Keron DeShields scored 25 points and Tennessee State beat Ohio Valley Conference regular-season champion Belmont 87-72 on Sunday for the Tigers' 20th victory.
The fourth-seeded Tigers (20-9, 11-5) earned a first-round bye for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament that begins Wednesday. Tennessee State will play the winner between Tennessee Tech and No. 8 Austin Peay, with the second-round victor playing the top-seeded Bruins (20-10, 12-4).
Tahjere McCall added 16 points, Wayne Martin 13 and Demontez Loman 10 for Tennessee State.
Austin Luke made four 3-pointers and scored 18 points for Belmont. Taylor Barnette added 14 and Nick Smith 12.
The Tigers took the lead for good on a DeShields' jumper with 16:16 left. A 14-3 run, with seven points from McCall, left them ahead 76-63 with three minutes remaining with the lead dipping to nine only once after that.
