HOUSTON- The Texas Southern Tigers battled back from a 14 point first half deficit to defeat the Alcorn State Braves 85-70 as they captured their second win of the season.
After falling behind double digits TSU started to piece things together toward the end of the first half.
TSU took a two point advantage into the break fueled in large part behind the scoring production of guard Derrick Bruce who once again provided the Tigers with a steady force offensively contributing 25 points.
Bruce was 8-of-18 from the field including a 5-of-12 from behind the three point line. Trayvon Reed tallied 17 points and guard Cainan McClelland erupted for 12 second half points to help lead Texas Southern to victory.
McClelland got things going initially on the defensive end of the floor as he was able to slow down Alcorn State's guards with solid defense on the perimeter.
"We got off to a sluggish start," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "Obviously anytime you dig yourself into a hole you have to start by getting stops on the defensive end of the floor. We were able to get those stops and that helped us cut into their lead in the first half after we made some adjustments on both ends of the floor."
Texas Southern forced 13 Alcorn State turnovers which in return netted the Tigers 17 points.
"I thought we really started to execute better after we settled down in the first half," said Davis. "We have to start the game off with the right level of intensity if we want to continue to be successful in league play."
The Tigers will host rival Prairie View A&M on Saturday, January 6th at 7:30 pm at the HPE Arena in a game that will feature two undefeated teams in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics
After falling behind double digits TSU started to piece things together toward the end of the first half.
TSU took a two point advantage into the break fueled in large part behind the scoring production of guard Derrick Bruce who once again provided the Tigers with a steady force offensively contributing 25 points.
Bruce was 8-of-18 from the field including a 5-of-12 from behind the three point line. Trayvon Reed tallied 17 points and guard Cainan McClelland erupted for 12 second half points to help lead Texas Southern to victory.
McClelland got things going initially on the defensive end of the floor as he was able to slow down Alcorn State's guards with solid defense on the perimeter.
"We got off to a sluggish start," said TSU head coach Mike Davis. "Obviously anytime you dig yourself into a hole you have to start by getting stops on the defensive end of the floor. We were able to get those stops and that helped us cut into their lead in the first half after we made some adjustments on both ends of the floor."
Texas Southern forced 13 Alcorn State turnovers which in return netted the Tigers 17 points.
"I thought we really started to execute better after we settled down in the first half," said Davis. "We have to start the game off with the right level of intensity if we want to continue to be successful in league play."
The Tigers will host rival Prairie View A&M on Saturday, January 6th at 7:30 pm at the HPE Arena in a game that will feature two undefeated teams in Southwestern Athletic Conference play.
Courtesy: TSU Athletics