HATTIESBURG, Miss. | Mike Williams poured in a career-high 27 points on Wednesday night but it wasn't enough as Jackson State fell 84-80 to Southern Miss at Reed Green Coliseum.
Williams led four players in double figures for Jackson State (1-3), finishing the night 11-of-20 from the floor and dishing out five assists. Dorian McMillian added 12 points, and DJ Davis finished with 11, while Chip Brunt finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
The Tigers jumped out to an early 16-9 lead just eight minutes into the game shooting 46.7 (7-of-15) percent from the floor including a pair of three-pointers, while holding Southern Miss to just 33.3 (4-of-12) percent shooting from the floor. Six different players scored during the stretch for Jackson State with DJ Davis and AT Manyuon hitting a three-pointer each, and Ebo Wilson scoring on a putback to push the lead to seven. However, out of the timeout, Southern Miss scored eight consecutive points, extending its run to 10-0, and took a 17-16 lead on a Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt three-pointer with 10:30 remaining in the half.
The run stretched to 13-0 for the Golden Eagles, forcing a Jackson State timeout with 8:06 remaining in the first half before (Mike) Williams scored on a driving left-handed lay-up with 7:45 remaining to end a 1-for-8 drought from the field. He followed that up with another basket to tie the game at 20-all with just over seven minutes remaining, and after Southern Miss took a three-point lead, Brunt tied the game on a dunk and three-point play. (Mike) Williams gave Jackson State a 26-23 lead on a three-pointer to end the 6-0 run for the Tigers with 5:29 to play in the first half. The Jackson State lead grew back to six (31-25) when (Mike) Williams hit another three-pointer with 3:53 to play off of a Southern Miss turnover before Jackson State took a 40-32 lead into half.
The second half started like the first ended, with Jackson State connecting on 62.5 (5-of-8) percent of its shots to take a 51-39 lead 15:15 remaining in the contest. The lead would grow to as many as 15 in the second half (56-41) with 15:32 to play before Southern Miss got the deficit to single digits at 60-52 with 6:14 to play. The lead stayed at six before McMillian ended a seven-minute scoring drought for Jackson State with a lay-up with 3:08 remaining in the game, extending the lead to 62-54. After a Southern Miss lay-up. McMillian rose above the defense for a dunk with 2:23 to play to push the lead to 64-54 after a timeout; however, Southern Miss answered with a three-point play with 2:07 to play, trimming the lead to 64-59.
The Golden Eagles trimmed the lead to 67-64 with 42.8 seconds remaining before a steal in the backcourt led to a dunk by McMillian with 22.6 seconds remaining. The Golden Eagles answered right back on a fast-break layup with 17.8 to play, trimming the deficit to 69-66 before a free throw with 6.5 remaining trimmed the lead to 69-67. After a turnover on the baseline, Southern Miss converted on a pair of free throws with 1.5 seconds to play to force overtime.Â
Jackson State led 78-76 with under a minute to play in the overtime period before Southern Miss drove the ball down the court, converting a lay-up, and finishing off a three-point play with 57 seconds remaining to take a 79-78 lead. The Golden Eagles converted a pair of free throws with 23.8 seconds to play to push the lead to 81-78 before Davis grabbed an offensive rebound for the putback to trim the deficit to 81-80 with 10.6 seconds to play. Southern Miss (2-1) would seal it at the free throw line with three free throws in the final 10 seconds of the game.
Jackson State shot 43.8 (32-of-73) percent from the floor and 29.6 (8-of-27) percent from beyond the arc on the night. They also finished the night shooting 61.5 (8-of-!3) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Southern Miss finished the night shooting 44.3 (27-of-61) percent from the floor and 25.0 (4-of-16) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the night shooting 61.9 (26-of-42) percent from the free throw line.
BY THE NUMBERS
Jackson State shot 53.3 (16-of-30) percent from the floor and 40.0 (6-of-15) percent from beyond the arc in the first half. They also finished the first half shooting 100.0 (2-of-2) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Southern Miss finished night shooting 42.9 (12-of-28) percent from the floor and 40.0 (4-of-10) percent from beyond the arc. They also finished the first half shooting 44.4 (4-of-9) percent from the free throw line.
Jackson State shot 35.3 (12-of-34) percent from the floor and 12.5 (1-of-8) percent from beyond the arc in the second half. They also finished the first half shooting 44.4 (4-of-9) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Southern Miss shot 41.4 (12-of-29) percent from the floor, including missing all five three-point attempts. They also finished the second half shooting 56.5 (13-of-23) percent from the free throw line.
Jackson State shot 44.4 (4-of-9) percent from the floor and 25.0 (1-of-4) percent from beyond the arc in overtime. They also finished the overtime period shooting 100.0 (2-of-2) percent from the free throw line. Meanwhile, Southern Miss finished overtime shooting 75.0 (3-of-4) percent from the floor and 90.0 (9-of-10) percent from the free throw line.
GAME NOTES
Jackson State started a different lineup for the fourth consecutive game, going with Mike Williams, Dorian McMillian, Delyle Williams, and Chip Brunt at the guard position; while starting Nikk Williams in the frontcourt.
Daeshun Ruffin, Deyan Kolev, and TK Lawson all missed the game due to injury.
Up Next
Jackson State will be off until Saturday when it hits the road to face Winthrop in Rock Hill (S.C.) on ESPN+ at 2:30 p.m. (ET).
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