HOUSTON- Jose Rodriguez scored a team high 18 points and recorded 8 rebounds as he led Texas Southern to their second straight conference win, beating the visiting Braves from Alcorn State 74-58 Monday night at the HPE Arena.Â
It was a team effort, as TSU had six players score in double figures. Freshman forward Derrick Griffin contributed another double-double as he grabbed a game high 13 rebounds and scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, while guard David Blanks had a solid performance, scoring 10 points and dishing out a game high 6 assists.
Texas Southern raced out to an early 21-8 lead on a Griffin dunk midway through the first half. Alcorn State rallied late in the first half cutting the lead to three at the break 32-29.
In the second half TSU came out playing inspired basketball, pushing the lead to 16 on another Griffin dunk, just five minutes into the second session. Malcom Riley's layup with 11:40 to play in the game gave Texas Southern their biggest lead of the evening at 55-35.
It was a lead that would prove to be insurmountable, as the Tigers coasted to a win while remaining undefeated in the SWAC (2-0). Alcorn was led in scoring by Octavious Brown who had a game high 19 points.
Next up for the Tigers is a date with their in-state rival from Prairie View A&M University on Saturday night at the HPE Arena.
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