NORMAL, ILL - Injuries provided a lot of adversity for the Jackson State men's basketball team in another tough road contest against Illinois State.

The Tigers were able to fight through all of it, grinding out a 61-55 victory over Illinois State (4-4) on Saturday afternoon in front of 3,089 fans inside the Redbird Arena.

JSU (2-6) had three players score in double-figures in the contest, led by redshirt freshman Ken Evans Jr. who registered a double-double 13 points and 12 rebounds.  The more important stat though was three Tigers with five-plus rebounds, winning the glass 35-32 with 20 second chance points.

Chance Moore recorded 13 points while shooting 3-5 from the three point line logging 16 minutes off the bench. 

Jonas James III finished with 11 points and he was a perfect 4-4 from the charity stripe. 

"Despite us dealing with injuries and being on the road for our eight straight game, I thought our kids showed a lot of heart and determination," said head coach Wayne Brent. "Our coaches did an excellent job of preparing them and the players did a great job of being coachable and trusting the game plan." 

The first half was very up-tempo for the Tigers, putting up a lot of three-pointers with an efficient 7-10 shooting.  The first bucket of the game came on a three-pointer from Evans Jr putting the Tigers on the board first.

Moore brought his efficiency off of the bench as he scored eight straight points for the Tigers halfway through the first half giving JSU the lead, 14-13. 

However, the Redbirds then went on a 6-0 run to take a five point lead, 27-22.  Evans Jr ended the Redbirds run as he drained a three-pointer and a collected a steal shortly after. Terence Lewis II who got the start for the Tigers tonight, scored four consecutive points. Lewis II recorded another steal for the Tigers and Darrian Wilson drilled a three-pointer for the final bucket of the first stanza, providing the Tigers with a 32-30 edge going into the locker room. 

The second half was a similar story to the first half with each team trading back and forth buckets. Clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch for the Tigers helped them secure another non-conference victory on the road, 61-55. 

Illinois State also had two players in double figures, led by Antonio Reeves with a game-high 14 points and Howard Fleming Jr who chipped in 10 points. 

NOTABLES
- Jackson State was 21-52 (40 percent) shooting from the field and 11-16 (69 percent) from the charity stripe
- Illinois State shot 34 percent (16-47) from the field and 68 percent (19-28) from the free-throw line
- The Tigers registered 35 rebounds, including 25 on the defensive glass and 10 on the offensive glass
- The Redbirds pulled down 32 rebounds, with 23 coming on the defensive end and 9 on the offensive end
- JSU finished with 20 points in the paint, 20 bench points, 11 fast-break points and 8 second-chance points
- Illinois State registered 17 bench points, 24 points in the paint, 9 fast-break points and 7 second-chance points

UP NEXT
Jackson State remains on the road and will take on Iowa State Sunday, December 12 at 12:00 p.m. CT in the Hilton Coliseum and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+. 

SEASON TICKETS
Season tickets are now on sale to the public for the 2021-22 men's and women's basketball season. Tickets can be purchased at the JSU Ticket Office at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, online at TicketMaster, and at 601-354-6021.

SOCIAL MEDIA 
For all of the latest Jackson State Men's Basketball news, fans can follow the Twitter account (GoJSUTigersMBB), Instagram account (@gojsutigersmbb) and Facebook account (Jackson State Men's Basketball).

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