RIVERSIDE, Calif. | Three players scored in double figures but it wasn't enough as Jackson State fell 79-73 to California Baptist at the Fowler Events Center on Saturday night.

Dorian McMillian and Daeshun Ruffin each finished with 20 points in the loss for Jackson State, with Ruffin hitting double figures returning to the court for the first time since Arkansas State (Dec. 5). Shannon Grant finished with 10 points in just nine minutes for the Tigers before fouling out early in the second half.

Both teams had runs in the game that opened big leads beginning with a 10-2 run by Jackson State in the first 4:30, while Cal Baptist countered with a 10-3 run over the first four minutes of the second half to take a 44-37 lead. Cal Baptist built the lead to as many as 16 (58-42) with 11:26 remaining in the game before Jackson State came back to trim the deficit to single digits at six (70-64) with 2:01 remaining. They were able to get to five two times in the last minute including 75-70 with 31 seconds remaining. They were able to cut it four (77-73) on a three-pointer from Jayme Mitchell Jr. with eight seconds remaining.

Jackson State shot 40.6 (26-of-64) percent from the floor and 28.6 (6-of-21) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 88.2 (15-of-17) percent from the free throw line, while grabbing 30 rebounds. Cal Baptist finished the night shooting 41.5 (22-of-53) percent from the floor and 22.7 (5-of-22) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 83.3 (30-of-36) percent from the free throw line.

Inside the Numbers
Jackson State shot 40.0 (12-of-30) percent from the floor in the opening half including 37.5 (3-of-8) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 87.5 (7-of-8) percent from the free throw line. Cal Baptist finished the first half shooting 41.7 (10-of-24) percent from the floor including 16.7 (2-of-12) percent from beyond the arc. The Lancers also shot 91.7 (11-of-12) percent from the free throw line.

Despite two of its post players in foul trouble, playing a combined 10 minutes in the first half, the Tigers trailed the rebounding battle by just one, 17-16, with Marcus Watson Jr. leading the way with four.

The Tigers shot 41.2 (14-of-34) percent from the floor and 23.1 (3-of-13) percent from beyond the arc in the second half. They also finished the night shooting 88.9 (8-of-9) percent from the free throw line. Cal Baptist finished the night shooting 41.5 (22-of-53) percent from the floor and 22.7 (5-of-22) percent from beyond the arc, while also shooting 79.2 (19-of-24) percent from the free throw line.

Game Notes

• Delyle Williams (Compton, Calif.) and Romelle Mansel (Los Angeles, Calif.) returned to their home state in the game against Cal Baptist. Watson also returned to the state where he played one year of junior college basketball, and Mo Williams returned to the state where he started his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Cal State-Northridge.
• The meeting between the two schools was the fourth in school history with all three taking place since 2019.
• The Tigers led a game at halftime for the second time this season (the only other time was on the road at Saint Louis).

Up Next
Jackson State will take the next week off to begin preparation for Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play next Saturday on the road against Alcorn State. The game will tip at 2:30 p.m. on HBCUGo.

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