“We beat our selves every single time,” said Tigers head coach Bobby Washington.
After failing to convert on an alley oop at the buzzer Monday night, the Grambling State (3-18, 3-8 SWAC) Tigers dropped their third straight game in a 57-55 loss to Alcorn State (7-16, 4-7 SWAC), despite getting double-digits from three players other than Quincy Roberts.
GSU has been on a swoon recently. The Tigers lost their first of three games on Jan, 28. In a matchup against Mississippi Valley, the Tigers shot 36.8 percent and were out rebounded by 12 as they suffered a 77-59 loss at Harrison Complex in Itta Bena, MS.
That gamed was followed by the inaugural Bayou Classic on the Hardwood, where the Jaguars erased a 16 point first half deficit and Jameel Grace scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half for Southern to defeat Grambling State 57-53 in the Hobdy Arena.
The teams in the SWAC have been more intense on the defensive end to slow down Roberts and their strategy has been quite successful. In the first half of SWAC play Roberts averaged 27 points, but in the midst of the losing streak Roberts’ average has dropped 10 points.
Roberts, SWACs leading scorer, stated, “In the first half they played me man to man, so I was able to get to my own shot and create, but in the second half they played more of a face guard zone so it’s was really hard to get my shot off.”
Roberts scored 28 points against Southern on Saturday night, 21 coming in the first half and only eight in the second. His shooting slump carried over in the Tigers ensuing game as he tallied only one point in the first half and finished with nine, his career low since joining the SWAC.
Coach Washington stressed that although the team consisted of six walk ons and four scholarship players someone needs to step up and help Roberts out.
“The word is out that Quincy Roberts is the best player in the SWAC, everybody knows it,” said coach Washington. “It’s no secret. They are running two or three guys at him and they’re saying you know what don’t let him beat us because no one else on the floor can beat us.”
He also said that they are certain things that need to be done in order to be an integral part of men’s basketball and one of those things is a to get a bigger budget for recruiting. He feels that more funding will result in possible solutions in overcoming their offensive obstacles. Even with six walk ons and four scholarships, Washington said his team competes all game but continue to give games away.
The Tigers’ next game will be on Feb. 11, against Texas Southern in the P.E & Health Center and a number to take note of is seven. Last time these two teams battled the Tigers gave up seven points late in the game and TSU rallied for a victory. The rematch tips off at 4 p.m.
