NASHVILLE, Tenn. – SIUE men's basketball dropped its third consecutive game, falling at Tennessee State 80-53 Saturday at the Gentry Center.

SIUE slipped to 17-12 overall and 10-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference. The three-game losing streak is the first this year for the Cougars. Tennessee State maintained its hold on first place, improving to 13-5 in OVC play and 19-9 overall.

After the first basket of the game, the Tigers went on a 7-0 run, one of three in the first half, and never trailed again in the game. The Tigers closed the half on an 11-2 run to lead 40-26 at halftime.

Cougars shot 46 percent for the half. TSU 58 percent. Both teams 4-10 from 3p.

Baker 16 points in first half. Nkrumah 19 points

The Tigers pushed the run to 22-2 before the Cougars got on the board in the second half with a free throw from Baker.

The Cougars started the second half 0-8 from the field. They didn't pick up a field goal until a Jordan Pickett floater went down with 12:12 to play.

The Tigers pushed the advantage to as many as 32 after an Antoine Lorick layup with 9:40 to play.

The Cougars connected on 21-50 (42 percent) of their shots overall and hit just 39 percent in the second half.

Darrion Baker paced the Cougars with 17 points, including 16 in the first half. CJ Hall followed with nine points. Tyler King added seven points.

The Tigers knocked down 57 percent of their shots and went 8-19 (42 percent) from three-point range. TSU outrebounded SIUE 37-21.

Aaron Nkrumah led the Tigers with a game-high 26 points on 11-15 shooting. Lorick added 15 points.

The Cougars finish the regular season with two games at First Community Arena. SIUE will play host to Western Illinois Thursday at 7:30 p.m.