HOUSTON, Texas | Four players reached double figures in scoring as the Grambling State University men's basketball team extended its win streak to 10 games with a 78-55 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory over Texas Southern on Monday night at the Health and Physical Education Arena.
 
Grambling State (14-12 overall, 10-3 SWAC) shot 54.8 percent in the first half and led by as many as 25 points as GSU took a 41-19 advantage into the break. Texas Southern (7-18, 7-5) cut the big first-half Grambling State to nine points in the second half, but could not get any closer.
 
Ivy Smith, Jr., who was the SWAC College Sports Madness Player of the Week on Monday, paced Grambling State with 22 points, with seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. DeVante Jackson registered 12 points, three boards and one steal, while Axel Mpoyo tallied a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. Shirmane Thomas chipped in with 10 points and four rebounds.
 
Donte Clark led Texas Southern with 19 points, six boards, five assists, three steals and one steal, while Demontrae Jefferson registered 16 points, three assists and a pair of rebounds. Marquis Salmon chipped in with 10 points and six boards.
 

THE STREAK REACHES 10 GAMES as @GSU_TIGERS rolls past @TXSOTigers pic.twitter.com/zLWyIHv84z

— GSU Athletics (@GSU_TIGERS) February 13, 2018

Turning Point
Grambling State jumped out to a 12-3 advantage after a DeVante Jackson 3-pointer with 14:40 left in the first half, but Texas Southern battled back and cut the margin to 12-8 after a Salmon dunk with 13:33 remaining.
 
Grambling State, which held Texas Southern without a bucket for nearly seven minutes, responded with a 27-6 run over the next 12 minutes to take a 39-14 lead after a Jason Perry-Murray jumper with 1:32 remaining. Texas Southern, which shot 28 percent in the first half, got buckets by Derrick Bruce and Salmon down the stretch to cut the deficit to 41-19 at the break.
 
Texas Southern trimmed the margin to 47-28 after a fastbreak layup by Donte Clark, but Grambling State answered as DeVante Jackson scored on a putback with 14:33 remaining. However, Texas Southern got a 3-pointer by Jefferson and a layup by Salmon to cut the deficit to 54-45 with 13:20 left.
 
Texas Southern continued to chip away at Grambling State's lead as Clark sank a 3-pointer with 10:42 left to cut the lead to 61-45 after a putback by Bobby Jackson with 7:48 left, which forced Texas Southern to call a timeout.
 
Grambling State pushed the advantage to 67-48 after a jumper by Smith with 5:07 remaining and Texas Southern could not get any closer as GSU won its school-record (NCAA Division I era) 10th straight victory.
 
Inside the Numbers
* Grambling State shot 59.2 percent (31-of-63) from the floor and 68.4 percent (13-of-19) from the free-throw line.
* Texas Southern was 21-of-55 (38.2 percent) shooting and 10-of-17 (58.8 percent) from the charity stripe.
* Grambling State registered 30 rebounds, including 16 coming on the offensive end.
* Texas Southern recorded 24 rebounds, with 17 coming on the defensive glass.
* Grambling State finished with 36 points in the paint, 26 bench points, 24 points off turnovers and 18 second-chance points.
* Texas Southern tallied 34 points in the paint, 11 points off turnovers and 10 bench points.
 
News and Notes
* Grambling State swept the season series from Texas Southern for the first time since the 2005-06 season.
* Grambling State head coach Donte' Jackson continued his unbeaten streak in February (4-0).
* During the 10-game win streak, Grambling State has swept Alcorn State, Prairie View A&M, Texas Southern, defeated Southern, Jackson State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State.
* The 10-game Grambling State win streak is the longest in school history during the NCAA Division I-era.
* With Arkansas-Pine Bluff losing tonight against Alcorn State, Grambling State now sits atop the SWAC standings all alone in first place.
 
Up Next
Grambling State returns home for three straight games, starting at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 17 against Jackson State. Tip-off for Breast Cancer Awareness Day is set for 5:30 p.m.
 
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