Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications
Tigers 73, Alabama State 60
Virshon Cotton scored a career-high 22 points to help lead the Grambling State University men’s basketball team to a 73-60 road victory over Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opponent Alabama State on Saturday afternoon at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
Cotton, who did most of his damage from behind the arc, going 5-of-9 from deep, led four Tigers into double-figures in the contest. The Milwaukee, Wis. native shot 7-of-13 from floor, snagging four rebounds and dishing two assists in the process.
Jourdan Smith (12), Shawdarius Cowart (11) and Cameron Christon (10) were the other GSU players to score at least 10 points.
Carte’are Gordon made his impact on the contest as well, not necessarily through scoring, but by dominating the boards. Gordon pulled down 11 rebounds paired with six points.
Grambling State (14-8 overall, 7-3 SWAC), who led for just over 39 minutes, shot 49 percent from the field (25-of-51) while holding ASU to just 36 percent.
Alabama State (6-17, 4-6) held its only lead of the afternoon, when it led 3-2 early in the first period. A 3-pointer by Christon put the Tigers up 5-3 at the 18:01 mark. GSU eventually opened up a 12-point advantage, 30-18, with 5:27 to go.
After an extended delay due to an injury on the court, the Hornets settled down, trimming the the Tigers’ lead to 33-27 at the half.
Alabama State pressured the GSU early in the second half, pulling within one point, 37-36 with 16:30 to play.
Leading 41-39, Grambling State gave itself a nine point cushion to work with, using a quick 7-0 run capped by another trey from Cotton, extending the lead to 48-39 with 13:43 remaining.
The Tigers continued to wear the Hornets down for the remainder of the contest. GSU opened up it’s largest lead the day, 73-55, on two more threes from Cotton with 2:03 to go.
Antonio Madlock paced the Hornets with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double.
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Lady Tigers 52, Alabama State 51
It was a miracle in Montgomery for the Grambling State University women’s basketball team as they ended their three game losing streak with a 52-51 road victory over Alabama State University on Saturday afternoon at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome.
Miracle Saxon not only clinched the win for GSU with a last minute jumper but she also recorded her second double-double of the season scoring 12 points and snagging 12 rebounds.
The first quarter started off slow for the Lady Tigers as they only made 3-of-15 ( 20 percent) of their shots from the field and 1-of-5 (20 percent) from behind the arch. GSU trailed 20-10 entering the second quarter.
Both teams struggled during the second quarter, only shooting a combined 2-of-27 from the field. GSU’s lone field goal in the period was 3-pointer by Tiana Gardner early in the quarter. Marissa Tell sank a pair of free throws, helping the Lady Tigers cut the gap to seven points and trail 22-15 at the half.
Grambling State started to kick into high gear in the third quarter, scoring 17 total points in the quarter. The Lady Tigers tied the game 28-28 with 3:11 left in the the third on a jumper by Leah Morrow.
A 7-0 run by the the Hornets put ASU on top 35-28 with 55 second to go. A bucket by Colbi Maples halted the run. Phylicia Allen closed the quarter with a fas tbreak bucket bringing the Lady Tigers within five points, 37-32.
Despite ASU’s effort to finally pull away from GSU, freshman Jazmyne Jackson came through late in the final period with back-to-back 3-pointers giving GSU its first lead of the game 50-49, with 22 seconds remaining. After Ayana Emmanuel put ASU back in front 51-50 with six seconds on the clock.
After the Lady Tigers inbounded the ball, Saxon received a pass near half court, dribbling to the free throw line and nailing floater to down the Hornets and cap an 11-2 run down the stretch for GSU.
Shmya Ward notched a double-double for Alabama State, scoring 20 points and puling down 15 rebounds.
