HOUSTON, Texas – The Braves shared the ball well (13 assists), played great defense (forced 16 turnovers and recorded 10 steals) and shot 46.6 percent from the field as they advance to Wednesday night with a 66-52 win over Grambling State.
The Braves got off to a great start against Grambling. Though the Tigers scored the first basket,
George Thomas nailed a three-pointer to give the Braves their first lead of the game.
Minutes later,
Keynan Pittman connected on two alley-oops from LeAntwan Luckett and
Michael Davis to give the Braves a 7-5 advantage.
The Braves snuck in a small 8-2 run led by back-to-back baskets by
Marquis Vance making the score 15-7.
Grambling would close the gap to six, 24-18 with just under three minutes to go in the first half.
The Braves closed out the first half with a 5-0 run to take a 29-18 lead at the break.
Fresh out of the locker room, the Braves continued to dominate going on a 7-0 run to open the half and extend their lead to 36-18.
The Braves built a 20-point lead, 40-20, at the 15:42 mark of the second half.
The Braves were playing some great defense not allowing Grambling to score a field goal for just over 10 minutes before the Tigers scored at the 14:14 mark.
Later on in the second, Grambling was determined to get back into the game by cutting the Braves lead to nine, 55-46 with 4:28 to go.
But
Reginald Johnson totaled 8-of the Braves final 11 points to help the Braves secure the victory.
Johnson led all scorers with a game-high 22 points and eight rebounds. Vance scored 14 points and eight rebounds on the night. Luckett recorded 12 points, five rebounds, three steals and three blocks for the Braves.
The Braves face no. 1 seed Texas Southern tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. at the Toyota Center.
