Grant Maxey scored 24 points to lead Jackson State to an 82-63 victory over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday.
The Tigers (15-12, 11-4 Southwestern Athletic Conference) remained in second in the SWAC standings, 1 1/2 games ahead of MVSU (11-18, 10-6), which has lost three consecutive games.
Jackson State used an 8-0 run, which was capped by Maxey's two free throws, to extend its lead to 69-54 with 4:53 left.
After MVSU's Terrence Joyner hit a jumper, the Tigers scored the next six points for a 75-56 lead with 2:44 to play.
Jenirro Bush came off the bench to score 18 points and Tyrone Hanson added 14 for Jackson State, which shot 53.6 percent from the field in the second half (15 of 28) and 30 of 60 for the game.
The Tigers also had nine turnovers and nine steals.
Joyner had 22 points and Paul Crosby added 17 points and nine rebounds for MVSU.
