Texas Southern Struggled in Loss to Fairleigh Dickinson
The Texas Southern Tigers struggled with their defensive assignments, consistently pounding the ball in the paint, and hitting jumpers from three-point range during their 84-61 loss to the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights at the NCAA Men's First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.
Mar 15, 2023; Dayton, OH, USA; Texas Southern Tigers guard PJ Henry (3) moves the ball defended by Fairleigh Dickinson Knights guard Demetre Roberts (2) at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
The 2023 SWAC Men's Tournament Champions trailed most of the match after scoring the first points. TSU cut the deficit to 26-23 in the first half but couldn't create enough offense and defensive stops to edge closer.
As a unit, TSU racked up 24 fouls allowing FDU 31 trips to the free-throw line scoring 27 of its 84 points. Texas Southern should have capitalized on its height and size but went 8-of-9 from the charity stripe against the shortest team in NCAA Division I.
The Knights gave themselves fastbreak opportunities with 27 defensive rebounds and created eight turnovers with their full-court press.
Sophomore Ansley Almonor led the FDU scoring with five treys in his game-high 23-point outing. Every Knights' starter scored from beyond the arc. They drained 11-of-27 three-point shots as a team compared to the Tigers' dreadful 1-of-16 performance.
Senior John Walker III led Texas Southern with a team-high 22 points while shooting 9-of-17 from the field. Joirdon Karl Nicholas, also a senior, added 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting and eight rebounds. Fairleigh Dickinson took advantage of his second-half foul trouble during their 16-2 streak, which put the game out of hand for the Tigers.
Texas Southern's starting guard and leader PJ Henry scored once for 2 points, and Devon Barnes contributed 8 points on the night.
Johnny Jones and TSU had not lost in three-consecutive First Four trips. Next season will be a time for Jones and his staff to re-tool with the pending departures of John Walker III and Joirdon Karl Nicholas.