DAYTON, Ohio - Damontrae Jefferson did a lot of everything Wednesday night, hitting layups and 3-pointers, grabbing rebounds, playing defense and making his teammates look good. The slippery-quick 5-foot-7 guard also helped Texas Southern make history.
Playing all but the last minute or so of the game, the sophomore dynamo scored 25 points, pulled down eight rebounds, flexed and crowed as Texas Southern got its first ever NCAA Tournament win, a 64-46 rout of North Carolina Central in a First Four game at University of Dayton Arena.
No. 16 seed Texas Southern (16-19) also became the first team with a losing record to win a tournament game. The Tigers started the season 0-13 against a big-boy schedule - the worst start for a tournament team in NCAA history - and didn't win a game until Jan. 1. Now they'll face No. 1 seed Xavier on Friday.
"It was for the university," Jefferson said. "We actually made history today for the university, and we kind of knew that coming into this game."
Texas Southern started the season horrendously with one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country but went 12-5 in conference, winning the last seven. Tempered by November and December opponents that included Gonzaga, Ohio State and Kansas, they were ready for Wednesday.
"You can't train your brain to stay focused unless you go through some tough times," coach Mike Davis said. "And that's why I designed my schedule the way I designed it, for us to get better and for us to be tough as a team. So if you noticed, nobody on this team celebrated. Nobody jumped up and down, high-fiving. We did the same thing in our conference tournament."