ITTA BENA, Miss. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team led by as many as 18 points in the first half, but had to survive regulation before holding off Mississippi Valley State, 92-89 in overtime, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Monday night at the R.W. Harrison Complex.
 
Grambling State (10-12 overall, 6-3 SWAC) seemed to be in cruise control in the first half and led by as many as 18 points before taking a 46-32 advantage into the break. Mississippi Valley State (1-21, 1-8), which came into the game off its first win on Saturday, out-scored the Tigers in the second half, 42-28, to force overtime with the score tied at 74. In the extra period, it was a free throw by Nigel Ribeiro that helped seal the win as Dante Scott missed a potential tying 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Tigers their sixth straight win.
 
Ivy Smith, Jr. nearly finished with a double-double as he led Grambling State with 26 points, nine rebounds, five assists, one block and one steal. Ribeiro came off the bench to provide 20 points, on 6-of-11 shooting and 8-of-10 from the foul line. He also added five assists, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Jason Perry-Murray tallied 12 points, five boards, one block and one steal.
 
Jordan Evans led Mississippi Valley State with 28 points, six assists and four boards, while Dante Scott registered 19 points, six rebounds, one assist and one steal. Nate Nahimy recorded 15 points, including two 3-pointers and LaCurtis Allen tallied 10 points, four boards and one assist. Arinze Anakwenze finished with 10 rebounds and two points.
 

What's better than 1 road win? TWO!! It gets down & dirty in the valley but we came out clean. Congrats to @CoachTaeJack & my @GSU_TIGERS G-Men on another victory. Safe travels back to the G!#TrustTheProcess #whynotgrambling ????

— Santina Ribeiro ?? (@SANTINABRIBEIRO) January 30, 2018

Turning Point
Grambling State got a fast start to the game and led 13-2 after a pair of Smith free throws with 17:18 remaining in the opening half. The Tigers kept the momentum and the lead and extended the margin to 46-28 after a Drake Wilks 3-pointer with 1:13 left, but the Delta Devils battled back and scored the next four points to cut the deficit to 46-32 at the break.
 
The Mississippi Valley State buckets before the half sparked the Delta Devils in the second half and cut the margin to 50-45 after a bucket by Kylan Phillips. Grambling State extended the margin to 57-51 after two free throws by Shirmane Thomas, but again Mississippi Valley State refused to go away and tied the game at 61 after a Nahimy 3-pointer with 5:22 remaining.
 
With the Tigers leading, 74-72, with 11 seconds left, Evans' layup with six seconds left sent the game into overtime.
 
In the extra period, Grambling State took the largest lead of overtime, 91-87, after an Axel Mpoyo free throw with 14 seconds left. A pair of Scott free throws cut the margin to 91-89 with 10 seconds remaining, but Ribeiro sealed the game at the line by sinking 1-of-2 at the charity stripe and MVSU was unable to knock down the game-tying 3-pointer.
 
Inside the Numbers
* Grambling State shot 28-of-58 (48.3 percent) from the field and 32-of-41 (78 percent) from the free-throw line.
* Mississippi Valley State was 34-of-83 (41 percent) shooting and 16-of-27 (59.3 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Tigers finished with 48 rebounds, including 36 coming off the defensive glass.
* The Delta Devils recorded 47 rebounds, including 21 on the offensive end.
* Grambling State registered 37 bench points, 34 points in the paint, 16 points off turnovers and 10 second-chance points.
* Mississippi Valley State finished with 32 bench points, 26 points in the paint, 15 second-chance points and 10 points off turnovers.
* There were 55 total fouls called and the teams combined to shoot 48-of-68 from the charity stripe.
 
News and Notes
* The Tigers are 5-1 this season in games decided by three points or less.
* After dropping three straight SWAC games, Grambling State has now beaten Alcorn State, Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern, Jackson State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and now Mississippi Valley State.
* During the six-game win streak, the Tigers have won four games on the road.
* The Tigers played in their first overtime game of the season on Monday night at MVSU.
* Dating back to the 2014-15 season, Grambling State is 2-5 in its last seven games against Mississippi Valley State.
 
Up Next
Grambling State returns to the Fredrick C. Hobdy Center for a pair of SWAC games, starting on Saturday against rival Southern. Tip-off for High School Day is set 5:30 p.m.
 
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