Jan. 5, 2006
Final Stats
Houston, TX -- The Southern University
Jaguars survived a nine minute second half scoring drought, and saw a 17-point
cushion whittled down to three points with minute and seventeen seconds remaining,
while Brandon Wardlow made five free throws in a row to help lead the SU Jaguars
past Texas Southern 54-48 for a Southwestern Athletic Conference victory Wednesday
night at the H&PE Arena.
Wardlow got to the line because TSU, after pulling within 46-43
on Courtenay Brown's two free throws with 1:17 to play, called time and decided
to foul instead of trying to play defense against a team in a serious offensive
funk.
Chris Alexander had 11 points and Deforrest Riley-Smith 10
to lead Southern (3-9, 2-0 SWAC). Alexander has led Southern in scoring in every
game but the season opener.
Sean Walker had 16 points and Brown 11 to pace TSU (2-12, 0-2),
which has not beaten a Division I team this season.
Coupled with a 73-65 win Monday at Prairie View, Southern secured
its first two-game conference road sweep since February 2000. The win at TSU
was Southern's first since the 2000-01 season. Plus, the Jaguars have already
tied their total of conference wins from all of last season (2-7).
Southern, up 26-20 at halftime, held TSU without a score for
the first five minutes of the second half, with Southern building a 36-20 lead
on Steffon Wiley's jumper with 16:30 left in the game.
Southern outrebounded TSU 41-30 and held the Tigers to 4-for-17
shooting (23.5 percent) in the first half.
"On defense and rebounding, we were very good tonight,"
first-year Southern coach Rob Spivery said. "That's what I tell the guys.
Even on nights when you don't shoot the ball well, if you defend and rebound,
you'll give yourself a chance to win."
Southern hosts Grambling at 8 p.m. Friday in the F.G. Clark
Activity Center. The game will be televised "Live" by ESPNU. The game
will also be the first this season in the FG Clark Activity Center, because
the Red Cross & FEMA had used the facility as a shelter for Hurricane Katrina
evacuees.
