Head coach Michael Grant for Southern didn’t want his benchto leave the area in defense of his starting point guard who was sprawled outon the floor face down. His next thought was he wanted to makesure Chris Alexander was fine after taking a punch to the left side of hisface.
“Chris is a warrior,” Grant said of the effort Alexander whomade a come back in the second half with on and off headaches and being able toslightly see out of his left eye — finished the game as the highest scorerwith 17 points. “Chris our leader,he’s the glue to this team and he makes us go, and I was glad he was able tocome back out in the second half and give us a great effort.”
The Jaguars (10-10, 7-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference)held out to the end for a 66-65 victory over Jackson State University (9-14,5-6SWAC) in the F.G. Clark Activity Center on Monday.
Both teams made huge off and on runs for the entirenight.
From the start of the game Southern ran the pace by taking a12 point lead, 16-4 at 11:22, then Jackson State made a 13 point run to get thefirst of three ties in the game at 24-24 with a Hilton Tompkins three pointerat 2:34 to play in the half.
Then a little more than two minutes to play Alexander was onthe floor from the punch- a right hook issued by Tigers’ guard CharlieWhite. Alexander was catching aninbound pass from midcourt and in attempt to defend the ball he was moving itaround with elbows out. Whitefisted him and he fell to the floor on his stomach while grabbing at his lefteye. Medical aids ran to thecourt, Alexander stayed down for almost three minutes then he got up withtrainers and walked to the east side of the stadium.
“I was trying to come through as a good basketball move hetook it (guarding ball with elbow) as if I was trying to hit him,” Alexandersaid. “As soon as I turned my backhe hit me.”
In his absence Southern finished the half on top with 33-25.
The Jaguars kept a lead as high as 16 points with 9:15 toplay the score was 53-37. Two minutes in the second half Alexander came back in with a smallband-aid about an inch under his left eye, which looked slightly swollen. Jackson State took the lead 58-57 forthe first time of the night with an open three pointer in the far left cornerby Catraiva Givens.
Alexander, the SWAC’s second leading free throw shooter hita pair of free throws to throw Southern back on top and grabbed a key steal toaid Southern in the win.
“It’s a big win for our basketball team right now,” Grantsaid. “Because now it gave us anopportunity to win two in a row and that’s given us a lot of confidence withgoing into our next ball game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on the road.”
Jag’s senior forward Deon Saunders scored 11, while TrayveanScott went 4-of-7 from three-point range and finished with 14 points.
White, named ‘Mr. Basketball’ in Mississippi his junioryear, was ejected from today’s game and probably be suspended by the SWAC forJackson State’s next game against Texas Southern University.
Peter Cipriano grabbed 11 rebounds and celebrated his 22birthday with a chocolate cake after the game.
The Jaguars celebrated the win.
