Demonte Rule
MC Practicum Student
Jackson State University supporters came out to see what the 2014 Men’s basketball team had to offer at an exhibition game held at the Lee E. Williams Athletic Assembly Center and also to see the matchup between JSU head coach Wayne Brent and Tougaloo head coach Thomas Billups, both former successful high school coaches in the city of Jackson, meeting each other for the first time as college coaches.
Ten points and 6 rebounds from sophomore forward Treshawn Bolden’s, and 10 points and 3 rebounds from sophomore guard Gerrald Maddox, a transfer from Lawson State, was not enough to get the victory over Tougaloo College on Nov. 4 as the Tigers fell 88-67.
Brent, who is one of the most successful basketball coaches in the history of the Jackson Public School system, brings over 15 years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels to JSU, as he begins his 2nd season as head coach at JSU. Jackson State finished the 2013-2014 season with an 11-20 record but project a better season with the help of Coach Brent, key returning players and four D1 transfers.
“We just have to go back and get to practice in the morning and we have to fill the young group in. We just have to pull out some guys and see what some guys doing well. We feel like we got enough talent, we just got to put it together,” said Coach Brent.
Coach Brent stated that he knew the matchup against Coach Billups would be competitive.
“Anytime you play against a Coach Billups team, you know you’re going to be in for a fight, you know you’re going to be in for a good game. He did a good job at getting those guys ready to play. Anytime you can play somebody like that, it’s always good but hopefully in your mind you’re thinking you can come out with a win but we didn’t. We got some things that I saw that were good and we got some stuff that I saw that was not good, we just have to go back to practice and figure out what we can do to get this team better,” said Coach Brent.
He added: “The main thing is to get this chemistry going. We got so many new guys and they got to understand their role and they got to play together and they got to learn to play with each other. Right now we don’t know which guys are going to be starting and we’re trying to find a group that can play together. As a coaching staff, we got to get back in there and figure out what guys play well together.”
Tougaloo College finished last season 12-18 overall but look to improve this season with former legendary Lanier High School basketball Coach Billups as he begins his 1st season at Tougaloo.
At halftime, the Tigers only trailed the Bulldogs by 1 point, 39-38 but the Bulldogs used an explosive 2nd half to outscore Jackson State 49-29.
Senior forward Malcolm Sanders led Tougaloo College with his sharpshooting to record 21 points. He shot a perfect 5/5 from behind the 3pt line. Junior guard Quintarius Porter had 19 points and sophomore forward Andravious Smith a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
In the first half, JSU shot 33.3% (11-33) from the field and Tougaloo College connected with 50.0% (11-22). In the second half, JSU shot 60.9 % (14-23) and Tougaloo made 42.3% (11-26) of its field goal attempts.
JSU returns to action on Saturday, Nov 8 in another exhibition game against Delta State at the Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center. Tip-off is set for 5:30 p.m.
William Kelly contributed to this story
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