JACKSON, Miss. - The Jackson State men's basketball team heads to Montgomery, Alabama tomorrow night for it's SWAC opening tip-off with Alabama State. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPNU with tip-off slated for 8:00 p.m. CST. 

GAME 6 DETAILS
Date: Monday, Jan. 4, 2020
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Montgomery, Ala.
Arena: Dunn-Oliver Acadome (7,500) 
Television: ESPNU
Anish Shroff, play-by-play
King McClure, analyst
Radio: Jackson State Sports Network
Rob Jay, play-by-play
Live Video: ESPN.com/ESPN app
Live Audio: www.woad.com
2019-20 Series Record: JSU 2-0
Last Meeting: March 5, 2020 (JSU 71| ASU 59)

ALABAMA STATE BY THE NUMBERS
2020-21 Record: 0-1 (SWAC: 0-1)
Rankings: NR
Head Coach: Mo Williams
Career: 0-1/1st Season
At ASU: 0-1/1st Season 
Key Leaders: 
Kenny Strawbridge: 9.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 3 Steals
DJ Heath: 9 PPG, 4 RPG, 4 Steals
E.J. Clark: 8 PPG, 3 RPG, 1 Steal
Brandon Battle: 6 PPG, 10 RPG, 2 Steals

QUICK GLANCE AT JSU LEADERS
Jayveous McKinnis: 15.5 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 8 Blocks 
Tristan Jarrett: 16.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 11 Assists, 11 Steals
Jonas James: 5.8 PPG, 2.4,RPG, 8 assists, 6 steals

GAME 5 RECAP: IOWA STATE
It's been 15 days since the last time the Tigers tipped-off with non-conference opponent Iowa State back on December 20, 2020. The Tigers came up just short to the Cyclones by a final score of 60-45. The Tigers opened up the game on a 7-0 run to take the early lead against the Cyclones. Over the next four minutes of play, ISU would go on an 11-2 run to take it's first lead of the game at 11-9, midway through the first half. Both teams remained in tight game with the scored tied at 15-15 with nine minutes left in the half. Iowa State closed out the half on a 10-4 run to take a close 25-19 lead over the Tigers into the break. Iowa State increased its lead to 14-points, 40-26, with 11:26 remaining in the game, yet the Tigers would battle back to trim the lead to nine points, 46-37, with a Tristan Jarrett jumper. The Tigers ultimately came up just shy to the Big 12 school, falling 60-45 in non-conference play. Jarrett led all Tiger scorers with 18 points scored in the games. Jarrett also finished with six rebounds, three assists, and two steals.Jayveous McKinnis tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, one blocked shot and two steals. Ken Evans finished with seven points, six rebounds, and three assists. As a team, Jackson State shot 14-of-58 from the field and provided 22 points in the paint. 

LAST OUTING VERSUS ALABAMA STATE
The last time Alabama State and Jackson State men's basketball team met, the Tigers cruised to a 12-point, 71-59 win against Alabama State on March 5, 2020. At the time, the win helped improve JSU to three games over .500 in the conference at 10-7 in SWAC play. Former Tiger, Venjie Wallis, had a season high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, including thee rebounds, two blocks and one steal. Jonas James had 10 points and four rebounds while Tristan Jarrett tallied 14 points on the night. Jayveous McKinnis completed another double-double performance with 11 points and a team best 14 rebounds. At one point in the contest the Tigers led by 27 points just twenty seconds into the start of the second half. As a team, Jackson State was 28-of-51 shooting. The Tigers managed to pull down 30 boards combined on the night. Jackson State has now won three straight games in SWAC play, improving to 10-7 in the league and 13-17 overall. The Tigers are managing to defeat teams by an average score of 16.3 points a game over that stretch. 

LAST TIME OUT IN SWAC PLAY
It's been 300 days since the Tigers last played a SWAC opponent. On March 10, 2020 JSU defeated Alcorn State 69-52 in the first round of the SWAC tournament to head to the Semifinals of the SWAC tournament. The next day, the season was stopped due to the COVID-19 outbreak. At the time JSU was riding a season best five game win streak, while defeating opponents by an average of 13.8 points per game during that stretch of wins. 

SEASON LEADERS
The Tigers have produced two 10+ point scorers on the season with Tristan Jarrett leading the way with 16.4 points scored per game. Jarrett also leads the team with 11 steals and is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game. In four games this season, Jayveous McKinnis has totaled two double-doubles. The Preseason Defensive Player of the Year for the SWAC ranks second on the team with 15.5 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. McKinnis also leads the Tigers with eight blocks on the season. Newcomer Calvin Temple is averaging 7.5 points per game in his debut season with the Tigers. Jonas James ranks second on the team with eight assists on the season. The Jackson product is averaging 5.8 points per game and has six steals. 

FORMER TIGER TREY JOHNSON 
Former NBA and Jackson State superstar Trey Johnson will be at today's contest, but not wearing the Blue and White. Johnson returns to the SWAC in his first season as assistant coach at Alabama State, along side Jackson, Miss native and former NBA star, Mo Williams. In his time at Jackson State, Johnson finished 10th in the nation in scoring during his junior season at 23.5 points per game and was named First Team All-SWAC. After declaring for the 2006 NBA Draft, Johnson returned to school and was named the Preseason SWAC Player of the Year and Preseason All-American. During his senior season, he set a single season record for points in a single game, points per game average (27.1), free throws made, and free throws attempted. He finished his career as a member of the1,000-point club with 1,698 career points. In just two seasons with Jackson State, Johnson would leave in the top 10 in scoring in school history. Johnson also led Jackson State to 21 wins and the SWAC Tournament Championship in 2007, earning Tournament MVP honors and was named the SWAC Player of the Year.