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