GRAMBLING, La. | Anthony Gaston scored 19 of his career-high 30 points in the first half as the Grambling State University men's basketball has now won two straight after defeating Prairie View A&M, 80-71, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday evening at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
The Tigers (6-12 overall, 2-3 SWAC) led 38-31 at the break and outscored Prairie View A&M (5-13, 2-2), 42-40, in the second half to pick up the 80-71 victory.
Gaston led all scorers with 30 points, on 9-of-18 shooting, including 4-of-9 from beyond the arc and 8-of-11 from the foul line. He added a career-high seven boards, four steals, two assists and one block.
Shirmane Thomas added 16 points, four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal.
Jason Perry-Murray registered 12 points, seven boards and a team-high three blocked shots.
Gary Blackston led the way for the Panthers with 12 points, four rebounds and one steal. Austin Starr registered 11 points and three boards, while Zachary Hamilton chipped in with 11 points, nine rebounds and one block. J.D. Wallace finished with a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds.
Turning Point
With the game tied at 7, Grambling State went on a 7-1 run, capped by a Gaston 3-pointer with 10:23 left in the first half to give Grambling State a 14-8 advantage.
The Tigers extended the margin to 24-10 after a Gaston trey with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half. Prairie View A&M closed the margin to 24-13 with 7:13 left, but the Tigers used a 10-5 run over the next three minutes as
Diing Diing Wol sank a free throw with 4:33 left to give Grambling State a commanding 34-18 lead.
Prairie View A&M closed out the first half on a 13-4 run to cut the deficit to 38-31 at the half.
The Panthers trimmed the Tiger lead to 38-33 early in the second half, but Grambling State used a 9-0 run, capped by a pair of free throws by Perry-Murray to extend the margin back to double digits at 47-33 with 17:37 left.
Prairie View A&M trailed 52-36 with 16:14 remaining and was able to cut the deficit to 67-59 after a 3-pointer by Starr with 4:39 left. That would be as close as the Panthers would get during the final four minutes.
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State shot 43.1 percent (22-of-58) from the floor and 70.6 percent (24-of-34) from the free-throw line.
· Prairie View A&M was 20-of-66 (30.3 percent) shooting and 27-of-42 (64.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
· The Tigers finished with 43 rebounds, including 32 off the defensive glass.
· The Panthers registered 47 rebounds, including 21 on the offensive end.
· Grambling State scored 30 points in the paint, 16 bench points, 16 second-chance points and 14 points off turnovers.
· Prairie View A&M finished with 24 points in the paint, 23 bench points, 20 second-chance points and 20 points off turnovers.
· There were a total of 56 fouls called between the two teams.
· The two teams combined going 51-of-76 from the free-throw line.
News & Notes
· After stumbling to pick up a SWAC win in its first three games, Grambling State has now won two straight (Alcorn State and Prairie View A&M).
·
Anthony Gaston's previous highs for points was 18 against Southeastern Louisiana (Dec. 16) and rebounds was against five against Georgia Tech (Dec. 1).
· Saturday's game was Military Appreciation Day.
Up Next
Grambling State returns to action on Monday as Texas Southern comes to town. Tip-off for the SWAC Digital Network game is set for 7:30 p.m. from the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.
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