Grambling gets to 20 victories with 1st SWAC title

Mar 17, 2024, 12:56 AM ET BIRMINGHAM, Ala.– Jourdan Smith scored 16 of his 20 points in the very first half and Grambling won its first Southwestern Athletic Conference Competition title with a 75-66 success over Texas Southern on Saturday night.Top-seeded Grambling(

20-14)developed a double-digit lead midway through the very first half and led by as many as 18 points in the second.Antwan Burnett included 14 points for Grambling.

Jonathan Aku scored 12 points and Kintavious Dozier broke in with 10. Smith and Burnett combined for five of Grambling’s 8 3-pointers. Tra’Michael Moton, who scored a career-high 26 points against Bethune-Cookman in the semifinals, added 8 indicate choose seven assists.Editor’s Picks Jonathan Cisse scored 21 points and Deon Stroud added 16 for No. 3 seed Texas Southern(16-16 ), which went into

seeking its fourth-consecutive automated berth to the NCAA Tournament.Smith hit 3 3-pointers to assist Grambling develop a 41-24 halftime lead. The Tigers made 22 of their 44 basket that consisted of seven from long variety in

the very first half.Grambling led 42-24 and had a double-digit lead for most of the method. Texas Southern pulled within 7 points twice inside the final minute.