Hopkins carries Texas Southern over Jackson St. 77-74

Justin Hopkins scored 11 of his career-high 23 points in the final eight minutes as Texas Southern rallied from a 10-point deficit to beat Jackson State 77-74 on Saturday night.

Yahuza Rasas and Tyrik Armstrong added 20 points each for Texas Southern. Rasas also had 16 rebounds.

Jonas James converted a three-point play to give Jackson State a 65-55 lead with eight minutes remaining but answered with a dunk, two free throws and a three-point play of his own to cut TSU's deficit to three points with 7:12 to go. Armstrong scored seven points in an 11-0 run that gave the Texas Southern a 73-67 lead when he hit a 3-pointer with 3:51 left. Roland Griffin's layup with 38 seconds to play pulled JSU within a point but Hopkins made two free throws to cap the scoring with nine seconds left capped the scoring.

Texas Southern (11-13, 8-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) totaled 49 points in the second half, a season high for the team.

Roland Griffin had 21 points and six assists for Jackson State (10-15, 7-5), whose five-game winning streak was snapped. Tristan Jarrett added 16 points. Jonas James had 11 points. Jayveous McKinnis had 10 points, nine rebounds, and five blocks.

Texas Southern improves to 2-0 against Jackson State this season. Texas Southern defeated Jackson State 77-66 on Jan. 18. Texas Southern will pursue its fifth consecutive home victory on Monday when the team hosts Grambling State. Jackson State takes on Prairie View on the road on Monday.