The Tuskegee Golden Tigers were unable to make it past the first round of the Division II tournament after suffering a 70-64 loss to West Alabama.
Tuskegee was led by Steve Dulley who scored 15 points connecting on four three-pointers. He was followed by Martez Jones who scored 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and five rebounds.
Entering the tournament as the seven-seed, Tuskegee started the game out hot getting out to a double-digit lead toward the end of the first half.
Leading by as many as 13 points, the Golden Tigers went into halftime leading 37-27.
Their fortunes began to change at the start of the second half as West Alabama went on an 11-3 run in the first seven minutes of the half cutting the Tuskegee lead to two points.
Tuskegee did their best to hold on to the lead but with 7:19 remaining West Alabama connected on a three-pointer to take their first lead since the 9:22 mark in the first half.
TIGERS WIN! 🐅🏀
MBB | Final | UWA 70, Tuskegee 64
The Tigers advance to the semifinals round of the NCAA Division II South Regional Tournament! #WinWithWestAL pic.twitter.com/WuS5uU3pfl
— UWA Athletics (@UWAAthletics) March 11, 2023
Again, the Golden Tigers kept on battling taking back the lead and holding on to it for the next couple of minutes.
However, a key sequence down the stretch sealed Tuskegee’s fate and the victory for West Alabama.
With 3:43 left in the game, following a West Alabama missed layup, Tuskegee was unable to corral the rebound and their opponent recovered it. They then moved the ball back out and made a three to take the lead back which they would hold permanently.
The Golden Tigers’ season comes to an end with a 20-9 overall record.
