TIFTON, Ga. – The University of Tennessee Southern men's basketball team returned to the road beginning a three game slate facing Southern States Athletic Conference newcomer Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College on Thursday. UT Southern fended off the Stallions early in the opening half to cruise to a 96-70 win. UTS improved to 6-10 on the season and 4-5 in league play.
Five Firehawks marked the scorebook in double figures. Zaiden Cross led all scorers with 21 points. Mike Bell, Jr. added 20 points. Vito Vujovic tossed in 19 points. Kiah Key netted 17 points and nine rebounds. Mark Vance added 11 points.
UT Southern took the first lead in the game and traded it back and forth with the Stallions. UTS took the lead for the remainder of the game off a Bell, Jr. layup with 15:59 left in the opening half. UT Southern outscored ABAC 44-25 to the halftime horn. UTS shot 21-35 for 60%, besting the Stallion's 15-30 for 50%. Bell, Jr. led the Firehawks with 15 first half points, and Cross was closely behind with 14 tallies in the half.
In the final half, UT Southern stretched out their lead to 34 with 10 minutes left. The Firehawks relied heavily on their bench for most of the final half in the blowout win. Vujovic led with 12 second half points. Key added nine points and eight boards. Tyler Dudley pitched in three points. UTS shot 14-32 for 44 percent from the field and 4-13, 31 percent, from range in the final 20.
BY THE NUMBERS
52.2 – UTS shot 35 of 67 for 52.2 percent, five and a half percent better than the Stallions.
12 – UTS connected on a dozen trifectas, seven more than ABAC.
21 – UTS made 21 trips to the charity stripe, making 14. ABAC  made 17 trips making nine.
41 – UT Southern pulled down 41 rebounds, nine more than the Stallions.
40 – UTS scored 40 points in the paint, 18 more than ABAC.
13 – UTS forced 13 turnovers by ABAC, committing only three.
NEXT UP
The Firehawks will travel to the Rocket City to oppose Oakwood on January 18. Tipoff is set for seven p.m. UTS defeated the Ambassadors on October 29, 77-63 in the Joe Hardin Classic.
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