For most Division I teams, a win against an NAIA team wouldn’t be something to celebrate. But for a Grambling State basketball program that hadn’t won in nearly two calendar years, Monday’s 83-75 win over Central Baptist was big.
Grambling State beats Central Baptist, snaps 32-game losing streak in men’s college basketball
– ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 17, 2013
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The win snapped an NCAA-high 32 game losing skid. Before Monday night’s win, the team had last won in its 2012 regular season finale against Alabama A&M. The Tigers went 0-28 last season.
S/O to the grambling state men’s basketball team on their WIN tonight . ðŸ‘ðŸ¯ðŸ€
– j S b (@itsME_queenee) December 17, 2013
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It certainly wasn’t pretty as Grambling clung to a 38-36 halftime lead, but it finally ends the daily discussion of “When is Grambling going to get its first win?”
The game was pushed back 69 minutes from its original 7:30 p.m. start time after officials arrived late to Frederick C. Hobdy Assembly Center. Only two officials refereed the first half before giving way to a new crew of three to start the second half. Junior college transfer and Minden native A’Torri Shine led the Tigers with 27 points on 7 of 12 shooting to go alone with six assists and five steals, and Antwan Scott added 19 points.
The win also marked Grambing State coach Joseph Price’s first victory since he took over the program in 2012. The Tigers went 0-28 last year and became the eighth team in Division I history to finish with a winless season.