Tigers Make It Three Straight Over Biggest Rivals

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. | 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 as 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.

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.

HOW IT HAPPENED

– The two teams were evenly matched through the first five minutes as Southern took a slim, 10-8, advantage

– The Jaguars grabbed a 12-8 lead after a layup by Damien Sears, but the Tigers kept the game close, 12-10, after a bucket by Zahad Munford with 13:18 remaining

– Southern used a 7-0 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Brion Whitley, to give the Jaguars a 19-10 lead with 10:30 left

– The Blue and Gold stretched the margin to 25-17 after a layup by Tyrone Lyons with 8:32 remaining in the opening frame

– Grambling State continued to play from behind as Tra’Michael Moton banked a layup off the glass and connected on the three-point play, cutting the Southern lead to 28-23 with just over five minutes left

– A pair of Prince Moss free throws and a dunk cut the deficit to 28-27 with 3:14 remaining

– The Jaguars got a layup and 3-pointer by Terrell Williams Jr., pushing the Southern advantage to 33-27 with just under two minutes to play

– Munford’s 3-pointer closed the gap to 33-30 as the two teams failed to score in the final 1:35 as Southern took the slim three-point lead into the break

– The Tigers took a 34-33 lead after a Shawdarius Cowart fastbreak layup with 16:34 remaining

– Grambling State pushed the advantage to 36-33 after an A’Mari McCray layup, but back came Southern as the Jaguars used a 10-2 run, capped by a Sears layup, to take a 43-38 lead with 11:44 left

– The Tigers got a 3-pointer by Cowart and a layup by Cameron Christon as Grambling State grabbed a 45-43 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play

– Grambling State took a 50-45 lead after a Moton free throw with 8:19 left

– Moton continued his stellar play on the defensive end, forcing a turnover and assisted in Cowart’s fastbreak layup as GSU led 52-48 with 5:37 remaining

– Southern cut the deficit to 52-50 after a pair of free throws by Williams with 3:51 to play

– The Tigers pushed the lead to 56-50 after a Moton fastbreak layup with just over three minutes to play and a Moss dunk gave GSU a 58-52 advantage with 2:15 left

– Back came the Jaguars as Southern cut the margin to 58-56 with 1:07 remaining

– A McCray layup gave GSU a 60-56 advantage with 38 seconds left, but P.J. Byrd scored at the other end, keeping it a two-point game at 60-58.

– Christon’s dunk attempt bounced off the back iron as Southern got the ball and called timeout with 9.6 seconds remaining

– After a timeout, Moss fouled Brendon Brooks, who missed the 1-and-1 attempt as Moss came down with the rebound and was fouled with 1.9 seconds left

– Cowart was immediately fouled with 1.5 seconds remaining and missed the 1-and-1 attempt but the Jaguars didn’t have enough time to get off a shot as Grambling State eliminated its biggest rivals

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

– Grambling State shot 43.4 percent (23-of-53) from the field and 68.8 percent (11-of-16) from the free-throw line 

– Tra’Michael Moton posted a double-double of 12 points and 11 rebounds, along with nine assists and three steals

– Prince Moss scored nine of his 11 points in the first half, along with eight boards

-The Tigers finished with 32 points in the paint, 19 fastbreak points, 14 bench points, 12 points off 11 Southern turnovers and seven second-chance points

– Southern shot 36.5 percent (19-of-52) from the field and 75.0 percent (15-of-20) from the charity stripe

– Tyrone Lyons led the Jaguars with 13 points, eight rebounds and one steal

– Brion Whitley tossed in 13 points, two boards and two assists

– Terrell Williams Jr. Added 10 points and five boards.

-The Jaguars finished with 28 points in the paint, 19 second-chance points, 18 bench points, 17 points off 12 Grambling State turnovers and seven fastbreak points

UP NEXT

Grambling State continues play in the 2022 Cricket SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament as the Tigers will meet Texas Southern in the semifinals. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Friday at Bartow Arena.