BATON ROUGE, La. | The Grambling State University men's basketball team stormed back in the second half to erase a 14-point halftime deficit and defeat Southern 63-57 at F.G. Clark Activity Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The comeback was identical to earlier this season when GSU overcame a 17-point deficit to defeat the Jaguars. On Saturday, Grambling State (14-13 overall, 11-3 SWAC) also trailed by as much as 17, but outscored SU 40-20 in the closing period.
 
Terrence Lewis had the hot hand for the Tigers, scoring 16 a game-high 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the floor. He added three rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal to his tally. 
 
Tra'Michael Moton also scored in double-figures, contributing 13 points with five rebounds, four assists and three steals. 
 
Southern (16-11, 10-4) put pressure on the Tigers early, crafting a 17-9 lead midway through the opening period. The Jaguars continued to build on their advantage, pushing it to 29-13 at the 5:18 mark. A three-pointer by Brndon Davis gave Southern its largest cushion of the day, 32-15, with 4:25 to go in the first half. 
 
SU carried a 37-23 lead into the break.
 
The Jaguars shot the ball well from behind the arc in the first half, draining 8-of-12 from deep (66.7 percent). In the second half however, the Jaguars went three-point range, going 0-for-9. 
 
Grambling State exited the locker room with new energy, opening the period on a 19-5 run, cutting SU's lead down to 43-42 with 12:00 to play.
 
GSU took its first lead of the game, 45-44, on a three-pointer from Tra'Michael Moton with 11:07 to go. 
 
Both teams battled fiercely down the street, trading buckets back and forth. With the score tied 55-55 with 1:52 remaining, Antwan Burnett splashed a clutch three-pointer to put GSU ahead 58-55. 
 
Moton followed that up with a steal and a layup, making it 60-55 with 1:15 to play. Grambling State clinched the game with free throws in the closing moments to preserve the win. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Grambling State is 13-2 versus Southern in its previous 15 meetings. 
• GSU shot 25-45 (48.9 percent) from the field, 7-12 (58.3 percent) from three-point range and 12-of-19 (63.2 percent) from the free throw line. 
• Southern went 21-of-51 (41.2 percent), 8-of-21 (38.1 percent), 7-of-14 (50.0 percent).
• The Tigers scored 24 points in the paint, 21 bench points, nine fast break points and eight second chance points. GSU added 17 points off 14 turnovers. 
• The Jaguars 20 points in the paint, 16 bench points, nine second chance points and no fast break points. SU 12 points off 14 turnovers.
• Southern's leading scorer was Brandon Davis who scored 12 points with two rebounds. 

 
UP NEXT
Grambling State rests up before returning to court on Saturday, March 2 to take on Florida A&M for Senior Day at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. 
 
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