JACKSONVILLE – It got rocky for Jacksonville State late, but it held on for a key 76-71 win over Ohio Valley Conference foe Murray State on Thursday night at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
The Gamecocks (13-5, 4-1 OVC) were up by as many as 19 points in the second half, but the Racers (12-4, 4-1) cut their deficit to 74-71 after Jonathan Stark hit a three — his fourth in the final 1:26 of the game – with seven seconds left.
Malcolm Drumwright was fouled with four seconds left and sunk both free throws to ice the game. It came as a sigh of relief for JSU after the team missed four free throws in the final minute to help keep Murray State in it.
“We need to work on keeping that same energy and focus in the second half,” JSU guard Jason Burnell said. “The same thing happened against Belmont, but two great back-to-back wins. I couldn’t be more proud of my team.”
Murray State, one of the preseason favorites to win the conference along with JSU and Belmont, had won its last five games with its last loss coming against Auburn (81-77) on Dec. 19. The Racers came in with the top OVC offense, but JSU’s top-ranked defense in the conference held Murray to 11 points under its average.
But there’s still room to improve and some guys JSU coach Ray Harper wants to get going on the offensive end.
“We didn’t play as well as we are capable of,” Harper said. “We got to find a way to get (Norbertas Giga) going a little bit. He was 1 for 8 (two points) and we still won by five. It could’ve been 10. So if we can get him going — if not, we got to give Cam (Martin) some more looks.”
The win came in front of 3,005 fans and it was something Harper and the rest of the team enjoyed seeing.
“We appreciate everybody coming out,” JSU guard Marlon Hunter said. “They brought a lot of energy to us.”
Harper hopes to see the crowd continue to grow.
“I think they had some fun; I hope they did,” said Harper, who thanked the crowd after the game and encouraged them to keep coming. “Hopefully we can continue to do that.”
Hunter led JSU with 21 points and seven rebounds. Malcolm Drumwright scored 20 points and added five rebounds and five assists. Burnell had 12 points and six assists. Christian Cunningham totaled 12 points, four rebounds and four blocks.
Stark paced the Racers with 29 points. He had 22 in the second half. Terrell Miller added 10 points and nine rebounds.
JSU women cruise past Murray State
Jacksonville State went up 8-0 early and kept its foot on the gas the rest of the way against Murray State in a 97-45 win in OVC play.
JSU led 28-8 after the opening quarter, 48-26 at the half and 69-46 through three periods.
The Gamecocks moved to 10-6 overall and 4-1 in the OVC with the win. And that’s thanks in large part to their play down low.
Jax State scored 48 points in the paint and outrebounded the Racers (5-11, 1-4) 50-32. The Gamecocks grabbed 17 offensive boards which resulted in 14 second-chance points.
“If we got opportunities down there, I knew they were going to have a tough time dealing with us,” JSU coach Rick Pietri said.
The Gamecocks also were about as solid as it gets shooting-wise. JSU made 55 percent (41 of 75) of its field-goal shots and were solid from 3-point land (40 percent on 9 of 20) as well.
“We certainly shot it very well today from the perimeter,” Pietri said. “One of the things we knew from preparation is that we were going to have opportunities to be open from the perimeter and if we could convert, it would be a good thing.”
Pietri had six of his players score in double figures.
Cocoa Phelion scored 15 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Rayven Pearson had a double-double with 14 points on 7 of 11 from the field with 11 rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Ki-Ki Patterson totaled 12 points while Kiana Johnson, Gretchen Morrison and Brianna Perry each added 11 points.
Ke’Shunan James led Murray State with 29 points.
JSU gets back to action Saturday against OVC foe Austin Peay. The women tip at 2 p.m. with the men to follow.