GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team earned an important Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) victory on Saturday afternoon, defeating Texas Southern 65-46 on Alumni Weekend at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.

GSU (16-8 overall, 9-3 SWAC) controlled the contest from start to finish, punishing TSU on the defensive end of the floor, while knocking down big shots on offense. 

Texas Southern (8-17, 4-8) did hold a brief lead at the beginning of the contest when Kolby Granger knocked down a 3-pointer to open the scoring. Grambling State quickly responded with back-to back treys from Jourdan Smith and Virshon Cotton at the 18:34 mark, moving in front 6-3.

It was the start of a big night for Cotton, who scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the floor. He also added five rebounds and two steals. It was his second 20-point game in the past week. 

Later in the half, Malik Lamin decided to test his range from behind the arc, draining his first 3-pointer of the season to give GSU its largest lead of the first half, 24-11 with 8:05 remaining in the period.

TSU closed the half on a 14-4 run, trimming Grambling State lead to 29-25 at halftime.

GSU came out of the locker room energized in the second half, using a 10-0 run to go up 39-25 with 14:12 to play. Texas Southern couldn't pace with Grambling State the rest of the way. GSU led by as many as 25 points, 63-38, with just over two minutes to play.

In addition to Cotton posting double-figures, Jourdan Smith contributed 10 points with eight rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. 

As team, Grambling State shot just over 35 percent from the field, going 19-of-53 and 6-of-17 from 3-point range. GSU held Texas Southern to 32.7 percent shooting (17-of-52).

PJ Henry led TSU with 10 points and three boards. 

Up Next 

Grambling State looks to extend its winning streak Monday when Prairie View A&M visits the Fredrick C. Hobdy Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. 

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