HOUSTON — It’s safe to say that “Coach 400” — Johnny Jones — is a master of the SWAC Basketball Tournament with three straight tourney titles. The No. 3 Texas Southern Tigers unleashed an early barrage of scoring on the No. 6 Jackson State Tigers and cruised to a 73-62 victory in quarterfinal action.
Jonathan Cisse has continued with the hot hand for TSU, scoring a game-high 24 points and notched team highs with eight rebounds and six assists. P.J. Hunter posted 19 points and three rebounds in the victory.
The Texas Southern offense and defense were impressive. They shot 46% from the field and held Jackson State to 32%. More importantly, they limited the SWAC Offensive Player of the Year, Ken Evans Jr., to 16 points and scored in the paint on the SWAC Defensive Player of the Year, Jordan O’Neal, with ease. Coltie Young led the Tigers with 22 points.
The H-Town Tigers dominated the game by scoring 26 points in the paint, while JSU only managed 16. TSU led for all but 54 seconds of the game.
Texas Southern will play No. 7 Alabama A&M at 8:30 PM CT on Friday, March 15, in the 2024 Starry SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinal.
Texas Southern aims to make history by winning the SWAC Basketball Championship and earning a bid to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive time, which has never been achieved before. If they succeed, it will be their eighth championship win in just 11 seasons.
