Walker paces Tigers’ rally
Junior helps TSU erase 10-point halftime deficit vs. Mountaineers
For the first time since 2018, Texas Southern is experiencing the NCAA Tournament. By coming alive in the second half Thursday, the Tigers get to remain in Bloomington, Ind., at least two more days.
John Walker III had a big say in that. The 6-9 forward played a pivotal role in TSU’s overcoming a 10-point halftime deficit to Mount St. Mary’s 60-52 in a First Four game at Assembly Hall.
“I feel on top of the world right now,” Walker said. “All the hard work paying off.”
The 10th straight victory for the Tigers, who last weekend won the SWAC tournament, was the first of 67 NCAA Tournament games in 2021.
“This is a whole other level,” Texas Southern coach Johnny Jones said. “You play all season to meet that challenge. We battled today and finished the game the way we needed to.”
In the second half, TSU (17-8) outscored the Mountaineers (12-11) 40-22.
By winning its second First Four game in school history, TSU advances to play top East region seed
Michigan at 2 p.m. Saturday.
“This game with Michigan wasn’t on our schedule, but we’re glad we’ve put ourselves in a situation and got an opportunity to play one of the top teams in the country,” Jones said.
Walker was the sparkplug for the Tigers, who also received a major lift from Jordan Gilliam. Contributions were needed while season leading scorer Michael Weathers was on the bench after picking up his third foul early in the second half.
A junior from Fort Bend Marshall, Walker collected a game-high 19 points with nine rebounds. Gilliam added 12 points. It was Walker and Gilliam who fueled the Tigers’ 11-0 run to start the second half and give them a 31-30 lead.
“Just the atmosphere, March Madness, it brings the best out of some people,”
Walker said. “For me, I just wanted to win it so bad. It was not about me individually. It was just about going out there and beating a good team and getting it done.”
Walker scored TSU’s first four points and his team’s first six points of the second half.
“John was incredible,” Jones said. “He was exceptional. John’s very elusive. When he catches that ball inside, he has a knack for scoring.
“As hard as our guys played, he was a huge difference because he was a matchup problem for our opponent.”
Walker picked up the scoring, especially with Weathers going 3 of 11 from the field and sitting a portion of the second half in foul trouble. In 29 minutes, Weathers, who was the conference tournament MVP, had eight points, six rebounds and four assists.
That TSU was able to build and sustain a secondhalf
lead with Weathers on the bench was comforting for the Tigers, who committed only five turnovers.
“It means everything to be able to look to your left or to your right and know that if you mess up, the other
guys will pick you up,” said Walker, who scored the first two points of the tournament on a pair of free throws.
A layup by Justin Hopkins, part of his nine points, put the Tigers up for good
41-40 with 9:31 remaining in the game. A driving layup by Weathers gave the Tigers a 50-45 lead with just under five minutes to play.
TSU, which finished 22 of 57 from the field after missing 11 of its first 14 shots, outrebounded Mount St. Mary’s 38-37.
In falling behind 30-20 at halftime, TSU allowed the taller Mountaineers to slow the pace of the game.
Over the final 20 minutes, the Tigers adjusted. TSU extended its defense. The Tigers went to trapping, which sped things up and led to more possessions, greatly benefiting them.
“Tempo was in our favor in the second half,” Jones said. “They did a great job defensively (in the first half ) not allowing us to get to the rim. We got impatient in not making the right pass and right reads.
“And in the second half, it was the exact opposite. We were much more aggressive on the offensive end than we were in the first half, going toward the basket, going downhill.”
TSU’s last lead of the first half was 4-3 following a Walker layup.
Damian Chong Qui paced the Mountaineers with 14 points. Mezie Offurum posted 16 rebounds with 10 points. Nana Opoku was good for nine points and six rebounds for the Northeast Conference tournament champions.