BATON ROUGE, La. | Drake Wilks led three Grambling State University men's basketball players in double figures, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers fell behind by as many as 23 points in the second half in falling to Southern, 80-69, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
 
Grambling State (4-12 overall, 0-3 SWAC) trailed 39-21 at the break and 50-27 with 15:33 remaining. The Tigers nearly climbed all the way back and cut the deficit to 74-69 with 59 seconds left, but Southern (5-11, 1-2) was able to seal the game at the free-throw line.
 
Drake Wilks paced the Tigers with 18 points, on 7-of-9 shooting and four 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds, two steals and one assist. Shirmane Thomas chipped in 15 points, including three 3-pointers, with five boards, two assists and one steal. Ivy Smith, Jr. finished with 12 points, five assists, three rebounds and one steal.
 
Jared Sam registered a double-double of 19 points and 10 rebounds to lead Southern. Jamar Sandifer tallied 18 points and five boards, while Sidney Umude added 12 points, with eight of them coming at the free-throw line.
 
Turning Point
Southern jumped out to a 10-6 advantage after a Torrey Mayo 3-pointer with 15:56 left in the first half and the Jaguars extended the margin to 17-9 after a Sidney Umude jumper with 11:01 remaining.
 
The bucket by Umude started an 18-5 Southern run over the next eight minutes as the Jaguars pushed the lead to 35-14 after an Eddie Reese 3-pointer with three minutes remaining in the first half. Grambling State outscored Southern, 7-4, down the stretch to cut the deficit to 39-21 at the half.
 
The Jaguars extended the advantage to 50-27 after a Jamar Sandifer three-point play with 15:33 remaining. Grambling State fought back and cut the margin to 53-41 after an Ivy Smith, Jr. bucket with 13:30 left.
 
The Tigers continued to chip away at the deficit as Shirmane Thomas scored on a jumper to cut the margin to 54-45 with 11:17 left.
 
Grambling State was able to cut the 23-point, second-half deficit to 74-69, after a Thomas 3-pointer, with 59 seconds remaining. However, that would be as close as the Tigers would get as Southern sealed the game at the foul line.
 
Inside The Numbers
* Grambling State shot 38.1 percent (24-of-63) from the floor and 57.1 percent (12-of-21) from the free-throw line.
* Southern was 21-of-42 (50 percent) shooting and 32-of-42 (76.2 percent) from the charity stripe.
* The Tigers finished with 31 rebounds, with 11 coming on the offensive end.
* The Jaguars registered 32 rebounds, including 29 off the defensive glass.
 
News & Notes
* Grambling State began the New Year with back-to-back losses to Alabama A&M and Alabama State.
* The Tigers played their 13 road game of the season and first in the New Year.
* Grambling State was swept last year by Southern, including an 87-79 loss on Jan. 7.
 
Up Next
Grambling State will conclude the short two-game road swing on Monday night against Alcorn State. Tip-off from Lorman, Miss., is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
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