GRAMBLING, La. – The Grambling State men’s basketball team trailed by just three points with 42 seconds left in the ball game before Lions combo guard Gus Okafor nailed a desperation three-point shot as the shot clock expired, eventually lifting Southeastern Louisiana over Grambling 77-70 at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center in the non-conference finale for the Tigers.
The Tigers (2-5, 0-0 SWAC) found themselves down by five points at the half after making just eight first-half buckets, but as a team shot a stellar 12-of-14 from the charity stripe and missed just five foul shots over the course of the game.
In the second half, the Tigers closed the gap and eventually took the lead with just over five minutes remaining in the game, but the Lions (2-6) controlled the glass and hit key three-pointers down the stretch to regain the lead for good. Southeastern won the rebound battle 36 to 24 and managed 19 offensive boards, scoring 22 second-chance points to just four for Grambling; however, the Grambling’s bench mob dominated the Lions, outscoring them 31 to 12.
Also see: Grambling State routs Louisiana-Monroe by 24 points to secure first win
Senior Kelton Edwards was the high man for the Tigers and produced a team-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field, including three assists, two rebounds and one steal while redshirt sophomore Sarion McGee had a solid output for Grambling with 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the field and buried 6-of-8 free throws to go along with six boards and one assist.
Fellow Tiger and senior point guard Trevell Cunningham filled the stat sheet for Grambling, finishing with 11 points, seven assists, six rebounds, one block and one steal. He also was a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Southeastern graduate transfer (UMass) Keon Clergeot led all scorers with 25 points and nailed 5-of-7 from downtown, including 8-of-12 from the foul line while Okafor and Joe Kasperzyk both added 16 points apiece for the Lions.
Inside the Numbers
- Grambling State was 23-of-46 (50 percent) shooting from the field and 20-of-25 (75 percent) from the charity stripe
- Southeastern shot 41 percent (24-of-59) from the field and 56 percent (19-of-34) from the free-throw line
- The Tigers registered 24 rebounds, including 17 on the defensive glass
- The Lions pulled down 36 rebounds, with 19 coming on the offensive end
- GSU finished with 31 bench points, 30 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers, four second-chance points and five fast break points
- SLU tallied 28 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers, 12 bench points, 22 second-chance points and 11 fast break points
Courtesy: Grambling State Athletics
