CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (Interstat) — In a game where efficiency trumped volume, the Tennessee State Tigers weathered a second-half push from the Chattanooga Mocs to secure a 70-64 victory in a non-conference men’s basketball game Sunday at McKenzie Arena.

The Tigers, who led by as many as 12 points in the first half, saw their comfortable advantage dwindle to a single possession late in the game before closing on a decisive 6-0 run to seal the win before a crowd of 2,957.

Tennessee State improved to 5-3 with the road victory, while Chattanooga evened its record at 4-4.

The game was a study in contrasting offensive approaches. While both teams had an identical 66 possessions, the Tigers made theirs count more effectively, posting an offensive rating of 105.9 compared to the Mocs’ 97.5. Tennessee State built its victory on the foundation of a dominant first half, where they shot over 50% from the field and scored 42 points to take a nine-point lead into the break.

Chattanooga struggled to find its shooting touch all afternoon, particularly from beyond the arc. The Mocs launched 35 three-point attempts but connected on only 10, a 28.6% success rate. This inefficiency from deep, coupled with Tennessee State’s superior work inside, proved decisive. The Tigers outscored Chattanooga 32-22 in the paint.

The Tigers were led by a balanced scoring attack. Travis Harper, a 6-foot-6 guard from Columbus, Georgia, and Aaron Nkrumah, a 6-foot-6 guard from Worcester, Massachusetts, each poured in 17 points. Harper added six rebounds, while Nkrumah filled the stat sheet with three rebounds, five assists and a block. Dante Harris, a 6-foot guard from Washington, D.C., provided a crucial 15 points and four rebounds.

Chattanooga’s offense ran through Tate Darner, a 6-foot-4 guard from Lakeland, Florida, who came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points. Sebastian Hartmann, a 6-foot-5 forward from Munich, Germany, was a force on the glass, pulling down eight rebounds to go with nine points.

Despite their shooting woes, the Mocs chipped away at the deficit throughout the second half. A three-pointer from Darner with 42 seconds remaining cut the Tennessee State lead to 64-61, injecting life into the home crowd. After a Tennessee State turnover, Billy Smith’s three-pointer with 30 seconds left brought Chattanooga within two points at 66-64.

The comeback attempt stalled there. The Tigers broke the Mocs’ press, resulting in a momentum-shifting alley-oop dunk from Travis Harper off a feed from Aaron Nkrumah with 21 seconds left, pushing the lead back to four. The Mocs failed to score on their ensuing possession, and Tennessee State iced the game at the free-throw line.

A key differentiator was Tennessee State’s performance at the charity stripe. The Tigers were nearly perfect, converting 14 of their 15 attempts. Chattanooga was also efficient from the line, making 12 of 14, but could not generate enough opportunities to close the gap.

Defensively, the game was a stalemate, with both teams recording five steals and five assists. Tennessee State committed eight turnovers to Chattanooga’s seven, and the rebounding battle was nearly even. The Tigers’ ability to capitalize on their chances, however, was the ultimate decider in a game that defied the pregame expectations, which heavily favored the Mocs.