Jaguar men fall to JSU 68-60

Coming off their first victory of the season, the Southern Jaguars (1-11, 1-3) were looking for another win when they took on the Tigers of Jackson State University (2-11, 1-3 SWAC).
But, that was not to be as the Jaguars were defeated 68-60, in a game against a J-State team who is without seven of their players due to sexual battery charges.
After jumping out to a 2-0 lead the Jaguars failed to produce or stop Jackson State’s offense, as the Tigers went on a 14-0 run.
“We were flat,” Southern coach Ben Jobe said. “Maybe we were still high on the Grambling win. That happens with young teams.”
Southern was only able to produce 23 points in the first half of the contest. The Jaguars headed to the locker room, the Tigers leading 32-23.
The second half saw the Jaguars come out with a renewed spirit, that brought Southern to within four points of the J-State lead with a dunk by Tim Johnson and 3-pointer by Carl Alexander, who ended the night with eight points. But, even though the Jaguars were able to stymie the Tigers offense, they could not bridge and overcome the gap, to take the lead.
“We weren’t moving in our motion offense,” Jobe said. “We were just lethargic. We just didn’t get ready for the game.”
The score 59-54, Tiger lead, with 1:14 left to play Tim Henderson of Jackson State, unleashed a dunk to up their lead by two.
The Jaguars allowed Jackson State to dictate the flow of the game before succumbing to defeat. Jaguars 60, Tigers 68.
“Basically, we let them dictate tempo,” Jobe said. “Our defense didn’t force it, and our offense didn’t force it. We’ve got to be aggressive, up-tempo, all the time.”