PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas | Jackson State used a career night from Daeshun Ruffin to stay perfect in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play with a 79-70 road victory over Prairie View A&M on Saturday night.

Ruffin led Jackson State (4-14, 4-0 SWAC) with 26 points on 50.0 (7-of-14) percent shooting from the floor including four three-pointers. He also finished perfect from the line hitting all eight free throw attempts. Keiveon Hunt finished with 14 points and Shannon Grant 11 in the win. Meanwhile, Dylan Canoville finished with four blocks.

Jackson State held the lead for most of the first half until Prairie View A&M took a one-point lead at 19-18 with 7:23 remaining. Following the two free throws by the Panthers, Jackson State outscored the Panthers 18-7 for the remainder of the period to take a 10-point halftime lead (36-26). The Tigers used eight points from Ruffin during that stretch, including a pair of three-pointers to push the lead to double digits. The second half was much the same as Prairie View A&M came back to take the lead in the final 20 minutes before the Tigers took control of the game at the free throw line to put the game away.

Jackson State finished the night shooting 44.2 (23-of-52) percent from the floor and 38.5 (5-of-13) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished at 82.4 (28-of-34) percent from the free throw line and won the rebounding battle 40-23. Meanwhile, Prairie View A&M finished the night shooting 41.9 (26-of-62) percent from the floor and 26.7 (4-of-15) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 73.7 (14-of-19) percent from the free throw line.

Inside the Numbers
Jackson State shot 41.2 (14-of-34) percent from the floor and 55.6 (5-of-9) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 75.0 (3-of-4) percent from the free throw line. They also outrebounded Prairie View A&M 25-10 in the first half including eight offensive rebounds. They came out in the second half and shot 50.0 (9-of-18) percent from the floor and missed all four of their three-pointers. They also shot 83.3 (25-of-30) percent from the free throw line and grabbed 15 second-half rebounds.

Prairie View A&M finished the first half shooting 37.0 (10-of-27) percent from the floor and 25.0 (2-of-8) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 66.7 (4-of-6) percent from the free throw line and forced Jackson State into 10 first-half turnovers. The Panthers shot 45/7 (16-of-35) percent from the floor and 28.6 (2-of-7) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 76.9 (10-of-13) percent from the free throw line.

Game Notes

• The Tigers announced during the first half that Monday's game against Texas Southern at the H&PE Arena scheduled for a 7 p.m. start has been moved to a 3 p.m. start due to the forecasted winter weather set to impact the city of Houston on Monday night into Tuesday.
• The 4-0 start in conference play is the first time under head coach Mo Williams and the first time since the COVID-shortened season in 2020-21 when the Tigers went 11-0 in SWAC play. That year, Jackson State reeled off 12 consecutive wins before falling to Texas Southern in the semifinals of the conference tournament.
• Ruffin has scored in double figures in six of the seven games he has played this season for Jackson State, including all four conference games.
• Romelle Mansel left the game early after a flagrant two foul was called against Prairie View A&M in the first half, finishing with five points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes of action.

Up Next
Jackson State returns to action against Texas Southern on Monday afternoon to close out the swing in the state of Texas.

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