CHICAGO (Dec. 17, 2008) – Senior David Holston (Pontiac, MI/Avondale HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) recorded a game-high 28 points and knocked down six three-pointers in leading Chicago State past visiting Southern by a score of 76-68 tonight at the Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center. The Cougars improved to 4-6 on the year and broke a four-game losing skid, while Jaguars saw their record fall to 0-9.
Senior John Cantrell (Pontiac, MI/Northern HS) (Pontiac, Mich.) put the home team ahead by an early 2-0 margin five seconds into the game with a layup, but the Jaguars recorded a 15-1 run over five minutes with five points coming from sophomore Desmond Griffin to capture a 15-3 advantage. SU later increased its lead to 25-10 on a three-pointer from redshirt junior Jazz Williams at the 10:29 mark and Williams later hit another three to make it 28-10 with 9:56 remaining in the half.
The Cougars broke a two-minute lull in scoring by producing an 18-6 run in the final 7:11 that included nine points from Holston to slice their deficit to 34-28 which culminated with Holston connecting with Cantrell on an alley oop dunk from half court at the buzzer.
CSU continued to chip away at Southern's lead at the start of the second half as it tallied a 9-4 scoring drive over 3:22 to close within a single point at 38-37 after Holston drilled a three at the 16:38 mark, but Griffin scored five straight points in 37 seconds to increase SU's leading margin to 43-37 at 16:01. A Cantrell jumper at 15:20 propelled the Cougars to score a 22-6 run which lasted eight-plus minutes and helped them gain a 61-49 lead with 7:24 left in the contest after a fast break dunk from senior Tawrence Walton (Chicago, IL/Kennedy-King College) (Chicago, Ill.).
The Jaguars however bounced back 15-3 scoring drive over four and a half minutes to even the score at 64-64 with 2:34 left in regulation after senior Chris Davis recorded a conventional three-point play. A pair of free throws from senior Mike Wilson (New York, NY/Mt. San Jacinto CC) (New York, N.Y.) and a layup from sophomore Hajji Martin (Chicago, IL/Morgan Park) (Chicago, Ill.) helped the home team regain a 70-66 lead with a minute left and CSU finished the game by scoring eight of the final 10 points with six points coming from sophomore Christian Wall (New Orleans, LA/John Ehret) (New Orleans, La.) for the final tally.
Cantrell finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting to go along with five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Walton recorded nine points and five boards, while Wall tallied a pair of career highs of seven boards and four assists in addition to his six points. Wilson finished with a game-high six assists.
Davis led Southern with 19 points, grabbed six caroms and tied Wilson for game high honors with six assists. Griffin added 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and Williams scored 11 off the bench.
CSU is back in action Saturday night to conclude its two-game homestand as it welcomes Samford to the Jones Convocation Center with the tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
~ CSU ~
