Texas Southern Gains A Victory Over Jackson State In A Tense SWAC 'Battle Of The Tigers'

Most of the TSU-JSU clash was P.J. Henry matching wits against Ken Evans Jr. Jackson State had a one-point advantage, leading Texas Southern at halftime, 33-32. Evans scored 9 points, and Jordan O'Neal notched 7 points for the visiting JSU Tigers, while Zytarious Mortle led Texas Southern with nine points in the first half. Jackson State outscored TSU 11 to 6 on fast breaks and 10 to 9 from the bench during the period.

The second half started as a see-saw battle until Jackson State led 66-61 off Keiveon Hunt's layup with 6:33 remaining in the contest. Jonathan Cisse nailed a three-pointer to edge within two points at 66-64 at 6:05.   

Following a long media timeout and referee's review to add another personal foul to P.J. Henry's stats, the Texas Southern's bench was agitated. Henry buried a soft shot from outside the arc to recapture the lead at 67-66 with 5:35 showing on the scoreboard.

Jonathan Cisse found Grayson Carter under the basket to take a three-point lead. Next, Ken Evans rebounded a missed P.J. Henry jumpshot and moved the ball to Keionte Cornelius for an easy layup. JSU trailed 69-68 at the 4:02 mark.

Texas Southern got some breathing room by four points when Deon Stroud knocked down a 3-point shot. Following a Jackson State turnover, with 2:02 on the clock, Zytarious Mortle hit another long-range bomb to give TSU the 75-68 lead.

As the foul game started, Keionte Cornelius's layup was Jackson State's final point. However, Henry, Stroud, and Mortle scored five points from the charity line to give Texas Southern the 80-70 victory.