DAYTON — Bryson Etienne scored 21 points and Texas Southern beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 76-67 on Tuesday night in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament.
The Cowboys earned their third NCAA Tournament win in five seasons and will play top-seeded Kansas in the Midwest first round. The First Four returned to the University of Dayton Arena for the first time in three seasons. Tuesday’s second game between Wyoming and Indiana ended after deadline.
PJ Henry hit a go-ahead free throw to highlight a 7-0 run in which Texas Southern (19-12) took the lead and never surrendered. He finished with 14 points and shot 10 of 13 at the free throw line.
John Walker III added 16 points. Brison Gresham grabbed 13 rebounds and scored six points.
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (23-12) led by as many as eight points in the opening period and four in the second half. The Islanders’ season ended after they won the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament Saturday.
Trevian Tennyson led the Islanders with 18 points on 7-of-13 shooting while Simeon Fryer scored 12 and Terrion Murdix added 10.
The Cowboys led 32-30 at halftime after trailing for over 10 minutes in the first half. Both teams shot below 40% from the field in the opening period, combining for 15 turnovers and seven steals.
Big picture
Texas A&M-CC: The Islanders shot 47.4% at the free throw line. They entered with a season average of 74.4% there.
Texas Southern: The Cowboys forced nine turnovers and had four steals.
Up next
Texas A&M-CC: Season finished.
Texas Southern: Travels to Fort Worth, Texas, to play No. 1 Kansas on Thursday.
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