Ruffin's 25 points lead No. 2 Jackson State past No. 3 Bethune-Cookman 71-50 in SWAC semifinals

COLLEGE PARK, Ga. -- — Daeshun Ruffin had 25 points as second-seeded Jackson State defeated No. 3-seed Bethune-Cookman 71-50 in Friday's Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals.

Jackson State will take on fifth-seeded Alabama State in Saturday's championship game.

Ruffin shot 9 of 18 from the field, including 2 for 3 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the line for the Tigers (16-17). Jayme Mitchell scored 16 points and added five rebounds. Shannon Grant shot 2 of 6 from the field and 6 for 6 from the line to finish with 10 points, while adding eight rebounds. It was the sixth win in a row for the Tigers.

The Wildcats (17-16, 1-1) were led by Daniel Rouzan, who posted 14 points and eight rebounds. Brayon Freeman added 11 points for Bethune-Cookman. Trey Thomas also recorded nine points.

Jackson State took the lead with 6:57 remaining in the first half and never looked back. Ruffin led their team in scoring with 12 points in the first half to help put them up 35-24 at the break. Jackson State outscored Bethune-Cookman in the second half by 10 points, with Ruffin scoring a team-high 13 points after intermission.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.