Courtesy of GSU Athletic Communications
They say it is tough to beat a team three times…
Well, perhaps they weren’t talking about the Grambling State University men’s basketball team.
The Tigers held off a late charge by Southern on Thursday afternoon with a 60-58 victory in the 2022 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Men’s Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals at Bartow Arena in Birmingham.
“Whenever we play Southern, you can throw the records out of the window, and the last three or four games out of the window,” said GSU coach Dionte Jackson. “Someway, somehow you know it’s going to be a fight.
“I have so much respect for coach (Sean) Woods and his program and some things they did. One of us got to lose and unfortunately somebody has to. We found a way to pull it out and our guys gutted it out. It’s a physical game and guys compete at a high level and made some shots.”
With the win, Grambling State advances to face Texas Southern in the semifinals. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. today at Bartow Arena.
Grambling State (12-19), which swept the Jaguars in all three meetings this season, advances to the 2022 Cricket SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals as the sixth seed and will face second-seeded Texas Southern on Friday. Texas Southern reached the semifinals with a 54-40 victory over Jackson State on Wednesday. Tip-off against TSU is set for 2 p.m. on Friday at Bartow Arena. Southern concludes its season with a 17-14 record.
The Tigers entered the game having dropped six out of their last seven games, with the last victory coming on Feb. 19 at Southern (61-57). With Thursday’s victory, Grambling State head coach Donte’ Jackson continues to be the Jaguar killer, improving to 10-2 all-time against GSU’s biggest rivals.
Tra’Micheal Moton nearly finished with a triple double in leading Grambling State offensively. He registered 12 points, 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Prince Moss did most of his damage in the opening half, scoring 11 points, along with eight boards. A’Mari McCray and Cameron Christon each recorded eight points.
Tyrone Lyons scored nine of his 13 points in the first half to pace Southern. He added eight rebounds and one steal. Brion Whitley poured in 13 points, two boards and two assists, while Terrell Williams Jr. posted 10 points and five boards.
