TSU goes home after 102-83 loss vs. No. 1 Xavier in NCAA Tournament

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Saturday, March 17, 2018
TSU goes home after 102-83 loss vs. No. 1 Xavier
TSU goes home after 102-83 loss vs. No. 1 Xavier

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (KTRK) -- Before the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, no team seeded 16th has beaten a No. 1 seed in the event's history.

To soften the blow, Tigers fans, Texas Southern did not make history Friday night.

The scrappy SWAC tournament champions were outmatched against No. 1 Xavier, which held the Tigers to minutes and minutes of scoring droughts in a 102-83 win.

For their part, the Tigers had five players scoring in double digits, led by Demontrae Jefferson's 20 points.

Derrick Bruce added 18 points and Robert Lewis scored 14.

A bright spot for the Tigers came at the 12:22 mark of the first half when TSU was up by 7 points. The elation was short lived when Xavier went on a 36-17 run into halftime.

TSU was the only team in the tournament with a losing record, but added a feather in the cap, winning its first NCAA Tournament game in school history.