BIRMINGHAM, Ala.  | The Grambling State University men's basketball team had its sights set on its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament, but couldn't overcome a poor first half, falling 61-58 to Texas Southern at Barrow Arena. 

Zahad Munford led GSU with a team-high 12 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field. Jonathan Aku registered his first double-double of the year, contributing 11 points with 10 rebounds. Tra'Michael Moton added 10 points. 

GSU (24-9) got off to a sluggish start as Texas Southern( 14-20) raced to a 22-5 lead with 9:29 to go in the half. Grambling State used a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to 11. However, GSU wasn't able to crank into gear, trailing 31-18 at the half. 

Neither team shot the ball well in the opening period, as GSU went 6-of-25 from the field (24 percent) and 0-for-6 from three-point range. Texas Southern connected on 8-of-29 of its shots (27.6 percent), but shot 19 free throws in the half, going 14-of-19. 

Grambling state was more efficient in the second half, knocking down 40.6 percent of its shots, but still wasn't able to get 3-pointers to fall. For the game, GSU went 2-for-18 from deep (11.1 percent).

GSU made a game of it in the closing period, rallying back to tie the game 43-43 with 7:12 remaining in the contest. Grambling State had opportunities down the stretch, but was never able to grab the lead.

FOLLOW GRAMBLING STATE ATHLETICS 
For complete coverage of Grambling State athletics, please follow the Tigers on social media at @GSU_Tigers (Twitter), /GramblingStateTigers1901 (Facebook), @gramblingathletics (Instagram) or visit the official home of Grambling State Athletics at gsutigers.com.