Men basketball team was the host team against the Jackson State Tigers during the quarterfinals round in the 2010 Farmers Insurance SWAC Basketball tournament Wednesday night at the CenturyTel Center. Both teams showed their opposing squad why they should advance to the semifinals round on Friday night, but it was the Tigers bearing the black jerseys that were victorious.
The Tigers, once slated with a No. 8 seed in the bracket, were the first 8th seeded men’s team to beat the No. 1 seed in the SWAC tournament since Alcorn State beat out Mississippi Valley back in 2004.
During the first half of the game it was guards Rupert Rose and Donald Qualls who consecutively scored point after point, in addition to Qualls nailing shots from the free throw line after being fouled. Although the G-Men stayed in lead, the opposing team did not go down without a fight. The score was 28-28 at halftime.
Garrison Johnson broke the tied score, shooting a 3-point shot, giving JSU a lead. But the upper hand did not last long. GSU freshman forward Allan Saint-Gelais, standing 6’6″, barely moved off the floor when he sunk a 3-point shot for his team.
The last time JSU had the lead in the game was when guard Tyrone Hanson scored to make it 41-40. Following that, everything was in the G-Men’s favor.
The final score for the game was 65-57. Lead scorers for the game were Rose with 13 points and four rebounds and Qualls with 20 points, three steals and two assists. Jackson’s Johnson had 27 points and six rebounds.
Friday at 8 p.m. is when the G-Men will face the winner of the Prairie View-Texas Southern game.