BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Jourdan Smith scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half and Grambling won its first Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament title with a 75-66 victory over Texas Southern on Saturday night.
Top-seeded Grambling (20-14) built a double-digit lead midway through the first half and led by as many as 18 points in the second.
Antwan Burnett added 14 points for Grambling. Jonathan Aku scored 12 points and Kintavious Dozier chipped in with 10. Smith and Burnett combined for five of Grambling’s eight 3-pointers. Tra’Michael Moton, who scored a career-high 26 points against Bethune-Cookman in the semifinals, added eight points to go with seven assists.
Jonathan Cisse scored 21 points and Deon Stroud added 16 for No. 3 seed Texas Southern (16-16), which entered seeking its fourth-consecutive automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Smith hit three 3-pointers to help Grambling build a 41-24 halftime lead. The Tigers made 22 of their 44 field goals that included seven from long range in the first half.
Grambling led 42-24 and had a double-digit lead for most of the way. Texas Southern pulled within seven points twice inside the final minute.