Tigers struggle to repeat success in Dayton
The smallest team in the tournament is on the rise.
Fairleigh Dickinson’s motion offense gave Texas Southern fits Wednesday in a First Four matchup at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. There was not much the Tigers could do to derail the hot-shooting Knights.
Poor outside shooting did not help the Tigers’ cause. FDU never trailed in handing TSU an 84-61 defeat, ending the Tigers’ season and giving the Knights 16 more wins than they recorded last season.
Purdue, the East Region’s top seed and Big Ten champion, awaits FDU (20-15) on Friday in Columbus, Ohio.
Things got out of hand quickly for TSU, which trailed 14-2. While FDU connected on 50 percent from the field over 40 minutes, the Tigers lost out on any chance of a comeback by missing too many shots. The Tigers missed their first 12 3-point attempts, finishing a dismal 1-of-17 from long range. TSU was also outrebounded 30-27.
“I’m always surprised when we lose,” said 6-9 post John Walker III, who scored a team-high 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting. “I think we’re going to win every game, but sometimes it just doesn’t go like that.”
In each of the past two seasons, TSU (14-21) won a First Four game. An experienced group, the Tigers did not resemble the team from last weekend that won the SWAC tournament as an eighth seed.
Against the Tigers, most of the numbers favored FDU, under the leadership of first-year coach Tobin Anderson.
FDU was 11-of-27 on 3pointers. The Knights also enjoyed a commanding advantage in the number of foul shots. FDU made 27of-31. TSU shot an outstanding 88.9 percent from the charity stripe, making 8-of-9.
Three-point shooting is not the strength of TSU, which held a commanding 40-16 edge in points in the paint.
“We don’t shoot a lot of 3s because we do utilize our size inside, and that’s where we generally play from,” TSU coach Johnny Jones said.
An effective press got FDU going early in extending its quick start to a 45-29 halftime advantage. And its half-court defense was fruitful. The Knight were unselfish, making the extra pass that contributed to the team making 23-of-46 field goals.
“I’m proud of our guys to come on this stage in this environment and in a big game and play really well,” Anderson said. “It was fun to watch. I did the least coaching with these guys. There’s not much to say (to them). When you play that well, life is easy.”
Demetre Roberts,Joe Munden, Grant Singleton and Ansley Almonor gave the Tigers more than they could handle.
Almonor collected 23 points and eight rebounds, making all eight of his free throws. Munden was good for 17 points. Roberts added 15 points, and Singleton put up impressive numbers across the board, compiling 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
“They do an excellent job of knocking down 3s,” Jones said. “They’re good in terms of their motion offense and they run it at such a great pace that if you make a mistake in terms of your ability to switch (you’ll pay).”
Karl Nicholas was TSU’s only other doubledigit scorer, with 10 points and eight rebounds.
“We were fighting an uphill battle,” Nicholas said. “It’s hard to come back when they’re hitting 3s like that.”
TSU was playing in its third First Four in as many years, beating Mount St. Mary’s 60-52 in 2021 and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 76-67 last season.