Southern Takes Down Mississippi State
HOUSTON - The Southern Jaguars men's basketball repeated history for its program by defeating No. 21 Mississippi State, 60-59, in Starkville, Mississippi, on Sunday, Dec. 3. Tai'reon Joseph was the game-high scorer with 27 points playing the entire 40 minutes of the contest. He also led the Jaguars with six rebounds. During the game, guard Tidjiane Dioumassi led the team with six assists on the afternoon.
According to Southern's Athletics department, "This is the second time since 1993 that the Jaguars have upset a team in the top 25. The last team Southern beat was No. 18 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament." Since their 2015 upset, Southern had only beaten the Bulldogs once before.
Jaguars Knocks Off 21st-Ranked Bulldogs
Southern scored 12 points but held Mississippi State to zero in the final 4:28 minutes of the game. The Jaguars guard Tai'Reon Joseph scored 18 points in the first half, but the Bulldogs would take a 31-28 lead into halftime.
Mississippi State had a 10-point advantage with 10:03 remaining in the contest until Tidjiane Dioumassi scored a layup to come within 8 points, 52-44. A tenacious Jaguars defense allowed one last score to the Bulldogs on a D.J. Jeffries dunk, bringing the score to 59-48 with 4:28 remaining.
Southern went on a 12-0 run as Brandon Davis scored the game's final bucket on a layup to take the lead, 60-59 with 23 seconds on the clock. Mississippi State missed a shot, and Tai'reon Joseph blocked Josh Hubbard's jump shot with 3 seconds left to seal the Jaguars 60-59 road victory.
Southern had the advantage with 20 points off turnovers, 13 second-chance points, and 11 fastbreak points over Mississippi State.
Southern will host SLU for a 5:30 PM CT tip-off on Saturday, Dec. 9.
