Houston–Southern University began the day all alone atop the men’s basketball standings in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. It didn’t end that way after a drama filled Saturday in the SWAC.
Jeremiah Gambrell led Prairie View A&M with 25 points in a 84-77 win over Southern University. The Panthers outscored Southern 42-31 in the first half which proved to be the difference after a close second half. The loss drops Southern to 9-3 in the SWAC while Prairie View moves to 5-7. The Panthers were expected to contend for the regular season championship this season.
Tyrone Lyons chipped in 24 points for Southern in the loss. He was 10-16 from the floor and chipped in 11 rebounds. Terrell Williams scored 16 and Brion Whitley came up with 15 for the evening.
Texas Southern began the day in a dead heat for second place but made its way to the top after a nail biter versus Grambling.
| SCHOOL | CONF | CPCT. | OVERALL | PCT. | STREAK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southern | 9-3 | 0.750 | 14-10 | 0.583 | L1 |
| Texas Southern | 9-3 | 0.750 | 11-10 | 0.524 | W6 |
| Florida A&M | 8-4 | 0.667 | 10-13 | 0.435 | L1 |
| Grambling State | 8-4 | 0.667 | 10-14 | 0.417 | L1 |
| Alcorn State | 8-4 | 0.667 | 9-15 | 0.375 | L1 |
| Jackson State | 5-7 | 0.417 | 7-16 | 0.304 | W3 |
| Bethune-Cookman | 5-7 | 0.417 | 7-17 | 0.292 | W1 |
| Alabama A&M | 5-7 | 0.417 | 6-16 | 0.273 | W1 |
| Alabama State | 5-7 | 0.417 | 6-18 | 0.250 | L2 |
| Prairie View A&M | 5-7 | 0.417 | 5-15 | 0.250 | W1 |
| Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 4-8 | 0.333 | 6-19 | 0.240 | W1 |
| Mississippi Valley State | 1-11 | 0.083 | 1-21 | 0.045 | L9 |
Houston Heroics
John Jones Jr. electrified the Houston crowd on Saturday going 5-5 on three point attempts. Grambling, with leading scorer Cameron Christon on the bench with five fouls, made a furious comeback in the final two minutes. Christon scored 14 points but only stayed on the court for 15 minutes due to foul trouble.
Texas Southern sealed the game with a steal and layup, and survived against Grambling with a 68-65 win. The victory put Texas Southern into a tie with Southern in the standings, both teams are 9-3 in the conference. The tie won’t last for long because the two play one another on Monday night in Houston.
In January the teams faced off in Baton Rouge, with Southern taking a 63-50 win. Texas Southern is now the hottest team in the SWAC with six straight wins.