McCloud, Lofton keep Texas Southern in first place (Feb 25, 2017)

By AP
Published

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) Jalan McCloud scored 22 points and Zach Lofton 21 and Texas Southern beat Alabama State 86-73 on Saturday night.

Kevin Scott added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers (17-11, 13-2), who won for the seventh time in eight games and maintained a half-game lead over second-place Alcorn State (12-3) in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.

Tony Armstrong scored 24 points with seven rebounds to lead the Hornets (8-19, 6-9), who lost their third straight game. Rodney Simeon added 16 points and Torloft Thomas 12.

The Tigers led by five, 42-37, at halftime behind 10 points each from McCloud and Lofton. Texas Southern went on to shoot 50 percent in the second half, building their largest lead of 16 points with 4:38 remaining in the game.

The teams combined for 63 free throws with Texas Southern making 24 of 30 and Alabama State 24 of 33.