Tough Loss: Men’s basketball falls to Grambling 72-69 in SWAC play

On Saturday, February 7th, the Jaguars Men’s basketball team fell short against confernce rival Gramdling at home in a SWAC doubleheader. Within the first 15 seconds, Grambling scored a three and that was the begining of the Tigers hot shooting spree.
The Tigers came to the court with a win on their mind and possibly seeking revenge for the Jaguars beating them at their own court previously. They came in hot with back to back shots, great offense, and admittedly strong defense with 4 offensive rebounds and 17 defensive rebounds.
At the beginning of the first half, the Tigers led by the biggest score difference in the game of 29-9. Southern was having a hard time getting and scoring the ball, while the Tiger offense was through the roof. “We couldn’t make a shot,” Coach Sean Woods says, “and they made everything.” Between the fouls from Southern and the steals from Grambling, the first half had the arena stressing as fans watched in disbelief of how the Jags were playing.
The Jaguars stepped it up after Junior guard and forward Samkelo Cele had a good layup and scored the Jags’ first point. Once the score started rolling in, most of Southern’s points came from the free-throw line with a 50% accuracy. Three-pointers were another big thing for Jags in the first half with a 33.3% accuracy. The team utilized Grad student forward Harrison Henderson. The score increased but at the end of the first half, Southern was trailing behind, 40-33.
In the second half of the game, the energy in the Jaguars shifted and was noticeable. “When you make your baskets, you can get in your defense,” Coach stated about the team’s comeback. “We started making shots.”, Samkelo Cele came with high energy as he dunked multiple times and had 4 rebounds and 3 steals. Senior guard Ahsante Shivers also was a big contributor in the second half, with his constant defensive rebounds and his 3 pointers.
Even with the energy coming back onto the court, the momentum slowed down. The team started making shots, but the fouls began to hurt them as they played. Other things like giving away turnovers, hand slipping, and inattention also hurt the team as the half went on. “We were off-balance, we just got to bounce back. It’s a game we gave away,” Coach noted.
In the end, the Jags came close but were not able to defeat the Tigers. In the last sixteen seconds, the Tigers scored and the Jag’s offense after that could not gain any points. The ending score was 72-69.
The team hopes to regain their winning streak on Monday, February 8th, when they face off against Jackson State at home.

Gallery • 1 Photos

Center, Harrison Henderson drive through the lane over Grambling’s Kelton Edwards during the Jaguars game against Grambling State. (Isaac Armstrong/DIGEST