No. 7 Texas Southern knocked off top-seed Alcorn State in the 2023 MBB SWAC Championship by a score of 66-62 on Wednesday night. The Tigers went into halftime trailing 30-27 but outscored the Braves by seven points in the second half to secure the win.
The win keeps Texas Southern’s hopes alive for a third-straight SWAC Tournament title.
“We knew that it was going to be a tough basketball game for us throughout the night and our guys mentally had to be in a certain place and prepare for it because we’ve had them on two different occasions already this year,” Texas Southern head coach Johnny Jones said after the game. “Two hard fought games and tonight we were able to put it together, take care of the basketball, make the necessary plays down the stretch when they made their run, our guys were able to sustain it there at the end.”
Davon Barnes led the way for TXSO, putting up 19 points. As a team, the Tigers shot 45 percent from the field, 17 percent from behind the arc, and 73 percent from the free throw line. The advanced stats told a similar story, as the team put up 0.96 points per possession on 52 percent true shooting.
Byron Joshua accumulated 21 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists to lead the way for Alcorn. The Braves shot 22-of-53 from the field and 3-of-11 from behind the arc. Their shooting was part of larger offensive struggles that contributed to the loss. Alcorn State only mustered 0.87 points per possession on 50% true shooting.
Texas Southern’s win on Wednesday put an end to its recent struggles. It will look to keep dancing on Friday, as it plays the Jackson State-Prairie View A&M winner on Friday in the quarterfinals.
On the other side, Alcorn State fell to 18-13 with the loss. While it won’t make the NCAA Tournament, Alcorn State is eligible to move on to the NIT after winning the SWAC regular season title.
This content was produced using Artificial Intelligence technology before being approved and published by HBCU Gameday. Sam Quick is a moniker for our AI technology and is not an actual person.