Grant Maxey scored 26 points and Garrison Johnson added 23 to lead Jackson State past Texas Southern 72-65 in the first round of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday. Johnson also grabbed nine boards for Jackson State (17-14), which outrebounded Texas Southern (7-25) 39-25. Darrion Griffin also added 23 points for second-seeded Jackson State, which will face the winner of Thursday's contest between Alabama State and Mississippi Valley State in the next round on Friday. Matthew Miller led Texas Southern with 21 points, while Ricky Boyles and DeAndre Hall added 11 each. Jackson State shot 42 percent from the field (21 of 50), while Texas Southern hit 40 percent of its shots (24 of 60). Jackson State completed the season sweep of Texas Southern, also winning 76-63 on Jan. 17 and 72-63 on Feb. 14.
