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GAME NOTES: Two struggling basketball teams will cross paths tonight, when the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks host the Tennessee State Tigers in an Ohio Valley Conference game at the Elam Center.

Tennessee State comes in off a 76-54 loss to league-leading Murray State on Thursday. The Tigers have recorded just one win in their last 13 games and have lost seven straight. They stand at 4-20 overall and 1-11 in the OVC. Tennessee State is a lowly 1-13 on the road.

Tennessee-Martin gave a good effort at Austin Peay on Thursday before falling 74-69. The Skyhawks have lost two straight and nine of their last 10. They are now 3-18 overall and winless in 11 conference games. Tennessee-Martin is a mere 3-7 on its homecourt.

Tennessee State was a 73-59 winner over the Skyhawks on January 9th in Nashville. The Tigers lead the series 25-20.

Robert Covington scored 19 points for the Tigers in their loss to the Racers. Tennessee State trailed 35-24 at halftime. The Tigers shot just 34.4 percent from the floor and were just 6-of-28 from long range. The Tigers lost leading scorer Josh Sain earlier this week. He was one of four players dismissed by head coach John Cooper for violations of team policy. Sain had been averaging 13.7 ppg. and had started 17 of the 20 games in which he appeared. The top remaining scorer is Jacquan Nobles who is at 10.6 ppg, and is shooting 45.6 percent from the floor and 47.2 percent from three-point range. Covington is at 10.4 ppg. and is also the team's leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per contest. Darius Cox, who had been averaging 5.3 rpg to go with 7.5 ppg, was one of the players dismissed. Jeremiah Crutcher leads the team with 3.7 assists per contest, good for fourth in the conference. The Tigers are shooting 40.0 from the floor and averaging just 65.0 ppg, while giving up 74.3 ppg at the other end.

The Skyhawks gave Austin Peay all it could handle Thursday night. They trailed by 18 at one point but clawed back to within three with :39 left in regulation. Marquis Weddle led the Skyhawks with 23 points and eight rebounds. Benzor Simmons finished with 17 points and five boards. Weddle leads the team in scoring at 16.3 ppg, good for fourth in the conference. He's hitting just 38.1 percent from the floor, but 88.5 percent from the foul line. Simmons is next on the scoring list at 14.4 ppg, eighth best in the league. Reuben Clayton is at 13.1 points per contest, while Delrico Lane is also in double figures at 10.6 ppg. Lane is hitting 48.4 percent from the floor, and 44.1 percent from long range. The Skyhawks are shooting just 37.1 percent from the floor as a team, averaging just 64.1 ppg. Their biggest problem has been at the other end of the floor, where they're allowing a generous 76.8 points per contest.

The Tigers were struggling with Sain in the lineup. Without him, Tennessee- Martin will certainly have the advantage.