Grambling State 69, Alabama A&M 67
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Nigel Ribeiro scored 31 points and Grambling State snapped a three-game skid by rallying from a nine-point second half deficit to beat Alabama A&M 69-67 and Wednesday night.
The Tigers (6-9, 1-1 SWAC) trailed for the vast majority of the second half and were behind by as many as nine — 46-37 — with 15:20 to play. Grambling eventually took 63-62 lead with 2:54 left after five straight points by Averyl Ugba and a free throw by Drake Wilks.
A free throw by the Bulldogs’ Rakiya Battle tied it at 63, but consecutive layups by Ribeiro and Remond Brown gave Grambling State the lead for good.
Brown finished with 13 points for the Tigers, whose largest lead was just four points for the entire night. Quinterian McConico led Alabama A&M (0-13, 0-2) with 18 points and eight boards.
Alcorn State 66, Prairie View 55
LORMAN, Miss. – Reginal Johnson’s 18 points help Alcorn State beat Prairie View 66-55 on Wednesday night.
Maurice Howard added 11 points and Denzel Dulin scored 10. Marquis Vance had 12 rebounds to go with nine points for the Braves (4-9, 1-1 SWAC).
A low-scoring first half ended with the Braves up 23-22, and Alcorn State, who held a slim lead for much of the period, ultimately put it away with a 9-0 run that resulted in a 51-39 advantage with 5:31 left in the game. The Panthers (3-13, 0-2) closed to 54-47 before a Johnson trey pushed the lead to 10 at the 3-minute mark.
The Braves had taken the lead for good at 32-30 on Vance’s layup with 14:20 left in the half and had a 7-0 run to build a 41-33 edge. Prairie View trailed 42-39 after a 6-1 run but got no closer.
Tevin Bellinger had 14 points for Prairie View A&M.
Jackson State 63, Alabama State 60
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Jackson State outasted an Alabama State comeback attempt to claim a 63-60 win over the Hornets Wednesday night.
The Tigers (6-9, 2-0) controlled much of the game, as they led by as many as 15 in the first half before Alabama State (3-11, 1-1) closed to within eight at the break. JSU came out hot in the second half, pushing its lead back to 15, but Alabama State chipped away at the deficit and ultimately got within one of the Tigers, as a three-point play from ASU’s Terrance LeFlore made it 61-60 Jackson State with 2:27 left.
However, Alabama State went scoreless the rest of the way, and a Derek Roscoe dunk with just over a minute left proved to be enough cushion for Jackson State. Demetrius Houston’s last gasp three for the Hornets was off the mark as time expired.
Reigning Player of the Week Edric Dennis led Jackson State with 30 points, his second such game in three outings. He was the only JSU player in double figures. Rodney Simeon led Alabama State with 12 points, and LeFlore and Reginald Gee each had 11.
Texas Southern 82, Southern 74
BATON ROUGE, La. – Texas Southern had four players in double figures as the Tigers downed Southern 82-74 Wednesday night.
Southern led 33-30 at the break, but TSU took control at the midway point of the second half. At that juncture — the game was a one-possession affair up to that point — the Tigers (6-9, 2-0 SWAC) put together a 13-5 run to push a 52-50 lead to 65-55. A Jared Sam tip-in made it 70-68 Tigers with less than three minutes left, but TSU’s Zach Lofton scored eight of his game-high 22 points down the stretch to help fend off the Jaguars (5-10, 1-1).
Demontrae Jefferson added 18 points for the Tigers, who also got 16 points and nine board from Marvin Jones as well as 13 points from Kevin Scott.
Sam and Tre’lun Banks posted 19 points each for Southern. Shawn Prudhomme, who entered the night as the SWAC’s leading scorer, chipped in 13.
Courtesy: SWAC
