GRAMBLING, La. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team withstood a furious second half rally by Texas Southern to earn a hard-fought 66-63 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) win on Saturday afternoon at the HP&E Arena.  
 
GSU (12-13 overall, 9-3 SWAC) led by as many as 21 points in the first half, but TSU (9-14, 7-5 SWAC) roared back to briefly take the lead in the second period. 
 
Grambling State was paced offensively by Kintavious Dozier who led all scorers with 21 points to go along with six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one block. He was one of three GSU players to score in double-figures. Jonathan Aku tacked on 12 points with four rebounds while Antwan Burnett scored 10 points with four boards and a steal. 
 
GSU got out of the gates quickly, building a 22-9 lead midway through the first half with 9:56 to go. Grambling State continued to grow its advantage, using a jumper from Aku to make it 33-14 at the 5:55 mark.
 
Aku's layup at 5:22 to give GSU its largest lead of the game, 35-14. 
 
TSU found its stride in the closing moments of the first period, using a 14-3 run to shrink GSU's lead to 38-28 heading into halftime. 
 
In the second half, Texas Southern continued to cut away at Grambling State's lead. TSU took its first lead of the game, 47-45, with 11:02 on the clock. The game began to go back-and-forth from that point. 
 
Terrence Lewis responded with a three-pointer to inch GSU back ahead, 48-47 at the 10:14 mark. TSU's Deon Stroud answered with a triple of his own, making it 50-48 Texas Southern. 
 
With TSU leading 61-58 with 4:32 remaining, Burnett splashed a crucial three, tying the game 61-61. GSU came through with the biggest bucket of game, draining a deep three-pointer catapulting Grambling State ahead 64-61.
 
GSU shut the door down the stretch to secure the 66-63 victory. 
 
Texas Southern was led by Stroud who scored 14 points with two rebounds and a steal. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Grambling State went 27-of-55 from the floor (49.1 percent) including 6-of-15 (40.0 percent) from behind the arc and 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) from the free throw line. 
• Texas Southern connected on 21-of-53 of its field goal attempts (39.6 percent), 5-of-20 from three-point range (25.0 percent) and 16-of-20 from the free throw line (80.0 percent).  
• GSU held a 34-28 rebounding advantage.
• Grambling State scored 36 points in the paint, 13 bench points, seven fast break points, seven second chance points and 13 points off 10 turnovers. 
• TSU finished with 30 points in the paint, 12 bench points, 14 fast break points, 13 second-chance points and 18 points off 14 turnovers.

Up Next 
Grambling State continues its Texas road trip on Monday night when the Tigers take on Prairie View A&M. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. 

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