pointer and Christian Mekowulu four free throws in a 7-0 spurt that put the Tigers ahead by 14 with five minutes left and they kept their double-digit lead.

"He suffered an allergic reaction in the warm-up line for whatever reason," coach Dana Ford said of Spencer, a senior guard who is the team's leading scorer at 15.2 per game. "We were able to medicate him prior to tipoff but it took a while for it to kick in. He came to us and wanted to play the second half. He came out and I think he made his first four shots, his defense was good. ... Putting him out there gave us a great lift, and we kind of needed it."

Terry Taylor scored 16 points with 13 rebounds and Dayton Gumm added 11 points for Austin Peay (10-9, 5-2), which dropped into a four-way tie for second place behind Belmont (6-1).