Combs, Tigers pour it on against Hornets

Behind Jeremy Combs’ 29point performance, Texas Southern strengthened its conference standing with an 83-59 victory over Alabama State on Saturday night at H&PE Arena.

The 10-11 Tigers improved to 5-3 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference by handing the Hornets (8-11, 6-2) only their second conference loss.

“I thought tonight was one of our better overall games from start to finish,” TSU coach Johnny Jones said. “Great effort on the defensive side of the floor created some offensive opportunities for us.”

From the opening tip, guard Tyrik Armstrong pushed the pace while delivering uncanny passes to ignite the Tigers’ attack.

“He was able to trigger our offense and that was something we needed,” Jones said. “What Tyrik has been able to show is that he’s getting very comfortable with the system we run.”

Seven minutes in, TSU led by eight points and opened the margin up to 13 by halftime.

With forward Justin Hopkins providing a defensive boost off the bench, the Tigers put Alabama State in a 20-point hole eight minutes into the second half. Minutes later, it expanded to 30.

Armstrong made his second consecutive start on Saturday as Jones limits Jalyn Patterson’s minutes as he recovers from an undisclosed injury he reaggravated last Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Meanwhile, center Trayvon Reed missed his sixth straight contest with a leg injury that will be re-evaluated this week.

“I think if you look out there tonight, we’ve got a bunch of different combinations out there,” Jones said. “We’re probably not 100 percent in terms of our health. We’ve got guys down, but what we have is guys stepping up.”

Combs is a case in point. The forward has excelled in Reed’s absence. In 2019, Combs is averaging 19.5 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. He had 11 rebounds to go with his big offensive production in Saturday’s 24-point rout.

“I’m feeling great, I feel like this is our time,” Combs said. “We let a couple games go, but it’s championship time, it’s February.”

Like Combs, Hopkins registered a double-double (14 points and 10 rebounds). In 34 minutes of action, Armstrong contributed six points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

“It’s about effort,” Jones said. “The guys who were out on the floor gave us maximum effort tonight.”