HOUSTON, Texas – In a rematch of last year's SWAC Tournament Final, Southern prevailed over defending champion Texas Southern 81-73 Friday night at the Toyota Center.
The game saw fast starts by both sides. Trelun Banks and Adrian Rodgers accounted for 21 points during a 25-4 run by the Jaguars to open the game. Southern eventually pushed its advantage to as many as 24.
Thanks to a spark off the bench by Jose Rodriguez and Brian Carey, Texas Southern would lessen the gap over the second half of the first stanza. The Tigers ended up outscoring Southern 28-19 to head into the half down 44-32.
The second half was a role reversal, as TSU started quickly out of the gate. Malcolm Riley drained consecutive threes to cap a 15-2 run that handed the top-seeded Tigers their first lead of the game with 15:58 to go.
The teams traded baskets but the Jaguars eventually wrestled control of the contest for good, as Texas Southern got no closer than eight.
Riley led all players with 24 points and seven boards. Chris Thomas added 15. Player of the Year Derrick Griffin accounted for nine points and nine rebounds.
Texas Southern will now get set to compete NIT after winning the SWAC 's regular season title.
