Trailing by two points at halftime, the Kentucky State University men's basketball team exploded for 53 second-half points to record the 83-67 victory over Tuskegee in the regular season finale at the William Exum Center Monday.

Aggression was definitely the word of the day as the Thorobreds went to the line 42 times, making 32. Senior Ditalion Battle (Cincinnati, OH) was 13-of-14 from the line and senior Kevin Hayes (Detroit, MI) was 6-of-10 from the charity stripe. Kentucky State converted 16 free throws in each half.

Battle had his fingerprints all over the 14-2 run early in the second half that gave KSU the lead for good. Back-to-back layups and then an assist on a dunk by senior Austin Sherrell (Detroit, MI) got the crowd and the 'Breds rolling.

Another spurt, this one 12-4, gave Kentucky State its first double figure lead of the game as Battle scored eight of the 12 points.

Tuskegee got it deficit down to eight a couple of times, but each time the 'Breds had an answer.

The best moment of the night game with 37 seconds remaining when the senior class of Battle, Hayes, Sherrell and David Jelks (Conyers, GA) were subbed out for the final time at the Exum Center.

Battle finished with his third double-double of the season with 29 points and 10 rebounds, nine of the boards on the defensive end. He added three assists and one steal. Hayes finished with 18 points and three rebounds.

Jelks pulled down nine rebounds, while redshirt junior Felix Wilson (Lexington, KY) added nine points.

Kentucky State (13-13 overall, 11-7 SIAC) finishes tied for third place in the West Division with Lane, but the Dragons hold the tiebreaker, meaning the Thorobreds will be the fourth seed in the upcoming SIAC tournament.