Tigers Fall On Late Basket At Jackson State

JACKSON, Miss. – A late basket with time running down by Jackson State was the difference as TSU fell 71-69 Saturday evening.

Both teams started the contest out sizzling as TSU was 7-for-11 while JSU went 6-for-11 within the first eight minutes as the score was tied at 16-all. However, the game would change immediately in favor of Jackson State as the Tigers went on a 17-4 run over the next 7:23 to claim a 33-20 lead at the 4:48 mark as JSU (10-18, 9-6 SWAC) played nearly perfect going 7-for-8 from the field as well as 1-for-1 both long range as well as the charity stripe. TSU was 0-for-5 during that same stretch.

Despite the massive run by JSU, TSU would stick to its game and play hard eventually getting to within 36-29 with 1:08 left in the first half before opening the second half on a 13-4 run to take a 42-41 lead with 16:09 left in the game.

The rest of the game was like watching a battle of “anything you can do, I can do better” with both teams working hard to keep themselves in a position to make one final push.

Unfortunately for TSU, it was Jackson State that made that final push when down 61-57 to win the game with a 14-8 run over the final 7:03 of the game. TSU held a 69-66 lead with 1:03 left but a JSU putback off a missed free throw tied it all 69-all. TSU had two attempts for the lead on its next possession but couldn’t capitalize as Romelle Mansel’s emphatic dunk with 15 seconds left in the game gave JSU a 71-69 lead. TSU had one last chance but couldn’t score with time winding down as JSU held on for the win.

The loss now has Texas Southern in a tie for seventh with Bethune-Cookman at 7-9 in the SWAC while Jackson State leap frogged itself into a tie for third at 9-6.

Joirdon Karl Nicholas was one of five TSU ballers to score in double-digits with 16 points and hauling in 14 rebounds for a double-double performance. Davon Barnes was close behind with 14 points while P.J. Henry and John Walker III had 11 points each in addition to Kolby Granger’s 10 points. Coltie Young led the way for Jackson State with 19 points.

UP NEXT
TSU continues onward in Mississippi to face off against Alcorn State at 8 p.m. live on HBCUGO Monday night.
 
 
 
 
With the win over TSU and an earlier season win over second-place Alabama State, JSU wrapped up the SWAC regular-season conference championship with a 14-1 SWAC record with three games to go and can finish in no worse than a tie with ASU. The previous victory over ASU would give JSU the top seed on the postseason tournament.
Anela Thomas got the scoring started for either team when she put TSU up 2-0 at the 8:52 mark of the first quarter. The brief lead would be the only lead of the game for Texas Southern as Jackson State would explode out to a 12-2 lead thanks to a 12-0 run that would see Angel Jackson score nine points during that run for JSU.
The second quarter saw points scored only during three different mini-runs for either team combined.
JSU used a 9-0 run to start the quarter to go up 27-11 with 6:13 before the half.
TSU used a brief 5-0 run of just 0:56 to cut the deficit down to 27-16 before Jackson State closed out the half on a 10-0 run to go up 37-16 at the break.
The 10-0 run at the end of the first half would be extended to 17-0 thanks to a 7-0 spurt from JSU to open the third quarter.
Had it not been for a 10-1 streak for TSU to close out the third quarter, the final score may have looked even worse than the TSU fans would have wanted to see.
Micah Gray led TSU in scoring with 12 points despite shooting just 3-for-29 from the field and 2-for-10 from beyond the arc and 4-for-7 from the charity stripe.
Alisa Knight added a strong 11-point, six-rebound to her resume.
Jackson added 20 points for JSU to go along with 12 rebounds for a double-double.
 
UP NEXT
TSU has two games left in the season with one being on Monday, Feb. 27 when the Tigers continue onward in Mississippi to face off against Alcorn State at 5:30 p.m.