The score was 0-0 for nearly two minutes at the start of the game as the teams missed shots, then the score was tied 14 times between the Grambling State University Tigers and Prairie View A&M University Panthers but the final score was 60-56 as the Panthers were victorious over the Tigers this past Saturday.
Similar to the January 16 matchup between the two (the Tigers defeated the Panthers 66-63), both teams played with a lot of energy on the floor, making it difficult for opponents to create a lead. In just the first half, the score was tied seven times.
GLENN LEWIS/The Yearbook
Ervin Mitchell gets ready to execute a play on the court.
The Tigers played with so much energy they had 10 team fouls, giving the Panthers an advantage to shoot one-and-ones at the free throw line.
As the Tigers made 50 percent of their field goals in the half, they were able to regain their momentum and even lead the Panthers by two, 25-27, going into halftime.
The second half of the game was just as intense as the first as both teams toggled points, but the Panthers broke away to win the game.
Missed shots and turnovers — a total of 22 in the half — contributed to the Tigers’ inability to secure their first victory on the road.
GSU’s Michael Bethea Jr. finished the game with 15 points and Jaryn Johnson of Prairie View put up 17 points and six rebounds.
On Monday night, Ervin Mitchell pumped in 23 points, but it wasn’t enough as the GSU Tigers played poor defense and were defeated by the Texas Southern University Tigers 79-72.
The game began with both teams struggling to score but the Tigers of Texas Southern were able to break away from the GSU Tigers as Grambling State missed lots of buckets and were unable to follow shots with rebounds.
At one point, Texas Southern had the largest lead in the conference over the GSU Tigers, 36 points in the first half of the game.
Early on it was clear that it wasn’t a good night for GSU. Making 25% of their shots, the score read 46-16 at halftime. At that point, Mitchell had nine points and three of Texas Southern’s players — David Blanks (10), Derrick Griffin (10) and Jose Rodriquez (13) — had a combined 33 points.
In the second half of the game the Tigers of Grambling State worked hard to recover from the deficit, coming close to being down by seven points. Starters Michael Bethea Jr. and Deonte Hearns were in foul trouble, however, so the effort wasn’t easy.
In the last few minutes of the game head coach Shawn Walker’s players Mitchell and Mark Gray put up buckets in the losing effort.
Along with his double digit points, Mitchell finished with eight rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal. Blanks of Texas Southern put up 20 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and had one steal.
On Saturday (February 20) the Tigers play Jackson State University at 5 p.m. in the Fredrick C. Hobdy Arena on the GSU campus.