Fitzgerald's 26 help Tennessee State beat E. Illinois 78-74

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. scored 26 points as Tennessee State beat Eastern Illinois 78-74 on Thursday.

Fitzgerald was 5 of 9 shooting, including 3 for 5 from distance, and went 13 for 13 from the line for the Tigers (11-9, 3-4 Ohio Valley Conference). Jr. Clay shot 5 for 13 (2 for 7 from 3-point range) and 6 of 7 from the free throw line to add 18 points. Adong Makuoi shot 4 of 7 from the field to finish with nine points, while adding six rebounds.

Kinyon Hodges led the way for the Panthers (7-13, 3-4) with 22 points and six rebounds. Eastern Illinois also got 16 points from Kyle Thomas. In addition, Nick Ellington finished with 11 points and three blocks.

NEXT UP

Both teams next play Saturday. Tennessee State visits Little Rock while Eastern Illinois visits UT Martin.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.