KENNESAW, Ga. | Deashun Ruffin led Jackson State with his sixth game in double figures in a 88-73 loss to Kennesaw State at VyStar Arena on a chilly Tuesday night.
Ruffin finished with 28 points on the night, with 14 of those coming in the first half, for the Tigers. He finished the night shooting 38.9 (7-of-18) percent from the floor and connected on 92.3 (12-of-13) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Mike Williams came off the bench to add 12 points in the loss.
Jackson State finished the night shooting 34.5 (20-of-58) percent from the floor and 28.0 (7-of-25) percent from beyond the arc; while shooting 89.7 (26-of-29) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State finished the night shooting 39.7 (9-of-30) percent from the floor and 24.3 (9-of-37) percent from beyond the arc; while shooting 64.1 (25-of-39) percent from the free throw line.
Simeon Cottle led Kennesaw State with 28 points.
How It Happened
Jackson State ran out to a quick 9-5 lead through the first media timeout at 15:42 with nine points combined from Jayme Mitchell Jr. and Ruffin, before pushing the lead to 16-7 with over 13:29 minutes to play in the first half on a pair of free throws from Ruffin. During the run, Jackson State shot 50.0 (5-of-10) percent from the floor and 83.3 (5-of-6) percent from the free throw line; while outrebounding Kennesaw State 11-7.
The Owls went on a 7-0 run over the next 2:18 to pull to with a pair at 16-14 before taking their first lead of the night (17-16) with 9:37 to play on a three-pointer from Ramone Seals. The run continued to 13-0 for the Owls with 8:59 to play on a three from Darrius Washington III. The run continued with back-to-back baskets from the Owls to push the lead to 24-16 before Dorian McMillian ended the run with a pull-up jump shot from the elbow with 7:35 to play in the half to pull Jackson State to within six (24-18). The Tigers trimmed the deficit to eight (38-30) with one minute to play before a pair of baskets and a buzzer-beating three-pointer put Kennesaw State ahead 46-32 at the break.
Kennesaw State started the second half off the way it ended the first, connecting 50.0 (4-of-8) percent of its shots from the floor and held Jackson State to just 14.3 (1-of-7) percent shooting in the first five minutes to extend the lead to 57-36 at the first media timeout with 14:58 to play in the contest. Jackson State fought its way back into the game holding Kennesaw State without a field goal for 3:42 to trim the deficit to 64-49. They stretched the Owls' stretch of no field goals to 5:49 and trimmed the lead to 66-52 with 8:40 to play and held them scoreless for 2:17.
The Owls were able to extend the lead back out to 70-54 with six minutes to play holding Jackson State without a field goal for 4:13, however, hitting just 1-of-14 themselves. The two teams traded baskets and free throws over the final four minutes of the game.
Inside the Numbers
Jackson State finished the first half shooting 40.7 (11-of-27) percent from the floor and hit on just 1-of-7 from beyond the arc. They also connected on 81.8 (9-of-11) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State finished the first half shooting 47.4 (18-of-38) percent from the floor and 32.0 (8-of-25) percent from beyond the arc. The Owls converted on just 25.0 (2-of-8) percent from the free throw line in the opening half.
In the second half, Jackson State shot 29.0 (9-of-31) percent from the floor and 33.3 (6-of-18) percent from beyond the arc; while shooting 94.4 (17-of-18) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Kennesaw State shot 30.0 (9-of-30) percent from the floor and 8.3 (1-of-12) percent from beyond the arc; while shooting 74.2 (23-of-31) percent from the free throw line in the final 20 minutes.
Up Next
Jackson State will take a week off before returning to action on the road against No. 7/8 Houston on Dec. 10, the first of two games in a four-day span.
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