Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications
Men’s Basketball
The Grambling State University men’s basketball team couldn’t take down Florida A&M, falling 73-68 at the Al Lawson Multipurpose Center on Saturday evening.
Kintavious Dozier led GSU with 13 points with four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Grambling State was strong for much of the first half, building a 21-11 lead with 6:40 remaining until halftime. Florida A&M shifted momentum its way with a 17-2 run over the next four minutes to push head 28-23. Emeka Nanji halted the run with a layup with 1:37 on the clock.
With FAMU leading 30-25, Louis Hutchinson drained a 3-pointer as time expired, cutting the Rattlers’ advantage to 30-28 at halftime.
PJ Edwards briefly put the Tigers back in front, 31-30, with a triple on GSU’s second possession of the second period.
Florida A&M would use a 16-4 run to take a 46-35 lead with 12:48 to go.
GSU eventually cut the deficit to 56-52 with 6:45 on the clock, but the Rattlers pushed its lead back to double digits, 64-54, with 3:14 remaining.
Grambling State put together one more late run at the lead with a 3-pointer by Dozier making it a 65-62 game at the 1:25 mark but that was as close as the Tigers could get to the Rattlers down the stretch.
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Women’s Basketball
Grambling State held off a late surge from Florida A&M to secure a 55-52 victory at the Al Lawson Center on Saturday afternoon. With the win, the Lady Tigers improved to 13-14 overall and 10-6 in SWAC play.
Grambling State got off to a strong start, using an efficient first quarter to take a 17-11 lead. Kahia Warmsley set the tone early, scoring from both inside and beyond the arc. The Lady Tigers extended their advantage in the second quarter, outscoring the Rattlers 15-9 to take a 32-20 lead into halftime.
Florida A&M (9-19 overall , 6-11 SWAC) found momentum in the third quarter, chipping away at the deficit behind the play of Sydney Hendrix and Sabou Gueye. The Rattlers outscored Grambling State 17-14 in the period, cutting the Lady Tigers lead to 46-37 heading into the final frame.
The fourth quarter saw Florida A&M make a strong push, outscoring Grambling State 15-9. The Rattlers closed the gap to just three points in the final minutes, but Grambling State’s defense stood strong.
The Lady Tigers forced key stops down the stretch, securing the win as Florida A&M’s final attempts to tie the game fell short.
Warmsley led Grambling State with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-5 from three-point range. She also contributed five rebounds and two steals. Douthshine Prien added 12 points and a pair of rebounds, while Lydia Freeman anchored the paint with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Florida A&M was led by Hendrix, who finished with 13 points, while Gueye contributed 12 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks in a strong defensive effort.
Grambling State shot 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field and was efficient at the free-throw line, knocking down 90.9 percent (10-of-11). Florida A&M held a slight edge in field goal percentage at 38.9 percent (21-of-54) but struggled from three-point range, hitting just 20.0 percent (2-of-10) of its attempts.
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Baseball
The Grambling State University baseball team dropped both ends of its doubleheader versus Texas Southern on Saturday afternoon at Wilbert Ellis Field at R.W.E. Jones Park.
GSU lost the first game 14-4 and fell in the nightcap 12-11. The G-Men moved to 4-7 on the year, while TSU improved to 4-8.
In the first game of the day, Grambling State struggled to slow down Texas Southern’s bats, surrendering 14 hits including six extra base hits and one home run.
Starting pitcher Trenton Shaw (1-1) surrendered four runs on four hits and seven walks. He delivered five strikeouts in a four-inning outing.
Martavius Thomas went 2-for-4 with a home run.
Grambling State ran into trouble early in the first inning when Texas Southern loaded the bases with no outs. After a walk brought in the first run, Shaw settled down and got GSU got out of the inning without surrendering another run.
Thomas tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of inning with a solo homer to left field.
GSU briefly took the lead in the third inning when Trey Burrell scored on a balk. Burrell reach after a base hit, a steal of second and advance to third on the same play.
However, Texas Southern regained control scoring 10 unanswered runs to take a commanding 11-2 lead in the sixth inning. TSU would push that lead to 14-4 to claim the run rule win.
Texas Southern’s James Malone (1-1) got the win after allowing four runs on six hits in five innings of work. He had five strikeouts and issued two walks.
In the second game of the day, GSU trailed by nine runs at one point but rallied for eight runs over the final two innings. Grambling State outhit TSU 13-9 in the second contest with Cameron Hill pacing the G-Men going 3-for-5 at the dish with four RBI and a three-run homer.
Grambling State fell behind quickly, trailing 6-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning.
Chenar Brown got GSU on the board with an RBI single in the second inning.
After falling behind 12-3 in the sixth inning, the G-Men mounted a furious late rally. Hill highlighted a five run sixth for GSU with a three-run homer to cut TSU’s lead to 12-8.
After reliver Derrell Fletcher made quick work of TSU in the top of the seventh, Grambling State continued to put pressure on Texas Southern in the bottom of the frame.
Jaylyn Bennett drew a pinch-hit walk which was followed by a single by Burrell. Both runners advanced to second and third courtesy of a wild pitch with one out. After a strikeout, Nyan Hayes brought both runs around to score with a double to the left field wall, making it a 12-10 game.
Shannon Martin’s RBI single into centerfield pulled GSU within a run, brining Hill to the plate as the potential winning run, but a pop out to first base ended the rally and preserved to win for Texas Southern.
GSU’s Mason Martinez (1-1) was tagged with the loss after lasting 1.1 innings. Martinez didn’t allow a hit but allowed three runs (two earned) on three hits. He also struck out a pair of batters.
Kewan Braziel (1-3) earned the win after limiting Grambling State to a pair of runs on six hits in three innings.
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