A Den Defended: Jaguars defeat Alcorn State, extend home winning success

Coming off of a three-game winning streak following a 62-61 victory over Alabama A&M, senior big man Jared Sam and the Southern University Jaguars men’s basketball team (8-13, 4-4 SWAC) looked to continue their recent dominant stretch of play last Saturday at the F.G. Clark Activity Center against a Alcorn State Braves team (7-14, 3-5 SWAC) that had been struggling to find an identity on both sides of the ball this season.
The Jags entered this week of conference play ranked sixth, despite dropping four of their first five conference games. A victory would bump them up one spot, moving them to fifth place.
To start the game, the Jags continued to showcase their strong defensive capabilities, holding the Braves offense to just 8-30 (27%) from the field. Southern had to hike the comeback trail early, but they leaned on Canadian-native senior forward Emanuel Shepherd and eventually came from behind to take a 24-22 lead going into the half.
Southern’s free throw woes continued to be an eye sore as they shot a mediocre 5-10 (50%) in the first half. Outside of that, the first twenty minutes of hoops were highlighted by nearly mistake-free basketball for the Jaguars.
Unlike the last few games where leads were blown and opportunity for opponents were plentiful, the Jags had (metaphorically) put their foot on Alcorn’s throat and kept it there, as they overpowered the Braves in a flurry of three-point shooting.
Once the Jaguars’ shots began to fall during the second half of play, the team could not be contained. Junior guard Eddie Reese sparked the match after hitting two triples early in the second half. Southern soon went on a hot streak from behind the three point line. The end total was an incredible 6-14 (43%) shooting performance from deep.
The Jags defense created stop after stop as the offense continued scoring on numerous fast break points throughout the evening. Outscoring the Braves 37-26 after the first half, the Jags never trailed after halftime. The Jags finished the game on an 8-0 run to defeat the Alcorn State Braves 61-49 for their fourth straight win.
As he had done all season for the Jags, Jared Sam continued to produce as the Jags proceeded to build a lead in the second half. He would finish the game with yet another double-double, scoring 13 points and securing 15 rebounds. After the game, Sam had this to say about his performance: “That’s my job out there: to go and rebound the ball. Coach challenged me to go out there and get a double-double, which I did.”
Sam, who had entered the game as the fifth leading scorer in the conference, also had this to say about how his squads play these last few games: “I’ve seen us grow a lot these last couple of games. Sometimes we looked lackadaisical, but it feels like everyone is locked in now.”
Talking to Head Coach Morris Scott after the game, he said that he feels as though his guys are finally figuring it out and that they are “learning how to finish out games”.
After finishing their longest homestand of the season undefeated, the Southern Jaguars improved their record to 9-13 for the season. Home field advantage allowed eight of those wins to be in the team’s favor. With four home games left, this team could finish with 12 home wins for the second time in three seasons, a remarkable testament to the impact of the fans, staff, students, and all of those who behold the blue and gold.
The other side of the coin reveals a 1-12 record for the Jags on the road. In order to remain contenders come March, Southern must develop into road warriors in February. Their first test comes Saturday, February 3, as Southern will head off to Grambling, LA to face off against the Grambling State Tigers.