EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) EJ Bellinger had 17 points, Christian Brown scored 16 and Tennessee State eliminated Southern Indiana with a 78-64 victory in the first round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Wednesday night.

Tennessee State (18-14), the fifth seed, advances to play No. 4 seed Western Illinois on Thursday.

Bellinger added six rebounds and Brown grabbed seven for the Tigers. Michael Shanks had 13 points.

Ryan Hall led the way for the eighth-seeded Screaming Eagles (8-24) with 14 points. Jack Campion added 13 points and three steals, while Javius Moore scored 10.

Bellinger had 11 points in the second half to help Tennessee State overcome a 33-30 deficit at halftime.

---

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

Copyright 2024 STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.