HOUSTON (SWAC) – Texas Southern fought off a late Alcorn State charge to win its third Southwestern Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament championship in four years. The top-seeded Tigers (24-11) prevailed 53-50.
Down 37-31 at the start of the fourth, the Braves (18-14) opened the period on an 11-4 run, keyed by the Alcorn frontline of Marquis Vance and Reginal Johnson. Johnson buried a three and followed with a layup to tie the contest at 41 with 7:20 remaining in the game.
Denzel Dulin then handed Alcorn State the lead with an acrobatic lay-up with 5:41 to go. Texas Southern answered with five straight points – sparked by a successful trip to the line by tournament MVP Marvin Jones — to reclaim the advantage, but Johnson converted at the line to bring the Braves within one, and Kevin Scott scored for TSU to push the Tigers ahead by three. Johnson scored, but Demontrae Jefferson buried the go-ahead three with 1:06 left just before the shot clock expired, giving Texas Southern the lead for good. The freshman iced it for TSU at the line, securing the championship.
The defensive-minded game saw both sides shoot less than 40 percent on the day, with Alcorn connecting on just 33 percent of their shots.
Scott led Texas Southern with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jones was 6-of-7 from the floor, scoring 14 points, snagging seven rebounds and swatting four shots. Jefferson added 13 points.
For Alcorn, Johnson put up 16 points and six boards. Dulin added 12.
The All-Tournament Team is listed below.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER:
Marvin Jones – Texas Southern
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
Marvin Jones – Texas Southern
Kevin Scott – Texas Southern
Demontrae Jefferson – Texas Southern
Reginal Johnson – Alcorn State
Ivy Smith, Jr. – Grambling State
