Morgan Beard
Staff Writer
The Jackson State University men’s basketball team was victorious in games against in-state rivals Mississippi Valley State University (83-68) on Jan. 28 and the Golden Lions of Arkansas Pine-Bluff (74-59) on Jan. 30 at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center.
These victories have moved JSU to 4th place with a 5-4-conference record in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play and 9-13 overall.
Junior guard Paris Collins from San Antonio, Texas, returned to the court against the MVSU Delta Devils with 10 of 19 shooting for 28 points to lead the Tigers to victory. Collins had six 3-pointers, six rebounds, and three steals, playing all 40 minutes of the game with two blocked shots and no turnovers.
After the victory Saturday night, according to JSU Blitz, a grinning Collins said, “It felt good to just be on the floor. It’s been frustrating for your team to be at war, and you aren’t really there with them. I just wanted to get back on the court and be with my teammates and be fighting with them.”
The Tigers were too hot for event the Delta Devils to handle. At halftime the score was 33-30 but when the second half kicked off, JSU went on a 9-2 run and then hit eight 3 pointers in nine trips down the floor to stretch the lead to 60-38. Maurice Rivers, a junior forward from Atlanta, Ga., added 10 points before fouling out.
Yettra Specks, a senior guard from Monroe, La., led the Tigers on Jan. 30 against UAPB with 18 points and five assists. Janarius Middleton, a senior forward from Greenwood, Miss., picked up two fouls in the first 25 seconds of the game and sat out the rest of the first half. Middleton returned in the second half and finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore guard Edric Dennis from Dallas, Texas, also chipped in with 16 points, 11 of those from the free throw line. Derek Roscoe, a junior forward from Chicago, Ill., added 11 points.
The Tigers defense held UAPB to 6 of 22 shooting with 27.3 in the first half. The Tigers led as many as 21 points in the second half, but UAPB went on a 15-0 run to pull to 45-39 with 14:23 left on the clock. JSU then made the next couple of shots to lead by at least eight points the rest of the way.
Jackson State will return to action on Saturday, Feb. 4 when the men’s team travels to Lorman, Miss. for a shot at revenge against in-state rival Alcorn State University at the Davey Whitney Complex. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m. They will also travel to Baton Rouge, La., to take on the Jaguars of Southern University on Monday, Feb. 6 at the F. G. Clark Activity Center.
The game will start at 8 p.m. and will be broadcast live on ESPNU. To listen to the games on the radio, you can tune into 95.5 FM.
