Box Score
HOUSTON – For the fourth time in five years Texas Southern Tigers Men's Basketball has been crowned Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Champions. The Tigers pulled away down the stretch for an 84-69 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, claiming the 2018 Toyota SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament championship in the process.
"We've been playing some really good basketball as of late," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "We've known all season that we can score the ball at a high level. Tonight we were able to put it all together and bring home another SWAC Tournament Championship."
Tournament Most Valuable Player Trae Jefferson led the way for the Tigers, who had four players in double figures. Jefferson scored 15 points, to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Donte Clark added 14 points, and fellow teammate Derrick Bruce scored 13 points. Trayvon Reed scored a team-best 17 points to go with 10 boards and four blocked shots.
Texas Southern, which used a blistering second-half of offense to pull away from Prairie View A&M during the semifinals, delivered more of the same to open the game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. After UAPB's Trent Steen connected on a jumper to pull the Golden Lions to within one, Clark scored eight points as he powered a 13-1 run to put the Tigers ahead by double-digits near the midpoint of the first half.
Martaveous McKnight brought Arkansas-Pine Bluff within striking distance as the Golden Lions cut it to within five. However, the Tigers continued their hot shooting, connecting on 60 percent of their attempts including a 7-for-15 showing from beyond the arc to take a 45-36 lead into the break.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff found some success against Texas Southern to open the second half, scoring six early points. However, the Golden Lions couldn't do enough to close the gap on TSU during the early sequences of the second half. After Trayvon Reed converted a three-point play to put the Tigers up 11, the Golden Lions once again attempted to mount a comeback.
UAPB's Banyard knocked down a jumper at the line to pull Arkansas-Pine Bluff within one possession, and after a Reed dunk, McKnight finished underneath the rim to make it 59-57 with 10:20 left.
From there, the Tigers pulled away on a 14-4 run that coincided with a corner trey by Robert Lewis to put TSU back ahead by five. Jefferson swished home a floater in the lane, making it 64-57.
Texas Southern would subsequently put the game away over a seven-minute stretch during which UAPB made just one of its 11 field-goal tries. For the game, TSU shot 59.1 percent from the floor (26-of-44) including a 10-of-21 line from deep.
"Not being picked for the All-SWAC team at the end of the season was definitely added motivation for many of us going into the tournament," said TSU's Donte Clark. "We wanted to come out and show the league what type of players we are and I think we were able to accomplish that over the course to the tournament. Being able to finish off this season with a championship is truly a blessing and we're excited to get the opportunity to get to play in the Big Dance."
The Texas Southern Tigers will find out their next opponent on Sunday, March 11th during the NCAA Selection show at 5:00 pm.
The 2018 All-SWAC Tournament Team is listed below:
All-Tournament Team: Trae Jefferson, Texas Southern (SWAC Men's Tournament Most Valuable Player) Donte Clark, Texas Southern, Travon Harper, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Martaveous McKnight, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Gary Blackston, Prairie View A&M
swac.org contributed to this release
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
HOUSTON – For the fourth time in five years Texas Southern Tigers Men's Basketball has been crowned Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament Champions. The Tigers pulled away down the stretch for an 84-69 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff, claiming the 2018 Toyota SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament championship in the process.
"We've been playing some really good basketball as of late," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "We've known all season that we can score the ball at a high level. Tonight we were able to put it all together and bring home another SWAC Tournament Championship."
Tournament Most Valuable Player Trae Jefferson led the way for the Tigers, who had four players in double figures. Jefferson scored 15 points, to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Donte Clark added 14 points, and fellow teammate Derrick Bruce scored 13 points. Trayvon Reed scored a team-best 17 points to go with 10 boards and four blocked shots.
Texas Southern, which used a blistering second-half of offense to pull away from Prairie View A&M during the semifinals, delivered more of the same to open the game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. After UAPB's Trent Steen connected on a jumper to pull the Golden Lions to within one, Clark scored eight points as he powered a 13-1 run to put the Tigers ahead by double-digits near the midpoint of the first half.
Martaveous McKnight brought Arkansas-Pine Bluff within striking distance as the Golden Lions cut it to within five. However, the Tigers continued their hot shooting, connecting on 60 percent of their attempts including a 7-for-15 showing from beyond the arc to take a 45-36 lead into the break.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff found some success against Texas Southern to open the second half, scoring six early points. However, the Golden Lions couldn't do enough to close the gap on TSU during the early sequences of the second half. After Trayvon Reed converted a three-point play to put the Tigers up 11, the Golden Lions once again attempted to mount a comeback.
UAPB's Banyard knocked down a jumper at the line to pull Arkansas-Pine Bluff within one possession, and after a Reed dunk, McKnight finished underneath the rim to make it 59-57 with 10:20 left.
From there, the Tigers pulled away on a 14-4 run that coincided with a corner trey by Robert Lewis to put TSU back ahead by five. Jefferson swished home a floater in the lane, making it 64-57.
Texas Southern would subsequently put the game away over a seven-minute stretch during which UAPB made just one of its 11 field-goal tries. For the game, TSU shot 59.1 percent from the floor (26-of-44) including a 10-of-21 line from deep.
"Not being picked for the All-SWAC team at the end of the season was definitely added motivation for many of us going into the tournament," said TSU's Donte Clark. "We wanted to come out and show the league what type of players we are and I think we were able to accomplish that over the course to the tournament. Being able to finish off this season with a championship is truly a blessing and we're excited to get the opportunity to get to play in the Big Dance."
The Texas Southern Tigers will find out their next opponent on Sunday, March 11th during the NCAA Selection show at 5:00 pm.
The 2018 All-SWAC Tournament Team is listed below:
All-Tournament Team: Trae Jefferson, Texas Southern (SWAC Men's Tournament Most Valuable Player) Donte Clark, Texas Southern, Travon Harper, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Martaveous McKnight, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and Gary Blackston, Prairie View A&M
swac.org contributed to this release
Courtesy: TSU Athletics