Jackson State University’s men’s basketball team suffered its third consecutive road loss in Southwestern Athletic Conference play, falling to Texas Southern 82-57 at the H&PE Arena in Houston on Saturday night.
Playing without two starters, Jackson State (9-20, 8-8 SWAC) was led by Daeshun Ruffin, who scored 15 points and recorded three assists. Ruffin made 80 percent of his free throws, converting 8 out of 10 attempts. Jayme Mitchell Jr. contributed 14 points off the bench.
Jackson State struggled offensively throughout the game, shooting just 27.3 percent from the field and 20.6 percent from three-point range. The team also converted 66.7 percent of its free throws. In contrast, Texas Southern (12-16, 10-7 SWAC) shot 52.6 percent from the floor and made 42.1 percent of their shots from beyond the arc while hitting 82.4 percent of their free throws.
Zaire Hayes led Texas Southern with 17 points as one of five players on his team to score in double figures.
In the first half, Jackson State shot 29.4 percent from the field and made five out of eighteen three-point attempts for a rate of 27.8 percent. They hit five out of six free throws for an accuracy rate of over eighty-three percent. Texas Southern finished the half making nearly half their shots from both inside and outside the arc and were perfect from the free throw line.
During the second half, Jackson State’s shooting declined further to just 25 percent from the field and only two successful three-pointers out of sixteen attempts (12.5 percent). Their free throw percentage dropped to sixty percent in this period as well. Texas Southern improved their shooting after halftime, making nearly sixty percent of their field goals and almost thirty-eight percent from long distance.
Jackson State will return home to finish its regular season with two games next week, starting against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on March 3.
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