Texas Southern loses to Southern, 81-73, in SWAC semifinal

Posted: March 11, 2016 -- 11:55 pm CDT.

HOUSTON, TX (Toyota Center) -- The TSU Tigers dug themselves a huge hole in the first half; took a lead early in the second half; but, in the end, the number 1-seeded Tigers lost 81-73 to the 4th-seeded Southern Jaguars Friday night in the second semifinal game of the 2016 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament.

The loss ends TSU's hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament; however, as SWAC regular season champions, the Tigers will be invited to participate in the NIT (National Invitation Tournament).

The Tigers struggled to make a basket; and, they allowed their emotions to get the best of them in the opening minutes of the game. SWAC Player of the Year (and Defensive Player of the Year as well as Newcomer of the Year) redshirt freshman Derrick Griffin picked up a technical foul at the 14:17 mark of the first half.

TSU trailed 14-2 at the time of Griffin's technical foul.

Southern jumped on the Tigers early and led 20-2 with 13:43 left in the first half.

Texas Southern 2, Southern 20. #NotAMisprint. #SWAC #BeyondTheRim pic.twitter.com/PtEINAh166

— Kris M Gardner (@TheHRReview) March 12, 2016

After a mini-run, pulled the Tigers within 16 (25-9), TSU senior Jose Rodriguez was whistled for a technical foul.

With 7 minutes, 30 seconds remaining in the first half, the Tigers' deficit ballooned to 24 points (38-14); however, the Tigers finished the half with an 18-6 run to trail by only 12 points (44-32) at halftime.

Texas Southern attempted 24 free throws in the first half (made 17); but, the Tigers shot an ice cold 7 for 21 (33.3%) on field goals.

Malcolm Riley keyed a second-half surge by the Tigers to start the second half. Riley nailed 3 three-point baskets during a 15-2 blitz to give the Tigers a 47-46 lead with 16:04 remaining in the game.

Southern's Shawn Prudhomme answered with a three-point bucket; but, Riley nailed his 4th three-pointer (in 5 minutes) for a 50-49 Tigers' lead.

Twenty-seven seconds later, Christopher Hyder nailed a jump shot to put Southern back on top, 51-50.

Texas Southern never led the rest of the ball game.

The Jaguars led 65-54 with 8:38 on the clock; and, 73-60 with two plus minutes remaining.

In his post-game press conference, Texas Southern's head coach Mike Davis told the media his team's lack of effort throughout the game was a key reason in the Tigers' loss.

"We refused to give the effort we needed to give to pull the game out," said Coach Davis. "We were just hoping to make shots.

"You can't beat a team like that (Southern) without giving the effort."

Riley scored a game-high 24 points while teammate Chris Thomas scored 15 points. Riley and Thomas were the only two Tigers to score in double-digits.

Five Jaguars' players scored in double-digits. Trelun Banks' led the Jaguars with a team-high 19 points. Adrian Rodgers scored 16 points. Christopher Hyder scored 14 while Jared Sam and Shawn Prudhomme each scored 13 points.

With the win, Southern advances to the SWAC championship game against 3rd-seeded Jackson State. Game time is 5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 12, on ESPNU.

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