GRAMBLING, La. | Shawndarius Cowart, Cameron Christon and Carte'are scored in double figures as the Grambling State University men's basketball team took advantage of Incarnate Word's cold shooting in a 72-39 rout of the Cardinals on Saturday afternoon at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

Grambling State (5-3) got a little measure of revenge nearly a week after surrendering a six-point lead with less than a minute remaining in the 210 San Antonio Shootout when the Cardinals rallied for the 63-61 win.

On Saturday, the Tigers defense held Incarnate Word (5-5) to just 24.1 percent shooting (14-of-58). Meanwhile, Grambling State went 28-of-53 from the floor for 52.8 percent.

Cowart led the way offensively for Grambling State with 18 points, on 7-of-11 shooting, with six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Christon, who scored eight first-half points, tossed in 15 points, five boards and three assists, while Gordon registered 11 points, eight boards, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots.

Brandon Swaby scored seven of his 11 points in the first half, and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds to pace Incarnate Word. Benjamin Griscti also added 11 points, along with seven boards.

Grambling State, which led from start to finish, started the game strong as the Tigers got free throws by Quintin Murrell and Cowart, along with a dunk by Carte'are Gordon to grab a 5-0 advantage with 16:43 remaining in the opening half.

After the Cardinals closed the gap to 5-4, Virshon Cotton drained a 3-pointer and Jourdan Smith slammed one down as the Tigers pushed the lead to 10-4 with 14:43 left.

Both teams struggled to knock down shots as Grambling State went more than six minutes without a bucket from the field, snapped its cold spell as Christon sank a trey as the Tigers led 13-9 with just over eight minutes to play in the half. 

A Cowart layup with 6:35 remaining gave GSU a 15-9 advantage as Incarnate Word went cold from the field for four-plus minutes as the Cardinals converted a three-point play by Brandon Swaby to cut the deficit to 15-12 with 4:30 left.

The Cardinals, who shot 24.1 percent from the floor (7-for-29) in the first half, continued to play from behind as trimmed the margin to 18-14 after a jumper by Dylan Hayman with 2:21 remaining.

However, Grambling State, which shot 42.1 percent (8-of-19) in the opening half, got back-to-back buckets by Zahad Mumford, along with free throws by Christon, as the Tigers took a 24-16 lead into the break.

The Tigers took advantage of the Cardinals' inability to shoot well from the floor as Grambling State used an 11-1 run over a five-minute stretch to extend the lead to 37-20 with 13:35 left.

GSU pushed the lead to 41-24 with 11:50 remaining, but Incarnate Word refused to go away as the Cardinals trimmed the deficit to 41-28 with just over 10 minutes to play.

The Tigers exploded the lead to 51-28 with 8:21 remaining after a Smith 3-pointer and Incarnate Word could not recoverer during the final seven minutes as Grambling State picked up its first-ever win over UIW.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Grambling State shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) from the floor and 50 percent (9-of-18) from the free-throw line
• Shawndarius Cowart paced the Tigers with 18 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals
• Cameron Christon recorded 15 points, five boards and three assists
• Carte'are Gordon registered 11 points, eight boards, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots
• The Tigers finished with 36 points in the paint, 26 bench points, 19 points off 18 Incarnate Word turnovers, 12 second-chance points and five fast break points
• Incarnate Word went 14-of-58 shooting (24.1 percent) and 8-of-19 (42.1 percent) from the charity stripe
• Brandon Swaby registered 11 points, nine rebounds and one steal
• Benjamin Griscti added 11 points and seven boards
• The Cardinals finished with 20 points in the paint, 17 second-chance points, 11 points off 13 Grambling State turnovers, eight bench points and two fast break points

UP NEXT 
Grambling State takes to the road for its next four games, starting on Friday as the Tigers visit SEC foe Vanderbilt. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Historic Memorial Gymnasium.

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