Sam leads Southern to 80-69 win over Grambling
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Jared Sam scored 19 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Southern picked up its first conference win, beating Grambling 80-69 on Saturday.
Sam was 4 of 7 from the floor and 11 of 12 from the line for the Jaguars (5-11, 1-2 Southwestern Athletic Conference). Jamar Sandifer added 18 points and five rebounds and Sidney Umude had 12 points.
Southern scored first and led all the way, building to a 39-21 advantage at intermission. But Grambling battled back in the second half, closing to 61-51 on a Drake Wilks 3-pointer with nine minutes left and to 74-69 on a pair of 3s by Shirmane Thomas with 59 seconds to go.
Sam and Umude combined for 6 of 6 free throws in the final seconds to secure the win for Southern.
Wilks led the Tigers (4-12, 0-3) with 18 points and five rebounds. Thomas finished with 15 points and Ivy Smith Jr. had 12.
Game Information
2023-24 Southwestern Athletic Conference Standings
| Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grambling | 14-4 | - | 21-15 |
| Alcorn State | 13-5 | 1 | 14-18 |
| Southern | 12-6 | 2 | 18-14 |
| Texas Southern | 12-6 | 2 | 16-17 |
| Bethune-Cookman | 11-7 | 3 | 17-17 |
| Jackson State | 11-7 | 3 | 15-17 |
| Alabama A&M | 9-9 | 5 | 12-23 |
| Arkansas-Pine Bluff | 8-10 | 6 | 13-18 |
| Alabama State | 8-10 | 6 | 13-19 |
| Prairie View A&M | 5-13 | 9 | 10-21 |
| Florida A&M | 4-14 | 10 | 6-23 |
| Mississippi Valley State | 1-17 | 13 | 1-30 |
Men's College Basketball News
