EVANSVILLE, Ind. – OVC Player of the Year Ray'Sean Taylor scored 24 points and second-seeded SIUE outlasted No. 3 Tennessee State 71-69 in the second semifinal game of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament. Taylor is a Collinsville High School graduate. With the win, the Cougars advance to the OVC Championship game for the first time. SIUE will meet top-seeded Southeast Missouri Saturday at 8 p.m.
The Cougars improved to 21-11. Tennessee State fell to 16-16.
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Desmond Polk hit a transition three with 6:16 to play in the first half to give the Cougars their largest lead at 33-21.
Another Desmond Polk three-pointer from the left wing at the halftime buzzer gave SIUE a 10-point lead (42-32) at the break.
Tennessee State flipped the script in the second half and used a 12-2 run to take a 61-59 lead after a Ronald Jessamy offensive rebound and putback with 6:15 left.
SIUE got the lead back to five when Ray'Sean Taylor knocked down a three-pointer at 3:47. Brian Taylor II hit one of two free throw attempts to make it 71-65 with 2:38 left.
TSU used a steal and score and two free throws to trail 71-69. After an SIUE miss, Tennessee State called timeout with 23 seconds to play.
The SIUE defense kept TSU away from the basket and the Tigers never got a look before the final buzzer sounded.
Josh Ogundele led TSU with 19 points.
Myles Thompson scored nine for SIUE. Ring Malith and Kyle Thomas each scored eight.
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