HOUSTON, Texas | The Grambling State University men's basketball team trailed by 11 points late in the second half, but could not rally in falling to Texas Southern, 68-65, in a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) game on Saturday at the H&PE Arena.
Grambling State (10-14 overall, 8-4 SWAC) trailed 64-53 with 4:19 left before staging an epic comeback and had a chance to win in the final moments.
GSU trailed 66-65 with 11.7 seconds remaining and with the ball, but turned the ball over and Texas Southern got a layup by Yahuza Rasas with one second left. Tra'Michael Moton's three-point attempt as time expired nearly went in as TSU escaped with the victory.
Cameron Christon, who fouled out with 3:34 remaining, led Grambling State with 14 points and one rebound. Eric Parrish registered 13 points, four rebounds, two steals and one assist, while Chanse Robinson, playing in just his second game of the season, scored 10 of his 11 points in the first half, along with three boards and one assist.
John Jones led Texas Southern (11-10, 9-3) with 15 points, on 5-of-7 shooting, along with two rebounds and one steal. Justin Hopkins added 11 points, three boards and one assist.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Grambling State raced out to a 9-5 lead after a Cameron Christon fastbreak layup with 15:47 remaining in the opening half
- Buckets by Eric Parrish, Shawndarius Cowart and Chanse Robinson gave GSU an 18-11 advantage with 11:08 left
- Texas Southern climbed back into the game with an 11-0 run to grab a 22-18 lead with 6:56 remaining
- A Christon 3-pointer halted a six-minute scoreless streak for GSU and trimmed the deficit to 22-21 with 4:29 left
- Texas Southern got free throws and a 3-pointer by Bryson Etienne to extend the margin to 27-21 with 3:29 remaining in the first half
- Despite trailing by six, Grambling State finished the half on a 10-2 run, capped by a fastbreak layup by Robinson as GSU took a 31-29 lead into the break.
- Texas Southern took a 36-35 lead after a layup by Yahuza Rasas with just under 17 minutes remaining
- A layup by Terreon Randolph, free throw by Robinson and a 3-pointer from Christon gave Grambling State a 41-38 advantage with 13:25 left
- Texas Southern tied the game at 41, but baskets by Parrish pushed the lead to 45-41 with just under 11 minutes to play
- TSU used an 11-0 run, capped by a Brison Greshman jumper, to grab a 54-47 advantage with 6:48 left
- A Prince Moss 3-pointer snapped a four-plus minute scoreless streak to close the gap to 54-50 with 6:19 remaining
- Texas Southern got back-to-back 3-pointers by John Jones to extend the advantage to its largest of the night for either team at 62-52 with just over five minutes left
- Grambling State continued to fight back and used a 12-4 run, capped by a Parrish dunk to cut the margin to 66-64 with 1:04 left
- Moss went to the free-throw line, making 1-of-2, and GSU got the rebound, setting up the potential game-winner with 11.7 seconds left
- Grambling State turned the ball over on its offensive possession and Texas Southern turned that into points to take a 68-65 lead ]
- Tra'Michael Moton's three-point attempt as the buzzer sounded hit the front iron, giving TSU the win
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Grambling State shot 41.2 percent (28-of-68) from the field and 37.7 percent (3-of-8) from the free-throw line
- Cameron Christon registered 14 points and one rebound
- Eric Parrish tallied 13 points, four boards, two steals and one assist
- Chanse Robinson poured in 11 points, three boards and one assist
- Grambling State finished with 36 points in the paint, 25 bench points, 17 points off 16 Texas Southern turnovers, 15 second-chance points and two fastbreak points
- Texas Southern shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58) from the field and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from the charity stripe
- John Jones registered 15 points, two rebounds and one steal
- Justin Hopkins chipped in 11 points, three boards and one assist
- Texas Southern finished with 44 bench points, 24 points in the paint, 15 second-chance points, 14 points off 11 Grambling State turnovers and six fastbreak points
NEWS & NOTES
- Texas Southern sweeps the season series over Grambling State
- GSU head coach Donte' Jackson moved to 4-7 all time against Texas Southern and 3-4 against TSU in Houston
- Grambling State is 0-2 in games played on NBA TV... The Tigers lost to Jackson State last season
SWAC STANDINGS
- There was a logjam for the second spot in the standings when the two teams began play on Saturday with Texas Southern, Florida A&M, Grambling State and Alcorn State all one-game back of SWAC leader Southern
- Grambling State falls into third for the time being in the standings
- Texas Southern remains in second and one-game back of Southern
UP NEXT
Grambling State continues its road swing as the Lady Tigers visit Prairie View A&M on Monday. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. from the William J. "Billy" Nicks Baby Dome.
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