Jackson State Tigers open SWAC play with a 70-67 win over Alabama A&M

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- With 14 seconds left in the game Dre’Sean Looney, who scored 16 points, knocked down a pair of clutch free throws to preserve Jackson State’s 70-67 victory over Alabama A&M in the opening game of Southwestern Athletic Conference play on Saturday at Elmore Gymnasium.

The Tigers had a balanced scoring effort with ten players scoring at least one point and three player in double figures. Raeford Worsham led JSU with 19 points. He shot 46 percent from the floor (6-13) and 87 percent from the free throw line (7-8). Treshawn Bolden added 12 points on 3-6 shooting from the

field (50 percent) and 6-8 shooting from the line (75 percent) to round out the double-digit scoring for JSU. Bolden was two rebounds short of a double-double as he grabbed eight boards. Javeres Brent added nine points on 3-7 shooting from three-point range (42 percent).

Marcus Merriweather led the Bulldogs with 17 points.

The game was a see-saw contest that had seven ties and 11 lead changes and neither team led by more than seven points. JSU’s largest lead was five points.

“I give the team a lot of credit,” said head coach Wayne Brent. “We had a couple of technical fouls that seemed to change the momentum, but we had a couple of guys step up.”

With 2:59 the Worsham scored on a fast break dunk to give the Tigers a three-point lead. The play was sparked by a Jaleel Queary shot block that gave the Tigers scoring opportunity and a 62-59 advantage. With less than a minute left in the game Jonathan Thomas and Worsham each knocked down a pair of free throws to give the Tigers a 68-64 advantage. The Bulldogs continued to fight and with 21 seconds left in the game Rakiya Battle made a layup and hit a free throw to cut JSU’s lead to 68-67.

JSU Trailed by five points with 9:13 left in the second half, until Looney hit a three-pointer to cut the Bulldog lead to 55-53. At the 6:01 mark Brent knocked down a big three to pull the Tigers within two points (59-57). A little over two minutes later he swooshed a second straight three to give JSU a 60-59 lead.

The Tigers closed out the first half with a 9-0 run to take a 41-37 lead. JSU led 43-39 at halftime. Worsham led the Tigers in scoring with 14 points. The Tigers shot 55.6 perceRnt from the field and 78.6 percent from the free throw line.

JSU returns to action Monday when the Tigers take on Alabama State in Montgomery, Ala.

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