TROY, Ala. | Mikale Stevenson scored a career-high 19 points as the Grambling State University men's basketball team fell to Sam Houston State 86-68 in the Trojan Classic hosted by Troy University on Wednesday afternoon.
Stevenson had the hot hand for the Tigers, going 6-of-8 from the field, including going 4-of-6 from three-point range. He added four assists, a steal and a rebound to his tally.
Jimel Cofer also scored in double-figures for Grambling State (2-4) scoring 13 points with two steals, two rebounds and an assist.
Grambling State struggled to keep pace with Sam Houston State (3-3) in the first half. SHSU opened a 16-6 lead with 12:28 to go in the first half. With the Bearkats leading 19-8, GSU used a 6-0 run capped by a Cofer fastbreak layup to pull the Tigers within five points, 19-14, with 10:33 remaining in the half.
Sam Houston State took control of the rest of the half, pushing its advantage to 44-24 with 1:08 to go. GSU trailed 44-26 at the break.
SHSU crafted its largest lead of the contest, 54-26, with 17:02 to go in the game. GSU did its best to get back into the game, trimming the deficit to 14 points, 75-61 with 4:37 to play, but that would be as close as the Tigers could get to the Bearkats.
Both teams shot above 50 percent from the floor. Grambling State knocked down 51 percent of its shots (25-of-49). GSU shot its highest percentage from behind the arc, going 8-of-18 (44 percent).
Sam Houston State connected on 57.4 percent of its field goal attempts (31-of-54) and went 10-of-23 from three-point range.
Up Next
Grambling State returns to the court on Friday when the Tigers take on Troy University to wrap up the Trojan Classic. Tip-off os set for 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+
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