RICHMOND, Ky. – Clarence Matthews and Kareem Grant combined for 38 points and 18 rebounds to lead Tennessee State over the Eastern Kentucky men's basketball team Saturday afternoon in McBrayer Arena, 74-64. The regular-season finale loss drops the Colonels (14-15, 11-9 OVC) into a tie with Tennessee State (13-14, 11-9) heading into next week's conference tournament.

For Eastern Kentucky, senior Matt Witt posted a game-high 22 points and surpassed the 1,800-point plateau. Fellow senior Jason McLeish rebounded from a scoreless first half to notch 17 points while sophomore Darnell Dialls added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Matthews tallied 20 points and nine rebounds on 72.7 percent (8-of-11) shooting for the Tigers. Meanwhile, Grant finished with 18 points while going 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from behind the three-point line.

Three points separated the two teams heading into halftime, but the Tigers opened the second stanza with a 13-2 run to take a commanding 44-30 lead. Grant, Reiley Ervin and Wayne Arnold each hit a three-pointer during that stretch for Tennessee State. The Tigers extended their advantage to 15 points, 55-40, before Eastern Kentucky responded with a run of its own.

A McLeish trifecta started the hot streak for Eastern as the Colonels nailed four straight shots from the field, including a pair of buckets from Dialls, to cut the deficit to six with 9:15 remaining, 57-51. Two minutes later, McLeish netted his third three-pointer of the half to get EKU within three, 61-58. However, the Colonels would not score over the next four minutes allowing Tennessee State to rebuild a nine-point lead.

Eastern Kentucky made one final charge in the last three minutes of the contest, but would get no closer than three points at 67-64. Grant made a long two-point bucket with 1:03 left to put the Tigers ahead by five, 69-64. Witt missed a three-point attempt on EKU's ensuing possession before Tennessee State netted 6-of-7 free throws in the final minute to seal the win.

After three ties in the first seven minutes of the game, TSU built an eight-point edge, 21-13, behind the inside play of Matthews and Grant's three-point shooting. Three consecutive trifectas by Witt briefly gave Eastern a 26-24 lead before the Tigers hit their final three shots of the half to take a 31-28 advantage into the break.

Both teams will be playing Tuesday night, Feb. 28, in the quarterfinal round of the 2006 OVC Tournament with sites and times still to be determined.