HOUSTON -- — LaDarius Owens had 211 yards rushing, Texas Southern erupted for 35 points in the first half, and the Tigers surprised Alcorn State 44-10 on Sunday.

Alcorn State needed a win to clinch a share of the SWAC West Division championship, but the Braves fell behind early and could not recover.

The Tigers struck first with a 67-yard touchdown pass from Jace Wilson to Trenton Leary with 10 minutes left in the first quarter. Leary added his first of three touchdowns — a 10-yard run — and the Tigers were up by 14 looking for just their second conference win of the season.

In the second quarter, Leary took a turn throwing a pass and connected with C'ing Blanton for a 15-yard touchdown, Jacorey Howard and Owens both scored on the ground and Texas Southern led 35-7 at halftime.

Wilson completed 17 of 23 passes for 288 yards and Leary caught six passes for 137 yards. The Tigers (3-7, 2-5 SWAC) had 499 yards of total offense.

Aaron Allen was 19-of-40 passing for 259 yards for Alcorn State (6-4, 5-2).

The game was played on Sunday because the Houston Dynamo used Shell Energy Stadium for a Major League Soccer playoff match on Saturday.

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