Courtesy of GSU Athletics
GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University men’s basketball team couldn’t get back in the win column on Thursday night, falling to Delaware State 73-60 to open the Toyota Chris Paul HBCU Classic presented by Walmart at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
James Flippin led GSU (2-8) with 14 points to go along with six rebounds and one assist.
The Tigers, who’ve been one of the better three-point shooting teams in the nation, struggled from behind the arc, going 4-of-24 (16.7 percent). Grambling State shot 37.9 percent from floor (22-of-58).
The first half was tightly contested with Delaware State working to a slim halftime lead.
With Delaware State leading 4-0, Cilaydrien Newton scored Grambling State’s first points on deep 3-pointer with 18:29 on the clock.
Trailing 16-12 with 12:58 to go until halftime, the Tigers used a 7-0 run capped by a trey from PJ Edwards to claim a 19-16 lead with 11:35 remining in the half. A free throw by Ernest Ross made a 20-16 game.
The Hornets closed the half on with a 13-5 run to take a 29-25 lead into the break.
In the second half, DSU quickly pushed its advantage to double figure, lead 40-30 with 14:23 left in the contest,
Following a pair of free throws, from Kintavious Dozier, Ernest Ross’ 3-points trimmed the deficit to five, making it a 40-35 game with 13:44 on the clock.
After the Hornets pushed their lead back to 10, GSU used a quick 6-0 spurt to make it trim the deficit to 45-41 at the 10:20 mark. Delaware State would seize control of the rest of the game, utilizing 12-3 run to grab its largest lead of the game, 57-44 with 5:21 remaining.
The Hornets maintained its distance to secure the 73-60 win.
Delaware State was paced offensively by Robert Smith who score a game-high 16 points with five rebounds and four assists.
