BATON ROUGE, LA - The Southern University Jaguars claimed the men's basketball Southwestern Athletic Conference opener against the Texas Southern University Tigers, Monday inside the F.G. Clark Activity Center. 
 
Southern would lead the game from start to finish as they started off the first quarter strong, taking on a 13-2 lead within the first five minutes. With the Tigers consistent fouling, the Jaguars were able to receive majority of their first half points from the free throw line averaging 88.9% between P.J. Byrd, Jayden Saddler, Tyrone Lyons, and Jason Holiday.
 
Closing out the first half, the Tigers attempted to minimize the deficit but were not successful after a few missed layups and free throws. SU came away with an eight-point lead going into halftime.
 
Opening the second half, the Tigers momentum picked up a little but offensively just could not keep up as they were not able to regain the lead at any point. In the last 10 minutes of the second half, the Jags were able to get into an offensive rhythm and use the crowd's momentum as they scored 20 consecutive points. Brion Whitley scored all his points during the second half of the game, and scored the last point in the second half, leading the team with a total of 13 points. 
 
Southern secured their victory with a 63-50 final score.
 
When asked about the big win today, head coach Sean Woods went on to say, "Defensively I thought we just kept them uncomfortable, to where they just couldn't get a rhythm and keep going."  
 
Southern was led by senior guard Jayden Saddler with a total of 16 points and redshirt junior guard Brion Whitley who had a total of 13 points and Tyrone Lyons with 11. P.J. Byrd led the team in assists as he came away with 7.
 
Next Up
The Jaguars continue SWAC play as they host Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, January 5^th with a 7:30 PM tip-off or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.

TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the 2021-22 season are available now. Any ticket-related questions may be directed to the Southern University Athletics Ticket Office by phone at (225) 771-3171.

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