TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | A furious rally in the final nine minutes came up short when Jackson State fell 76-71 to Florida A&M in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action at the Al Lawson Center on Saturday night.
Jackson State found itself down 25 points with 9:07 to play before they outscored the Rattlers 34-14 over that stretch including pulling to within three with 23.5 seconds to play before a foul and subsequent free throws gave Florida A&M a five-point lead. Jackson State had three attempts in the final seven second to close the gap but was unable to connect on a three-pointer.
Shannon Grant led three Jackson State (8-17, 8-4) players in double figures with 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the floor. He also grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots. Romelle Mansel added 10 points and six rebounds, and Daeshun Ruffin added 10 points.
Jackson State finished the night shooting 44.8 (26-of-58) percent from the floor and 16.7 (3-of-18) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 76.2 (16-of-21) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Florida A&M finished the night shooting 48.1 (25-of-52) percent from the floor and 42.9 (9-of-21) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 70.8 (17-of-24) percent from the free throw line.
Inside the Numbers
Jackson State fell behind in the first half by double digits despite shooting 44.0 (11-of-25) percent from the floor, missing on all of its three-point opportunities. They also shot 70.0 (7-of-10) percent from the free throw line. They also won the rebounding battle 17-14. Meanwhile, Florida A&M shot 51.7 (15-of-29) percent from the floor and 58.3 (7-of-12) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the first half shooting 60.0 (3-of-5) percent from the free throw line.
The Tigers shot 45.5 (15-of-33) percent from the floor and 25.0 (3-of-12) percent from beyond the arc in the second half. They also shot 81.8 (9-of-11) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Florida A&M shot 43.5 (10-of-23) percent from the floor and 22.2 (2-of-9) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 73.7 (14-of-19) percent from the free throw line.
Game Notes
- The deficit was the largest comeback in conference play for the Tigers who dropped the season series.
- Jackson State is tied with four other teams - Florida A&M, Bethune-Cookman, Texas Southern, and Alcorn State - for second place in the conference standings.
Up Next
Jackson State stays on the road in the state of Florida, facing Bethune-Cookman on Monday night to close out the two-game stretch before returning home for three.
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