GRAMBLING, La. | Carte'Are Gordon registered a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds as the Grambling State University men's basketball team opened the season with an 82-57 victory over UNT-Dallas on Monday night at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

UNT-Dallas (1-1) raced out to a 11-4 advantage and stretched the margin to 13-5 after a bucket by Jules Moore with just over 16 minutes left in the first half.

Back came Grambling State (1-0) as the Tigers started to heat up from the floor. 

With GSU trailing, 17-13, the Tigers used a 9-0 run to grab their first lead since Gordon's layup 15 seconds into the contest.

Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shawndarius Coward and Virshon Cotton cut the deficit to 15-11 with 15:08 remaining and GSU forced a timeout after Terrence Lewis drained a 3-pointer with the Trailblazers holding a 17-16 lead with 12:56 left.

Lewis gave Grambling State a 19-17 lead off another trey and Gordon completed a three-point play as the Tigers grabbed a 22-17 advantage with 11:31 remaining.

UNTD answered with five straight points, capped by a Vernon Johnson three-point play, tying the game at 22 with 8:47 left, but Grambling State got a layup from Lewis and two free throws by a three-point play by Jourdan Smith to push the lead to 27-24 with 7:17 remaining. 

Johnson scored on a layup and Jules Moor sank a jumper as the Trailblazer grabbed a 28-27 advantage with 6:25 left.

With the score tied at 30, Grambling State used an 8-2 run over the final four minutes to take a 40-32 lead into the break.

The Trailblazers tried to keep the game close, 46-36, as Johnson drained a jumper with 17:38 remaining, but the Tigers used an 11-1 run, capped by a Tra'Michael Moton layup to extend the advantage to 57-37.

UNT-Dallas never got any closer as Grambling State pulled away for the 82-57 victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Grambling State shot 46.9 percent (30-of-64) from the field and 63.0 percent (17-of-27) from the free-throw line
• Gordon led the way offensively with 18 points, on 8-of-15 from the floor, along with a team-high 14 rebounds, two blocks, two steals and one assist
• Cowart registered 13 points, on 4-of-5 shooting, three boards, three assists and two steals
• Lewis also added 13 points, two steals and a pair of assists
• Zahad Munford tallied 10 points, one board and one steal
• Grambling State finished with 46 points in the paint, 36 bench points, 20 points off 15 Trailblazers turnovers, 13 second-chance points and six fast break points
• UNT-Dallas went 21-of-62 (46.4 percent) from the floor and 11-of-13 (84.6) from the charity stripe
• Jules Moor paced the Trailblazers with a game-high 21 points and 12 boards, along with two assists, one block and one steal
• Vernon Johnson added 14 points, four rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist
• Curtis Coleman registered 11 points, two rebounds and a pair of assists
• The Trailblazers finished with 18 points in the paint, 15 second-chance points, 14 points off 15 GSU turnovers and eight bench points

UP NEXT 
Grambling State concludes its two-game homestead in the SWAC-Pac-12 Legacy Series on Friday at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center against Colorado. Tip-off against the Buffs is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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