Tennessee State earned a place on one tournament bracket Thursday and then played in an ESPNU BracketBusters game Saturday night.
Whether the Tigers will be in the NCAA Tournament bracket is anyone's guess, but they made their case against Detroit by rallying in the second half for a 78-75 victory.
TSU clinched a spot in the eight-team Ohio Valley Conference Tournament by winning Thursday at Tennessee Tech 77-74.
Then on Saturday, a Gentry Center crowd of 3,789 watched TSU (10-17, 7-9 OVC) claim its fourth consecutive win under interim head coach Mark Pittman.
Jeremiah Crutcher helped the Tigers hold off the Titans by sinking five 3-pointers in the second half.
"I came out in the first half and wasn't knocking down shots,'' Crutcher said. "I just had to take my time and relax. My coach had confidence in me and I shot the ball the way I'm supposed to in the second half.
TSU's Darius Cox blocked Eulis Stephens' layup with seven seconds remaining to help preserve the victory. Detroit got the ball back with four seconds remaining but could not get a shot off.
The Tigers improved to 4-1 with Pittman as the head coach. Pittman stepped in for Cy Alexander, who was fired Feb. 6.
The Tigers had not claimed more than two consecutive wins before Pittman took over.
Pittman said he has worked hard on changing the team's overall mental approach.
"What's happening mostly is I think we've made improvements with our team atmosphere and attitude and our overall team cohesiveness,'' Pittman said. "I'm trying to make them play relaxed, but still focused. I don't want them to be uptight and tense and nervous, and they're responding very well. This was not our best game, but somehow we hung onto it."
Crutcher's first 3-pointer early in the second half gave the Tigers their first lead at 37-36. He made two more from behind the arc over the next three minutes, Parker Smith added one and Cox made another giving TSU a 51-46 lead.
TSU made eight of 12 (66.7 percent) 3-pointers in the second half.
"Crutcher was tough to defend,'' first-year Detroit Coach Ray McCallum said. "Our guys were saying, 'We were there guarding him,' but that's what outstanding 3-point shooters do. His play made the difference."
The former Hunters Lane High School standout finished with 16 points. Jerrell Houston led the Tigers with 17 points, Parker Smith scored 14, Gerald Robinson had 13 and Cox had 10.
Stephens led the Titans (7-20) with 13 points.
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