JACKSON - Playing in their lone exhibition game prior to tip-off of the season on Nov. 17, the Millsaps College men's basketball team fell to neighboring Division I Jackson State University, 70-40, at Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center.
Millsaps trailed just 27-20 at the break, forcing 13 JSU turnovers and holding the Tigers to 1 of 11 shooting from 3-point range, but fell victim to a big JSU second half run that blew the game wide open. Sophomore
Brian Merkel grabbed three of the Majors' six steals in the opening 20 minutes and added four points on 2 of 5 shooting.
An 8-0 run over the opening 3:34 of the second half gave the Majors a 28-27 lead, forcing JSU to burn its first timeout of the half. Millsaps used 3-pointers from senior
Blake Martinez and junior transfer
LeeVarn Sumler and a layup from sophomore
Ben Cooper.
JSU, however, would take over the rest of the way, responding with 15 unanswered points over the next 5:34 as part of an emphatic 24-4 run that gave the home team a 19-point lead, 51-32, with just over 10 minutes to play. Senior guard Garrison Johnson scored eight of his game-high 20 points during the run.
Martinez would finish with a team-high 12 points for Millsaps on 4 of 14 shooting, while senior teammate
Cameron Varnado added seven points and Cooper had six.
The Majors will tip-off the season on Nov. 17 against Belhaven at home.