By Curtis Ford, Grambling State Assistant AD for Athletic Communications
GRAMBLING — Grambling State climbed out of a 17-point hole to rally past Southern University 79-62 on Willis Reed Court at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center on Saturday afternoon.
GSU (7-11 overall, 4-1 SWAC) who trailed SU (9-9, 3-2) by nine pints at halftime, outscored the Jaguars 48-23 in the second half. The win also marked Grambling State’s 12th win over Southern in the past 15 meetings.
The Tigers received a big offensive boost from Kintavous Dozier and Tra’Michael Moton. Dozier, who was named the SWAC Impact Player of the Week earlier this week, put up his third consecutive 20-point performance. He scored a game-high 27 points on 8-of-18 shooting from the field, with four rebounds and a steal.
Moton supplemented Dozier’s out output with 21 points, three rebounds, two steals and an assist.
Jimel Cofer was also a key contributor in the victory, adding 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting. Cofer’s presence on the floor was helpful to the Tigers as he made seven rebounds, three of which were on the offensive end of the floor, providing second-chance opportunities. He also added three assists and a game-high three steals.
The first half wasn’t kind to GSU, as the Tigers found themselves behind 24-7 with 9:50 remaining until the halftime. Trailing 35-21 at the 3:23 mark, Grambling State used a 10-4 run to pull within single digits, 39-31 at the break.
In the early moments of the second half, Southern stretched its lead back to double-digits, 44-33. GSU began to make its move on Jags after that. The Tigers utilized an 11-4 run to trim the deficit to 48-44 with 12:17 left in the game.
With SU up 51-46 at the 10:43 mark, a three-pointer by Cofer made it a one possession game. Jalen Johnson tied the game 51-51 on a hook shot from inside the paint as the clock ticked under 10 minutes. Dozier gave GSU its first lead of the contest on a pair of free throws with 9:17 remaining.
Those points were a part of a 24-4 run that saw GSU grab a commanding 70-55 lead with 3:41 to go. Grambling State kept the Jags off balance the rest of the way, cruising to the 79-62 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Grambling State went 23-of-50 from the floor (46.0 percent) including 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from behind the arc and 25-of-34 (73.5 percent) from the free throw line.
- Southern connected on 22-of-55 of its field goal attempts (40.0 percent), 2-of-17 from three-point range (11.8 percent) and 16-of-20 from the free throw line (80.0 percent).
- GSU held a 38-28 rebounding advantage.
- GSU scored 28 points in the paint, 19 bench points, 17 fast break points, 11 second chance points and 18 points off 15 SU turnovers.
- SU finished with 40 points in the paint, 11 second chance points, 10 fast break points, eight bench points and 20 points off 17 turnovers.
Up Next
Grambling State returns to action on Saturday, January 27th when the Tigers host Mississippi Valley State. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center.