MVSU Takes Down Jackson State in Surprise Upset

The Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils marched into Jackson, Mississippi this Saturday night and dealt the Jackson State Tigers their first home loss. The surprise 82-78 victory gives MVSU their third win on the season, bringing the Delta Devils to 3-21 on the season. JSU now finds themselves sitting at 6-17 and on a three-game losing streak.  

 Delta Devils’ Stellar Offense Brings Victory

While MVSU hasn’t performed great on offense this season, they struck gold against JSU. The Delta Devils shot over 50% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc, making eight threes. MVSU sensation Terry Collins was lights out on offense. With a team-leading 21 points, Collins was 5-6 from three-point range. The Kenner, Louisianna native also led his team in rebounds and assists.

Collins wasn’t the only one making big shots for the Delta Devils. Starters Tyronn Mosley and Rayquan Brown both shot over 35% giving MVSU 12 and 17 points respectively. Guard Kadar Walker also provided value off the bench, being the only Delta Devil to score in double-digits off the bench. MVSU surprised Jackson State with excellent shooting. They constantly found the open man, creating space with a good balance of three-point shooting and driving to the basket. “It’s going to be hard to win basketball games when you let the opponent do stuff like that,” said Tigers head coach Mo Williams

A Close Battle in the SWAC

With both MVSU and JSU coming into the game on a losing streak, the stakes were high for this dog fight in Jackson, Mississippi. The Delta Devils jumped out to an early 11-3 lead, playing excellent offense from the tip-off. The Tigers, however, came storming back. They retook the lead after going on a 20-4 run, but MVSU’s fantastic shooting brought them back into the game and by halftime, JSU was clinging to a three-point lead, 40-37. 

The Tigers would see no sort of offensive run in the second half, however, as MVSU maintained constant pressure on the offensive side of the floor. The second half was extremely close with both teams trading big shots. Romelle Mansel, who had just had a 16-point performance against Southern, and JaMarcus Jones both threw down major dunks, driving the Tigers fans to cheers. However, MVSU was playing with confidence. 

At one point, the Delta Devils had six straight scoring trips and were slowly pulling away from JSU. With just one minute left in the game, the Tigers were down by three. JSU was able to make it interesting, but after a clutch free throw from Tyronn Mosley, JSU fans began to file out of the arena while MVSU achieved victory. After the game, coach Williams blamed a lack of energy for the loss.

“The lack of energy and effort bothered me. Something I’ll rectify before Monday.” The Jackson State Tigers will attempt to break their losing streak against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Monday, February 6.