Tigers’ rough schedule pays dividends
Texas Southern entered SWAC action having played the toughest strength of schedule in the nation.
TSU lost all 13 of its non-conference games away from the H&PE Arena, but the schedule was designed to prepare the Tigers for league foes.
Another major test was expected for TSU on Saturday night against its main rival. Prairie View A&M was capable of pushing the Tigers, with both teams having won their first two conference games.
And the Panthers didn’t back down against the reigning SWAC champions on the Tigers’ home court.
But TSU is so talented behind its guard play and 7-2 Trayvon Reed, who collected 10 rebounds, nine points and four blocks in the Tigers’ 100-94 win.
“We’ll take 3-0 but our goal is to become the best team we can be, and we can’t get there unless we give great effort,” TSU coach Mike Davis said.
Davis was disappointed in how the Tigers finished, allowing a 29-point lead — 86-57 with 6:33 remaining — dwindle to five points in the final three seconds.
“We got to get better really fast,” Davis said. “If we don’t, we can go on the road and lose some games.” Second-half shootout
Coach Byron Smith’s Panthers made a game out of it with hustle and 57 second-half points.
But the Tigers, who led 41-37 at halftime, poured in 59 points of their own in the final half. That enabled TSU to hold off the Panthers for its 26th straight victory at the H&PE Arena, the secondlongest home winning streak in the nation.
“Tonight was a big game for the school and we tried to keep our home streak going,” said 5-7 TSU guard Demontrae Jefferson, who matched his season scoring average of 23 points. “Every time we play in this arena it’s a big game.
“We prepared for this night and we kind of let it get away from us late, but we still pulled it out.”
TSU (3-13, 3-0) has had the SWAC Player of the Year the past five seasons and several Tigers look like they’re capable of making it six. Reed, an Auburn transfer, did his damage in 19 minutes. He had a 10-block game against Southern last week.
Marquis Salmon added 15 points and 12 rebounds while Derrick Bruce scored 22 points. Donte Clark, a grad transfer from UMass, totaled 14 points and seven rebounds for TSU, which has won the past three SWAC regular-season titles and captured last year’s conference tournament to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Blackston racks up 24 points
Prairie View (5-12, 2-1) received strong performances from Gary Blackston, Dennis Jones, J.D. Wallace and Zachary Hamilton. Jones, who had the difficult task of defending TSU’s burdensome guards, had 10 points and six assists before fouling out with 9:50 left. Blackston scored 24 points, Hamilton added 18 points and Wallace collected seven points and six rebounds.
Prairie View, which also played its first 13 games away from home, was attempting to start 3-0 in league play for the first time since 2010.
The defeat snaps a three-game winning streak for the Panthers.