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Southern University

SU MBB at UNLV Joseph and Jacks
85
Winner Southern U. SU 1-1,0-0 SWAC
71
UNLV UNLV 0-1,0-0 Mountain West
Winner
Southern U. SU
1-1,0-0 SWAC
85
Final
71
UNLV UNLV
0-1,0-0 Mountain West
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Southern U. SU 40 45 85
UNLV UNLV 21 50 71

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Rodney Kirschner Deputy Athletics Director | Director of Strategic Communications | Sports Information Director

Southern Basketball Upsets UNLV 85-71

LAS VEGAS, Nevada.  – The Southern Jaguars (1-1), rolled into the Thomas & Mack Center for Wednesday night matchup against UNLV (0-1) and came away with an impressive 85-71 win over the Rebels.
 
The victory kick-started the Kevin Johnson era for Southern basketball as he picked up his first win on the season and at Southern.  
 
For the second time in school history, the Southern University men's basketball team has defeated a member of the Mountain West conference.
 
SU's last victory over a member of Mountain West conference came on December 10, 2015 as the Jaguars defeated Wyoming, 68-58, in Laramie.

Four Jaguars scored in double figures led by Junior guard Tai'Reon Joseph who scored a season-high 22 points, on 9-of-21, including 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Freshman forward Delang Muon scored a season-high 16 points including shooting a perfect 7-for-7 from the field and added five rebounds. Senior guard Brandon Davis scored 13 points including shooting 5-of-7 from the field, 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc and added six rebounds. Junior guard Tidjiane Dioumassi scored 12 points and dished out eight assists.
 
"I thought our guys competed really hard and came out ready to fight from the jump," said head coach Kevin Johnson. "We hit some shots early, but really liked how we played on the defensive side of the ball. We knew UNLV would make a run at some point, but we were able to withstand it and played with some discipline. UNLV is tough team that is well coached, really proud of our team for coming into this environment and staying with the game plan to get a good team win."
 
Isaiah Cottrell led UNLV with 18 points, while Luis Rodriguez added 15 points. Dedan Thomas Jr. tallied 14 points and Jalen Hill finished with 11 points. 
 
SU and UNLV traded baskets until a free throw at the 12:09 mark and dunk by Delang Muon at 11:45 left to play in the first half started a 14-0 run as the Jaguars raced out to a 25-11 lead.  

The Jaguars, who shot 47.1 percent in the first half, opened the game shooting 75.0 percent from 3-point and turned over their Mountain West opponent 11-3, in building a 30-16 advantage after Davis 3-point basket with 5:03 left in the half. 
 
UNLV, which shot 26.9 percent from the floor in the opening half, closed the gap to 30-18 after a pair of free throws by Dedan Thomas Jr., but SU continued its offensive output, extending the lead to 38-18 as Tai'Reon Joseph hit a 3-pointer off Antoine Jacks assist with 1:46 remaining which capped by a Muon layup, giving the Jaguars their largest lead of the first half, 40-19 with 1:06 left off a 10-3 run. The Jaguars headed into the break with a 40-21 advantage.
 
Southern started the second half strong, hitting a 2-pointer by Joseph and back to back made field goals by JaRonn Wilkens and Muon to extend the lead to 46-23.
 
Muon drained a 3-pointer as SU extended their largest lead of the game by 26 points, 51-26 with 14:49 remaining.
 
UNLV cut it to 13 points with under two minutes to play, but down the stretch, Southern proved to be too much as the Jaguars sealed the game at the free-throw line off Jordan Mitchell made attempts. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 
  • Southern shot 56.7 percent (34-of-60) from the field, 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the 3-point line and 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from the free-throw line
  • Tai'Reon Joseph led the way offensively with a season-high 22 points, on 9-of-121 from the floor, 3-of-8 from 3-point line and two rebounds 
  • Delang Muon finished with season-high 16 points on 7-of-7 shooting, 1-of-1 from 3-point, 1-of-4 from the charity stripe and season-high five rebounds 
  • Brandon Davis had 13 points on 5-of-7 field goals, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and season-high six rebounds
  • TTidjiane Dioumassi finished with 12 points, season-high eight assist and season-high five rebounds
  • Southern finished with 38 points in the paint, 11 points off 13 Rebels turnovers,43 bench points, six second-chance points and two fast break points
  • UNLV went 23-of-54 (42.6 percent) from the floor, 9-of-29 (31.0) from the 3-point line and 16-of-24 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe
  • Isaiah Cottrell finished with a team-high 18 points and seven rebounds. Luis Rodriguez finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Dedan Thomas Jr. chipped in 14 points and five assist and Jalen Hill added 11 points and six rebounds
  • UNLV finished with 24 points in the paint, 11 points off nine SU turnovers, 12 second-chance points, five bench points and four fast break points 
 
UP NEXT 
Southern will take a couple days off to rest before they return to action on Monday Nov. 13 at the University of Arizona. Tip-off against the Wildcats is set for 8:00 p.m. central time and the game will be televises on Pac-12 network.

FOLLOW THE JAGUARS
For complete coverage of Southern University Athletics, please follow the Jaguars on social media at @SouthernUsports (Twitter), @SouthernUJaguars (Facebook), @southernusports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Southern University Athletics at www.gojagsports.com.

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