Basketball

by Jim McCurdy

A Treasure indeed.

The Tigers rode a career-high 29 points from Junior Treasure, holding on to pull out a 66-62 win at Southern University Saturday. Treasure hit five of 10 triples and established a career-best when he knocked down nine field goals as Texas Southern secured a .500 regular season finish.

Texas Southern enters the SWAC Tournament, which begins Wednesday in Shreveport, La., riding a three-game win streak. TSU, the No. 5 seed, will likely play Prairie View in the first round.

"We're trying to build momentum," Tigers coach Tony Harvey said. "Our team is misleading."

He was referring to the 15-15 overall, 11-7 record that at one point was one of the league's best.

Trailing 34-32 at halftime, TSU used a 7-1 run over a 5:52 stretch when Aaron Clayborn knocked down a jumper on a dish from Marc Ellis. The Tigers, which led by nine with just under 10 minutes to go, watched their lead get cut to one when Southern's Quinton Doggett scored with 2:49 to play. Doggett, who finished with 13 points, sank a free throw to tie it at 60.

Clayborn knocked down a pair of free throws before Doggett sank a pair of his own with 1:32 to go to keep the game knotted at 62. But Treasure buried a big-time shot from the top of the key, and Clayborn sank a pair of free throws to ice it with 7 seconds left.

"We did some things that were uncharacteristic in terms of how we're trying to build," Harvey said of the first half. "I thought we did a good job of making adjustments."

Clayborn finished with 12 points, including a one-handed baseline windmill jam to give the Tigers their largest lead of the game at nine in the second half. He added five boards, and scored 10 points in the second half. Clayborn was the only Tiger besides Treasure in double figures.

TSU's leading scorer DeAndre Hall, nursing a groin injury, played just 10 minutes before resting for the remainder of the game.

"We're gonna need him down the stretch," Harvey said.

Travele Jones grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds as the Tigers out rebounded the Jaguars, 47-29. Ricky Boyles added eight points and eight boards. Southern's Doug Scott had 14 points, and Julius Ingram 12.

"Ricky Boyles did a great job off the bench for us," Harvey said of Boyles.

TSU shot 22 of 55 from the floor, including 6 of 20 from three-point range. Southern was 21 of 56 for 37.5 percent. Treasure hit five of those six treys for the Tigers. He has buried 12 triples in his last three games. His five triples matched a career-high he set just five days ago.

More than anything, the Tigers are headed to Shreveport riding the wave that made them one of the league's best midway through the conference season.

"We're gonna go into the SWAC Tournament with our guns blazing," Harvey said, reiterating the Voice of the Tigers Lary Hale's post-game euphoric sentiments.

"We're starting to peak at the right time."

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