BOWLING GREEN, Ky. | After falling behind early, Jackson State continued to fight to get the game to single digits before falling on the road to WKU 79-62 at E.A. Diddle Arena on Wednesday night.

Tamarion Hoover and Dorian McMillian combined for 34 points, with Hoover recording a career-high 18 and McMillian a career-high 16 in the loss. The two combined to hit 13-of-23 from the floor and six three-pointers. Jayme Mitchell Jr. added nine points and seven rebounds for Jackson State (0-5). Meanwhile, Khristian Lander led WKU (3-2) with 15 points, while Don McHenry added 13 and Julius Thedford 12.

How It Happened
After WKU opened with an 11-0 run, Jackson State was finally able to get on the board with a pair of free throws from Juan Reyna III with 13:14 to play in the first half. They added a basket from Hoover just a few seconds later to stay with 10 (14-4). Following the second media timeout of the first half, Hoover cut into the Hilltoppers lead with a three from the left corner, followed by a three from Reyna with 9:52 to play in the first half forcing a WKU timeout as the lead was cut to 18-11.

Trailing 30-15 with 5:36 to play in the first half, Jackson State used five straight points from McMillian and a basket from Marcus Watson Jr. to trim the deficit to 32-23 with 4:03 left before a basket from WKU heading into the media timeout pushed the lead back to 12. Hoover continued to score for the Tigers with five straight points to trim the lead to 40-28 with under 30 seconds to play in the half as the Tigers held WKU scoreless for the final 2:07.

The second was much the same story with Jackson State getting to within 10 before a 13-3 run over a span of 5:08 opened the lead to 62-39 until a 6-0 run by the Tigers forced a timeout with 9:07 to play trailing 62-45.

Inside the Numbers
Jackson State shot 32.3 (10-of-31) percent from the floor in the first half including 41.7 (5-of-12) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 50.0 (3-of-6) percent from the free throw line. WKU shot 41.7 (15-of-36) percent from the floor and 44.4 (8-of-16) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot just 50.0 (2-of-4) percent from the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.

The teams battled on the boards in the opening half with the Hilltoppers holding a slim 23-21 advantage, while the two teams combined to commit 20 turnovers in the first half. Jackson State had eight assists on its 10 made baskets and also recorded four steals and blocked three shots. Hoover was the only player in double figures in the first half with 10 while the Hilltoppers had three players with seven or more points. 

The Tigers finished the night shooting 39.7 (23-of-58) percent from the floor and 32.0 (8-of-25) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 66.7 (8-of-12) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, WKU shot 43.5 (30-of-69) percent from the floor and 45.2 (14-of-31) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 62.5 (5-of-8) percent from the free throw line.

Game Notes
The Tigers started the same lineup for the third game in a row - McMillian, Mitchell, Shannon Grant, Romelle Mansel, and Watson. The second half starters looked different for the Tigers as Hoover and Reyna were in for Mitchell and Watson. The team is still playing without Daeshun Ruffin, Ebo Wilson, Keiveon Hunt, and Avaughn Johnson as well as Jalen Tatum on this trip. 

The game is the second of four over a 10-day span on the road for the Tigers and the fifth straight on the road to start the season.

Up Next
Jackson State stays in the state of Kentucky heading north to face No. 9 Kentucky on Friday night with a 7 p.m. (ET) tip set for SEC Network+.

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