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G-Men fall to Tech in OT

Grambling and Louisiana Tech campuses are separated by a mere five miles, but they have never played against each other in basketball – until Tuesday night.A game that was seen by more than 4,000 fans went back and forth, with the biggest margin of lead eight points in regulation. But in overtime, Tech used a 12-1 run to springboard their way to an 80-74 victory.

Even though they lost, Grambling, coming off a 7-19 season, looked impressive. The team played hard and gave it a very good effort. Grambling had several chances to win the game but they just couldn’t win it.

Grambling (0-1) was down 23-15 late in the second half but used a 17-8 run to go into halftime leading 32-31. In the first half, the Tigers shot 20 percent from the 3-point line and took no free throws and shot 43 percent from the field.

In the second half Grambling managed to knock down four of 13 3-pointers to keep the game close. In the end GSU had a chance to win the game. But bad shot selection and missed free throws prevented them from doing so. Regulation time ended with a 66-66 tie.

In overtime, Grambling came out sluggish, as they let Tech outscore them 12-1, before managed to get Tech’s lead under double digits. But it was too late.

Throughout the game, the Tigers played tough but going into overtime it looked like the game had taken to a toll on the team. The Tigers shot 27 percent from the field in the overtime period.

At the end of the game, Grambling head coach Rick Duckett had mixed feelings about the game. Duckett said the team played hard but must improve on making free throws, choosing better shots, controlling the backboard, and playing better one-on-one defense.

For GSU, Andrew Priestly led all scorers with 27 points and 10 rebounds. Areice Perkins had 11 points and five assists.

Louisiana Tech (2-0) won the game despite being out rebounded 52-43 and they turned the ball over five more times. The difference was free throws. Tech shot 22-33 from the free throw line, compared to 9-22 for Grambling.

For Tech, Kenneth Cooper and Kyle Gibson had 22 points apiece, while Jamal Guyton chipped in with 14.

After Tuesday’s game against Louisiana Tech, the G-Men will play four games in 12 days. Two of those games are against New Mexico and Oklahoma State. The other two will be against Morehead State and The Citadel in a basketball tournament in Cancun.