HOUSTON — Malcolm Riley scored 21 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday, and top-seeded Texas Southern advanced past Alcorn State 95-74 in the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament quarterfinals.
The Tigers (20-12) moved on to Friday’s semifinals to face the winner of Thursday’s quarterfinal between the fourth and fifth seeds, Prairie View and Jackson State.
TSU used a 19-2 run that spanned both halves to pull away to a 56-36 lead early in the second. The Braves (6-26) got no closer than 17 points from there.
SWAC player of the year Madarious Gibbs scored 18 points for TSU, with Deverell Biggs and David Blanks adding 14 apiece. Chris Thomas had 10 points and 12 rebounds.
It was his fifth double-double of the season.
LeAntwan Luckett started 7-for-10 shooting and scored 18 of Alcorn State’s first 34 points to keep the Braves within three late in the first half.
Marquis Vance scored 13 points to go along with six rebounds.
SWAC.org
