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For the third year in a row, the back-to-back SWAC champion Texas Southern University (TSU) Tigers men's basketball team emerged victorious in the First Four, the play-in round of the NCAA Men's Division I Tournament.
The 16th-seeded Tigers last night (March 15) defeated Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) 76-67 at University of Dayton Arena in Dayton, Ohio to earn a date with top-seeded Kansas at Fort Worth's Dickies Arena on St. Patrick's Day night, according to the website HBCU Gameday.
"Your Tigers are moving on!" the program's official Twitter account declared postgame. "Here we come, Fort Worth!"
The Tigers started the matchup against the Islanders from behind, but Bryson Etienne emerged from the bench to help get TSU in the driver's seat.
Etienne would eventually lead the Tigers with 21 points, according to HBCU Gameday.
In the second half, TAMU-CC regained the lead, going up as much as four.
But TSU overcame another deficit when P.J. Henry was gifted three free-throw attempts after he was hit launching a shot from behind the arc, the website reported.
The Tigers simply secured victory at the free-throw line afterward.
Brison Gresham's presence in the paint was also a factor in TSU's March Madness-opening win.
HBCU Gameday reported that he grabbed 14 boards and swatted six enemy shots to go with six points.
The Tigers put alumnus Michael Strahan in a celebratory mood.
"Let’s go @TSUMensHoops!! Big win!" Strahan, a Hall of Fame linebacker and media personality, tweeted.
A native Houstonian, Strahan attended and played for TSU in the early 1990s before he crafted a storied career with the New York Giants.
TSU's win over TAMU-CC whittled the Texas contingent in the tournament from seven to six.
The other Lone Star programs are the Tigers' Third Ward neighbor Houston, which seeks to avenge last year's Final Four elimination; defending national champion Baylor, which ousted Houston in the national semifinal; Texas; Texas Tech and TCU.