Tigers power past Alabama State for ninth consecutive win

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Tigers of Texas Southern University overcame a second-half deficit to claim their ninth consecutive win Saturday with a 78-68 win at Alabama State.
 
Jeremy Combs turned in his sixth consecutive double-double performance to lead five Tigers scoring in double-figures Saturday. Combs, a graduate transfer from LSU, scored 22 points on 9-of-9 shooting from the field and pulled in 16 rebounds. He also recorded five steals in the game.
 
With the win, Texas Southern (17-11, 12-3 SWAC) clinched one of the top two seeds into the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament later this month.
 
The Tigers trailed by as many six points in the second half, but outscored Alabama State 22-6 over the final six minutes of the contest. Tyrik Armstrong (pictured) scored six consecutive points for TSU between the 5:06 and 4:09 marks of the second half to erase ASU’s 62-56 lead; Armstrong finished the game with 12 points.
 
Devocio Butler scored 10 points for the Tigers, while Trayvon Reed and Jalyn Patterson contributed 11 points and 10 points off the TSU bench, respectively. It was Reed’s second game back from an injury that kept him out of the lineup for most of conference play.
 
Jacoby Ross scored a team-high 15 points to lead Alabama State (11-15, 9-6 SWAC).
 
Alabama State led by as many as 10 points in the first half, but that advantage was erased by 11 consecutive TSU points between the 10:24 and 5:11 marks of the half. Combs scored the last eight points of the run, while John Jones started the run with one of his three 3-pointers of the game.
 
The Tigers shot better than 50 percent from the field in each half and shot 52.8 percent (28 of 53) from the floor for the game. TSU dominated the inside game, outscoring Alabama State 38-20 in points in the paint.
 
Texas Southern returns to action Monday when the Tigers travel to Alabama A&M for the team’s final regular-season road contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.