Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications
Tigers 65, Texas Southern 46
The Grambling State University men’s basketball team earned an important Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating Texas Southern 65-46 on Alumni Weekend at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
GSU (16-8 overall, 9-3 SWAC) controlled the contest from start to finish, punishing TSU on the defensive end of the floor, while knocking down big shots on offense.
Texas Southern (8-17, 4-8) did hold a brief lead at the beginning of the contest when Kolby Granger knocked down a 3-pointer to open the scoring. Grambling State quickly responded with back-to back treys from Jourdan Smith and Virshon Cotton at the 18:34 mark, moving in front 6-3.
It was the start of a big night for Cotton, who scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. He also added five rebounds and two steals. It was his second 20-point game in the past week.
Later in the half, Malik Lamin decided to test his range from behind the arc, draining his first 3-pointer of the season to give GSU its largest lead of the first half, 24-11 with 8:05 remaining in the period.
TSU closed the half on a 14-4 run, trimming Grambling State lead to 29-25 at halftime.
GSU came out of the locker room energized in the second half, using a 10-0 run to go up 39-25 with 14:12 to play. Texas Southern couldn’t pace with Grambling State the rest of the way. GSU led by as many as 25 points, 63-38, with just over two minutes to play.
In addition to Cotton posting double-figures, Jourdan Smith contributed 10 points with eight rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist.
As team, Grambling State shot just over 35 percent from the field, going 19-of-53 and 6-of-17 from 3-point range. GSU held Texas Southern to 32.7 percent shooting (17-of-52).
PJ Henry led TSU with 10 points and three boards.
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Lady Tigers 63, Texas Southern 57
The Grambling State University women’s basketball team snagged a big 63-57 win at home against Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) foe Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon.
The first quarter set the tone for Grambling State (7-16 overall, 6-6 SWAC). GSU went 7-of-12 from the field and put up a good defensive effort as Leah Morrow grabbed two steals and Cierra Christian registered one of her own. GSU ended the quarter with a five point, 16-11 lead.
GSU continued to outscore Texas Southern (1-22, 1-11) in the second quarter extending their lead despite the efforts put up by TSU. A 3-pointer by Victoria Eniafe gave GSU a 29-18 lead with 1:33 remaining in the half. TSU closed the gap to seven points falling to GSU 29-22 at the half.
Despite leading the first half, the third quarter was a turning point for GSU. Grambling State found themselves trailing 34-31 with a little over five minutes remaining. Texas Southern led 44-39 heading into the fourth quarter.
The fourth period was a back and forth battle between the teams. Miracle Saxon put GSU back on top 45-44 with jumper but it wasn’t long before TXSU’s Andriana Avant put them back on top 53-52 with 5:12 to go. A fast break layup by Leah Morrow put Grambling State in the lead for good, 55-53 with 3:26 remaining.
Morrow was the leader for GSU registering a career-high 19 points with three steals. Saxon contributed 10 points, five rebounds and two steals. Teammate Phylicia Allen recorded 10 points, grabbing five boards, two assists, one block and one steal.
Andrianna Avent led TXSU with 21 points, four steals, three rebounds and one assist.
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