TSU surges into semifinal matchup with PV
Texas Southern missed its chance for a fourth consecutive Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title but kept its hopes for a second straight tournament title intact, breaking away from Alabama State to win 90-76 at H&PE Arena on Tuesday night to advance to the SWAC tournament semifinals.
Third-seeded TSU will next take the floor against No. 2 seed Prairie View A&M at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Delmar Fieldhouse.
Five minutes into the second half, guard Derrick Bruce drained a 3-pointer to put the Tigers ahead by five. Moments later, leading scorer Demontrae Jefferson lined up and sank another 3-pointer for a 52-44 lead.
Players on the Hornets’ bench shook their heads in frustration as the scoring torrent continued.
Donte Clark sank TSU’s third consecutive 3-pointer and buried a free throw to convert a four-point play a minute later. Two minutes after that, Clark struck again from behind the arc to push Texas Southern’s lead to 63-47.
TSU (13-19) played stifling defense and sailed through the remainder of the half. With five minutes remaining, the Tigers led by 17.
Alabama State (8-23) made a late push to draw within 13 points but didn’t mount a serious threat. TSU center Trayvon Reed made sure of it, slamming down an alley-oop from Jefferson with a minute to go then slapping a shot into the front row on the other end of the floor.
Four Tigers scored in double digits, spearheaded by Clark’s 30 points. Jefferson scored 24 points, while Derrick Bruce and Marquis Salmon added 13 and 12 points, respectively. “We came out with great energy but we still didn’t play a great second half,” coach Mike Davis said. “We have to finish, it’s March.”
The Tigers’ second-half scoring frenzy was a far cry from a sluggish first half.
The Tigers shot just above 37 percent in the first half but improved to 65 percent in the second. They finished at 50 percent from behind the arc (7 of 14).
“We just missed layups and played a little tight for some reason” Davis said. “It seems like we want everything to be perfect, but basketball is a game of mistakes. We just have to make sure every shot we shoot is good. TSU and Prairie View split their regularseason meetings, setting up an allimportant decisive matchup in the semifinals.
“They’re well, well, well coached,” Davis said of the Panthers. “It’s going to be a challenge for us.” Gary Blackston scored 21 points, JD Wallace had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Prairie View A&M beat Alcorn State 87-71 to advance to Friday’s semifinals.
Troy Thompson added 18 points, Dennis Jones had 16 and Zachary Hamilton chipped in 12 for the Panthers (15-17). Jones also had 14 assists.
Newly crowned SWAC Player of the Year Joyce Kennerson scored 27 points to lead Texas Southern past Alabama State 70-42.
TSU (19-11) will play Grambling State in Friday’s semifinals.
Prairie View A&M also advanced, beating Jackson State 6664 behind 29 points from Shala Dobbins. The Panthers (15-15) will meet Southern.