Texas Southern dropped its home opener in dramatic fashion as Samford claimed a 93-90 overtime win on Wednesday night.
It was a back-and-forth affair from the opening tip as both teams were tied at 19-all nearly 11 minutes into the contest. TSU would begin to create separation with an 18-11 surge as Troy Hupstead keyed the run with nine points en route to a 37-30 with 3:59 left. However, the Bulldogs came back to close out the half with a 14-2 run keyed by Jadin Booth's eight points to claim a 44-39 halftime lead.
The second half was another see-saw battle as there were 10 ties entering the final seconds. TSU's Jaylen Wysinger nailed an NBA-length three-pointer with 44 seconds left to move ahead 82-79 but Samford countered with a trey that bounced all around the rim to knot it at 82-all with 29 seconds left. TSU had a chance to send the crowd home happy but Duane Posey's point-blank attempt in the paint and subsequent putback before the buzzer was just short.
TSU scored the first five points of overtime to lead 82-82 but the Bulldogs took advantage of cold shooting by TSU along with timely free throw shooting (7-of-9) which sparked a 10-0 run and a 92-87 lead with 26 seconds left. Samford would commit a turnover with 14 seconds left off Jaylen Wysinger's steal and Zaire Hayes, who made his season debut Wednesday night, nailed a huge trey to trail 92-90 with 10 seconds left. With TSU forced to foul, Samford couldn't seal the win as they hit 1-of-2 free throws which allowed the Tigers a chance to tie. Unfortunately, the opportunity to tie never materialized as TSU turned the ball over on the handoff with three seconds left.
Hupstead led TSU with 25 points and seven rebounds followed by 16 points and 11 rebounds from Posey, 14 points from Cameron Patterson and 11 by Hayes.
Tsu is back in action Saturday at Texas State.
