Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Athletics: Texas Southern sweeps Alabama State

 Texas Southern basketball was abuzz on Monday as they handed Alabama State double-digit losses in the men’s and women’s contests, respectively.




The Lady Tigers played an entire 40 minutes at warp speed to defeat Alabama State 68-45. This was the Lady Tigers’ second conference win in three games and was a definite rebound victory following the crushing loss versus Alabama A&M.

TSU led as much as 14 points in the first half, practically shooting the Lady Hornets out of the gym. Senior guard Sierra Highgate sank a free-throw to give TSU a 27-13 lead with a little over five minutes remaining in the first half. The Lady Tigers went into halftime with a 33-19 lead.

The Lady Tigers shot 58% from the field and held Alabama State to a dismal 23% shooting.

Alabama State made a small scoring run in the second half to cut the TSU lead to 36-30. TSU answered quickly with a 13-0 scoring run of their own to push the lead to 13 at the 12:45 mark. Crystal Anyiam scored a basket with 8:52 remaining, extending the lead to 20 (55-35) TSU stonewalled any ASU comeback and cruised to a 23-point victory.

Alabama State’s Tanika Jackson led her team with 20 points and 16 rebounds.

Texas Southern had three players in double figures. Sierra Highgate led the Lady Tigers with 14 points on 100% shooting (4-4). Gabrielle Rosiji had 10 points and four rebounds. Jasmine Cannon had 10 points.

Crystal Anyiam had six blocks, six boards, four points and two assists. Kyla Bennett had four boards, three blocks and two steals.

Anyiam's six blocks moved her into eighth place all-time in Texas Southern women's basketball history. A freshman, she has 43 blocks. Michelle Wilson (1987-89) holds the school season (151) and career (252) marks.

TSU outscored Alabama State 36-10 on the bench and forced 22 turnovers, 11 steals and 11 blocks.

The Lady Tigers improve to 2-7 in SWAC and face Prairie View A&M on February 5 in the H&PE Arena. Tip-off is at 4:00 PM.



The men’s game seemed like a complete blur in the early moments of the game. The Tigers led 15-5 at the 15:17 mark. Alabama State finally got their offense going and cut the TSU lead to four (21-17) in a four minute span. The Hornets’ three-point shooting kept the game within arm’s length.

The Tigers never trailed in the first half and led by as much as nine points (38-29) with 13 seconds left in until halftime. TSU led at intermission 41-32. Guards Lawrence Johnson-Danner and Harrison Smith each led the Tigers with nine points.

Texas Southern further increased their lead in the second half. They led 48-35 with about 14 minutes remaining in the game. The Tigers defense limited Alabama State three-point attempts and forced them to shoot late in the shot clock. Alabama State got within 11 points (66-55) before TSU increased the lead back to 15 (70-55) at the 2:30 mark.

The Tigers shot free-throws late in the game and cruised to a 73-59 victory.

Texas Southern had four players in double figures. Travele Jones led all scorers with 18 points and six rebounds. Kevin Galloway contributed with 15 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. Lawrence Johnson-Danner had 14 points and Harrison Smith had 10 points.

The Tigers improve to 8-1 in conference play and are undefeated at home (4-0). They end the final leg of the home stand against arch-rival Prairie View A&M on February 5. Tip-off is at 6:30 PM

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