Coming off a happy home doubleheader Saturday at the Fred C. Hobdy Assembly Center, Grambling’s basketball teams are poised to continue the fun tonight when Mississippi Valley State visits for a SWAC basketball doubleheader.
The Lady Tigers tip at 5:30 and the men follow at 7:30. Both Valley teams are winless in six Southwestern Athletic Conference contests, and the Delta Devils are 0-14 this season.
Grambling’s women (5-5 overall, 4-2 in the SWAC) have won three of their last four games, including a 67-53 drubbing of UAPB Saturday evening. The Lady Tigers led 31-12 at halftime and cruised home as senior guard
Justice Coleman poured in 27 points, sinking 11 of 18 shots and adding six rebounds.
A 42-14 advantage in points in the paint was the glaring difference.
Scoring near the basket was also a decisive advantage in the nightcap Saturday, although the outcome was not settled until the final buzzer. The G-Men outscored the Lions 32-18 inside and also got major contributions from the bench, with 44 points coming from non-starters.
The Tigers (6-8 overall, 4-3 in the SWAC) had five double-figure scorers and got a near double-double from senior point guard Trevell Cunningham, who had a game-high 10 assists and nine rebounds.
Sophomore Zahad Munford led the scoring with 16 points, adding six rebounds and four assists. He sank four of his five tries behind the 3-point arc. Senior Prince Moss missed only one of his seven shots and posted 14 points, while another senior, Kelton Edwards, posted 11 points.
Sarion McGee and Terreon Randoph each contributed 10 points. Randolph, the senior center, added eight rebounds and three steals for the Tigers.
Grambling led by as much as 13 early but held off a late charge from UAPB (3-13, 2-5), which trailed 70-62 with 1:18 left. The Lions never shot the ball with a chance to tie or take the lead, but got a basket with three seconds left to move within two. Munford was fouled on the inbounds play and sank a free throw with a second left that insulated the outcome.
The Tigers halted a two-game skid with the victory.
