Lyons late 3 lifts Southern past Texas Southern in OT, 77-76

HOUSTON (AP) — Tyrone Lyons grabbed the rebound when Jordan Gilliam missed the second of two free throws, dribbled up court and drilled a pull-up 3-pointer with a second left to give Southern a 77-76 overtime win over Texas Southern in a Southwestern Athletic Conference opener on Monday night.

Gilliam hit a pair from the line with 21 seconds left to put Texas Southern in front by four, 75-71, but Lyons hit from deep with 11 seconds left to get the Jaguars within one. Gilliam drew a foul with six seconds left and pushed the lead to two, but his second attempt caromed directly to Lyons, who was unchallenged as he crossed mid-court and pulled up from just outside the arc to launch the game-winner.

Brion Whitley hit three free throws with 3:52 left in regulation to put Southern up, 63-57, but the Jaguars did not score again until overtime. Freshman Zytarious Mortle hit two free throws to get Texas Southern within two, then knocked down a jumper to tie it with 50 seconds left to force the extra period.

Bryson Etienne scored 18 points and Lyons added another 16 off the bench to lead Southern (5-9, 1-0). Jalen Reynolds contributed 10 points.

Mortle came off the bench to hit 11 of 17 from the field, including 3 of 5 from distance, and converted 9 of 15 from the line to finish with a career-high 34 points to lead Texas Southern. John Walker III had 14 points and Jiordon Karl Nicholas added 13 points and nine rebounds.

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