The Streak Lives: Southern crawls past Alabama State

Southern and Alabama State teeter-tottered their way down the court battling ties and fast breaks but the Jaguars found themselves on a five game winning streak after their 73-69 performance on Saturday, January 24.
Jaguars came out with a high level of intensity and dominated for the first opening minutes jumping out to a 9-4 lead. The boys were slowed down in their tracks when they quickly found themselves trailing Alabama State.
It wasn’t until sophomore guard, Chris Thomas sparked a quick run for Southern that brought the game to within four points.
The Jags were still down towards the end of the first half; however it was only a three-point deficit.
With the clock dwindling down, junior guard Trelun Banks hit a key three-pointer to tie the half at 35 with 20 seconds left in the game.
With a huge three to end the first half, and the break at halftime, the Jaguars were ready to come out and finish the show they started. The opening three pointer was made by the sophomore guard Rashad Andrews which added more of a spark to the already intensified offense.
For the entire second half it was a close game, Southern would take the lead, then a tie, and then Alabama would lead the game. Throughout the second half there was no room for error, it wasn’t until towards the end of the second half when southern gained the biggest lead after coming out of the break with a score of 71-66.
It seemed as if Southern got a hold of that lead, and was not planning on letting it go.
Alabama State brought themselves back to within a 2-point deficit with just a minute to remain in the game. A missed shot by Terrence Leflore, caused sophomore forward, Jared Sam to grab the game clinching rebound. However, Sam was not done making plays for the Jags, he threw the ball down to fellow teammate and senior guard, Adrian Rodgers, who capped the game off with a monster dunk.
The end score was 73-69, which continued the boys winning streak. This game being the first game back for Banks after his injury, he stated that “As the game goes, my adrenaline is pumping, and I really don’t feel a thing.”
It was a spectacular performance by Banks because he finished the game with 21 points and a steal to accompany his scoring. However, he was not the only one who contributed to the win as Sam scored 15 points along with an assist.
The Jaguars beat their inner conference opponent, and will get ready to continue their win streak when they face Alabama A&M at the F.G Clark Athletic Center on January 24th, tip off will be at 6:01pm and be aired on ESPNU.