HOUSTON – Omar Strong scored 34 points, including seven 3-pointers, and Texas Southern won its 11th straight game, 79-66 over Southern, on Thursday night to take control of the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season championship.
Strong was 9 of 15 from the floor, including 7 of 13 from 3-point range, for the Tigers (16-14, 15-2), who moved ahead of Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Southern into sole possession of the SWAC lead. Texas Southern can clinch the outright title by beating Alcorn State on Saturday in its regular-season finale.
Ray Penn added 14 points for Texas Southern, and Fred Sturdivant had nine points, nine rebounds and six blocked shots.
Derick Beltran led the Jaguars (20-9, 14-3) with 16 points. Brandon Moore and Javan Mitchell chipped in 13 apiece. Southern saw its four-game winning streak snapped.
Texas Southern never trailed after the opening minutes and led by as many as 24 in the second half.
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