On to the title game
Texas Southern uses Prairie View A&M as a semifinal steppingstone en route to the SWAC tournament championship game.
Donte Clark scored a teamhigh 22 points, and Texas Southern pulled away from No. 2 seed Prairie View A&M in the second half en route to an 88-74 victory in a Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament semifinal round game Friday night at Delmar Fieldhouse.
Texas Southern will face top-seeded Arkansas-Pine Bluff (14-20) in Saturday’s 4 p.m. championship game.
The Tigers (13-19, 13-6 SWAC) and Panthers (16-18, 12-7) played a tight contest with little separation through the first 25 minutes.
Prairie View guard Gary Blackston, who finished with a game-high 32 points, helped the Panthers take an early lead and stay within two points of the Tigers by halftime.
TSU unleashed back-toback-to-back treys to start the second half. Derrick Bruce, who finished with 18 points, hit four 3-pointers, and senior forward Lamont Walker came off the bench to hit all four of his field-goal attempts, including a trio of 3-pointers, in a 13-point effort.
“We’re playing really good basketball offensively,” TSU coach Mike Davis said. “That’s our strength … we feel like we have guys who are tough to defend.”
TSU center Trayvon Reed (six points, seven rebounds, four blocks) helped spark the offense. Demontrae Jefferson contributed 15 points, and Marquis Salmon pulled down 12 rebounds for TSU.
Davis had been looking for his team to show a killer instinct all season, and it did when it mattered most against their rivals to the north.
“We just have to play the game four 40 minutes,” Davis said. “If we keep doing that we have a chance.”
The Tigers have won the SWAC tournament or regularseason crown each of the last five seasons. They’ll look to maintain that streak on Saturday against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
“We feel good about the win, but it’s one game that decides who goes to the Tournament tomorrow,” Davis said.
Senior center J.D. Wallace had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Panthers.
ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF 71 SOUTHERN 65
Martaveous McKnight and Travon Harper combined for 51 points, and the top-seeded Golden Lions shot 55 percent en route to a victory over the No. 4-seeded Jaguars in the day’s first semifinal.
McKnight scored five points in a 7-1 surge as ArkansasPine Bluff opened a 59-57 lead and sealed off Southern by making 5-of-6 at the freethrow line.
McKnight, the SWAC Player of the Year, hit 10 of 15 shots from the floor, 7-of-9 from the free-throw line and scored 28 points to go along with eight rebounds.
Harper scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting and also was 7-of-9 at the free-throw line. The duo took 28 of the Golden Lions’ 44 shots and had 18 of the team’s 24 baskets.
Eddie Reese led the Jaguars (15-18) with 17 points, Jared Sam added 13 and Emanual Shepherd 11.