Justice Coleman goes up for a jump shot over a Southern University
defender. GSU Athletics/Courtesy photo
Devante Jackson looks to set up the offense against MSVU. Jada Stokes/The Gramblinite
*Men’s Basketball*
The Grambling State University men’s basketball team can put their brooms away after completing a series sweep for the season of both Southern University and Alcorn State University.
In defeating both teams Grambling State (13-11 overall, 7-4 SWAC) rose above a .500 winning percentage for the season.
Grambling vs. Southern
The Grambling State University men’s basketball team defeated Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) rivals Southern University 59-40 on Saturday in a contest deemed by some the “Bayou Classic of the Boards” at the F.G. Clark Activity Center in Baton Rouge.
In Saturday’s match-up, Southern jumped out to a 14-6 lead capped by a Amani McWain jumper. The Tigers trailed by 23-20 going into the half. The score was tied at 27 with 16:01 remaining after a lay-up by Prince Moss. Grambling State kept the score advantage for the rest of the game and did not look back as they took the 59-40 victory.
Ivy Smith, Jr. led Grambling State with 21 points, five rebounds, four steals and three assists, while Devante Jacson tallied 12 points, seven rebounds and two assists.
Armani McWain led Southern with 17 points, seven rebounds and one steal.
Grambling vs. Alcorn
The Tigers defeated Alcorn State 65-53 on Monday at the Davey L. Whitney Complex.
Against Alcorn, the Tigers jumped out to a 12-0 lead after a pair of free-throws by Ivy Smith, Jr. Alcorn State trailed 32-16 at the half. The score was 42-22 with 14:40 remaining after free throws by Devante Jackson. The Braves went on a 19-0 run over the next few minutes to close the gap 42-41.
The Tigers strayed away and sealed the deal with a three-pointer by Anthony Gaston with 33 seconds remaining to take the victory.
Ivy Smith Jr. paced Grambling State with 16 points, three boards, five assists and was 6-for-6 from the foul line. Devante Jackson tallied 12 points,
five rebounds, two steals and one block, while Dallas Polk-Hilliard chipped in 10 points and five rebounds.
Troymain Crosby led Alcorn with 16 points, seven assists, five rebounds and one block. Reginal Johnson added 14 points, while Maurice Howard chipped in 11 points.
*Women basketball*
The Grambling State University women’s basketball team fell short to Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) rivals Southern University on Saturday, but defeated Alcorn State on Monday to sweep the series.
Grambling vs. Southern
The Lady Tigers (10-13 overall, 7-4 SWAC) fell to Southern University on Saturday 71-65 on Saturday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center.
Justice Coleman paced Grambling State with 14 points, four rebounds, one steal and one assists. Jazmin Boyd added 14 points, three steals and two boards, while Shakyla Hill chipped in 11 points, eight assists, six rebounds and one steal.
Jaden Towner led the way for Southern with 17 points, five rebounds and one steal. Alyric Scott registered a double-double of 14 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Skylar O’Bear chipped in 10 points and two steals.
Grambling State trailed by two at the end of the first quarter, 23-21. After a pair of free throws by Danayea Charles, Southern went into the half with a 34-31 advantage.
After a jumper by by Coleman with 7:19 remaining, the Lady Tigers trailed 51-46. Southern added six more points capped by a Scott lay-up to push the advantage.
It was the Lady Jaguars largest lead of the night in the fourth quarter by 11 points with 5:33 remaining.
Grambling State trailed by four points with six seconds remaining, the closest margin all game, after a 3-pointer by Ariel Williams, but the Lad Tigers could not recover in the remaining few seconds.
Grambling vs. Alcorn
Grambling defeated Alcorn on Monday, 79-63, giving the Lady Tigers the series sweep.
Shakyla Hill, paced the Lady Tigers offense with a double-double of 22 points and 11 steals, eight assists and five rebounds. Jazmin Boyd, added 17 points, one rebound and one assist. Madison Connally-Banks tallied eight points, two steals, one rebound and one assist.
Jada Hargrove paced Alcorn State with 15 points, eight assists, two steals, one block and one rebound. De’Asia Brown added in 12 points and Diamond Hall chipped in 11 points.
Grambling State ended the first quarter with a 23-13 lead. The Lady Tigers shot 18-of-24 (64.3 percent) in the the first half and limited Alcorn to just 25.8 percent shooting (8-of-31) in the first half.
The Lady Tigers took their largest lead of the night 74-44 after a free throw by Boyd with 6:12 remaining. The Lady Braves could not recover from the deficit as the Grambling State took the 79-63 victory.