BATON ROUGE, La. | Daeshun Ruffin led six players in double figures for Jackson State, recording his first double-double in a 91-89 overtime loss to Southern in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) action at the F.G. Clark Activity Center on Monday night.

Ruffin finished with 23 and 10 assists, hitting on 7-of-14 from the floor including and 8-of-9 from the free throw line. Dorian McMillian addded 19 points and seven rebounds, while Keiveon Hunt added 14 points. Tamarion Hoover chipped in with 12, Shannon Grant 11 (fouled out with 4:49 to play in regulation), and Romelle Mansel 10.

The two teams traded baskets and were tied at 13-all with 14:01 to play in the first half before Southern went on an 8-0 run to grab a 21-13 lead at the second media timeout with 10:06 to play in the first half. The scoreless run was ended with a Keiveon Hunt free throw with 9:08 to play in the half, cutting the deficit to seven (21-14). During the opening stretch of the first half, Grant and Mansel combined to scored the first nine points of the game for the Tigers, with all nine points coming within 10-feet of the basket. The Jaguars were able to build a double-digit lead until Hunt knocked down a three with just over two minutes to play in the first half to trim the deficit to 38-29. The Jaguars were able to extend the lead back to double figures with a free throw and putback lay-up to lead 41-29 at the break. 

The two teams came out and traded baskets in the second with McMillian completing a four-point play with just under 18 minutes to play in the game to trim the deficit to 45-33 forcing a Southern timeout. The deficit stayed that way until the Tigers used back-to-back baskets to trim the deficit to 50-41 with just over 15 minutes left to play, before McMillian hit a pair of free throws with 14:39 to play to trim the deficit to 50-43. They continued to cut into the lead with three free throws from Tamarion Hoover with 14:24 to play, and one from Ruffin with 13:56 to play to trim the deficit to 50-47. They pulled to within a pair on a steal by Ruffin leading to basket from McMillian to trim the deficit to 53-51 with 12:48 to play. The lead stayed that way until Grant converted a lay-up to pull Jackson State to within one at 59-58 with 8:34 to play.

Jackson State grabbed its first lead of the second half and the first since 15:37 in the first half on a pair of Ruffin free throws (60-59) followed by a lob to Hoover with 8:34 to play to extend the lead to 62-59. However, the two teams traded baskets before Southern grabbed a 65-64 lead with 6:41 to play, however, McMillian gave Jackson State a 69-65 lead with just over five minutes to play with a three-point play setting the stage for the final minutes when Ruffin hit a three-pointer with eight seconds to play to send the game into overtime.

Inside the Numbers
Jackson State finished the night shooting 49.2 (30-of-61) percent from the floor and 26.7 (4-of-15) percent from beyond the arc. They also shot 78.1 (25-of-32) percent from the free throw line.

Southern finished the night shooting 50.0 (30-of-60) percent from the floor and 38.5 (10-of-26) percent from beyond the arc. The also shot 80.8 (21-of-26) percent from the free throw line.

Game Notes

• The Tigers played without second-leading scorer Jayme Mitchell Jr. against the Jaguars.
• Dylan Canoville played 43 miles from his previous school, Southeastern Louisiana.
• The meeting between Southern and Jackson State is the only time the two will play unless they face each other in the SWAC Championships in Atlanta.

Up Next
Jackson State returns home for a pair of games starting on Saturday against MIssissippi Valley State on the SWAC Digital Network.

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