Homegrown talent Daeshun Ruffin notched his third straight double-double, and Dorian McMillian had 25 points to lift Jackson State to a 94-89 win over Texas Southern on Monday night.
Ruffin, who was a McDonald’s All-American at Jackson’s Callaway High School before starting his career at Ole Miss, had 22 points and a career-high 16 assists. McMillian connected on seven shots from the field, including four from three-point range, as Jackson State (5-13, 4-1 SWAC) won its second in a row and snapped Texas Southern’s (4-13, 2-4) two-game winning streak.
McMillian scored the Tigers’ first six points before Ruffin drove in for a layup and gave Jackson State an early 8-0 lead. Jackson State’s largest lead of the first half was 11, but Texas Southern kept fighting and cut the deficit to two possessions at times before going down 45-38 at the half.
Jackson State separated some in the opening minutes of the second half, going up nine, before Texas State found its first lead of the night. Bryce Robert made a layup to give his team a 50-49 lead. Jackson State quickly retook the lead with a hook shot by Raevon Thomas, and the Tigers never let go, pulling away for the victory.
Leading the box score alongside Ruffin and McMillian were Dionjahe Thomas, who had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Raevon Thomas with 13 points and seven rebounds. Jayme Mitchell Jr. had 11 points and five rebounds.
Roberts (26 points), Troy Hupstead (23 points), and Alex Anderson (16 points) led the scoresheet for Texas Southern.
Next up
Jackson State: at Bethune-Cookman on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT
Texas Southern: vs. Alabama A&M on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT
