Second Half Surge Fuels Win Men's Basketball At Mississippi Valley State

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ITTA BENA, Miss. – Justin Hopkins was perfect from the field as TSU dominated the second half in a 79-59 road win over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.

The Delta Devils proved that home cooking works early on as they were near perfect (8-of-9) from the field to open the game as they led 18-9 within the first five minutes. TSU’s Justin Hopkins was the entire offense during that span as the Huntsville, Ala. native scored all nine of the team’s points during that span.

TSU would go on a 6-0 run to get within 18-15 after A.J. Lawson’s layup which began a back-and-forth affair. MVSU would ride the hot hand of Caleb Hunter as he scored seven points to keep them ahead 28-22 with 7:07 left. TSU’s hot-shooting would keep them within striking distance during that span with only one missed field goal.

The Tigers closed to within 32-20 with 29 seconds left after John Walker III’s putback but MVSU would take a 34-30 lead into the half after David McCoy’s putback with nine seconds left.

TSU chipped away at the lead to open the second half before finally kicking the door in with an early 7-2 run capped off by Jordan Gilliam’s layup which gave the team a 37-36 lead with 16:32 left. By the time the dust settled after the 17-5 run, five Tigers would score as they led 47-39. A three-point play saw MVSU cut the deficit to 47-42 but TSU answered right back as Gilliam found Karl Nicholas for a dunk and three-point play.

The Tigers controlled the flow of the game pretty much until an 8-2 MVSU surge fueled by six free throws saw them close the gap to 64-55 with 5:12 remaining. The Tigers regrouped after the run and closed out the game with a 15-4 run that saw them put forth a team effort with six players scoring.

All but one Tiger would score as Hopkins finished with 14 on perfect 5-for-5 shooting. Nicholas scored 13 while Lawson added 10. Yahuza Rasas had 10 rebounds and three blocks.

TSU is back in action on Monday night at Arkansas-Pine Bluff which tips off at 7:30 p.m. in Pine Bluff, Ark.