FRIDAY'S SCORES
@Samford 92,
Jacksonville State 72
@#18 Mississippi State 95,
Austin Peay 67
SAMFORD 92, JACKSONVILLE STATE 72
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Despite a second-half surge from the Gamecocks offense and record-setting night for senior Christian Cunningham, the Jacksonville State men's basketball team was unable to overcome a 19-point halftime deficit at Samford on Friday. The Gamecocks fell 92-72 in the 2018-19 debut, dropping their first season opener of the Ray Harper era.
Cunningham became JSU's career blocks leader in Friday's contest, picking up two rejections before the end of the first half. A block of Brandon Austin tied the record, and his swat on a Ruben Guerrero shot was the 163rd of his career. He surpassed the previous record of 162, held by Amadou Mbodji since 2010.
Bulldogs guard Josh Sharkey highlighted the Samford victory with a double-double performance on 22 points and 10 assists, while pitching in eight steals and five rebounds.
Jacksonville State found itself down by as many as 26 points in the first half after a one-point lead lasted just four minutes into the game. Led by Sharkey, the Bulldogs were able to open up a double-digit lead by the 10-minute mark. During the remaining 16 minutes of the first period, Sharkey scored a half-best 13 points and recorded six steals.
Unrelenting, the Gamecocks closed out the first half with seven unanswered points, carrying momentum to the locker room. Following the 15-minute break, Jacksonville State went on a 12-6 tear to begin the second half. Cunningham began the scoring with a big two-handed dunk that helped propel the offense to a 10-point run at the 15:46 mark. In the four minutes, the JSU defense forced four Samford turnovers.
Despite the hot start to the second period, it wasn't enough to stifle the hot-handed Bulldogs. Samford ended the second half shooting 56 percent, knocking down 114 of 25 shots and out-scoring Jacksonville State 45-44 in the period.
Four Gamecocks ended the night with double-digit points. Jason Burnell led the attack with 16 points, followed by 13 each from Ty Hudson and Marlon Hunter. Cunningham finished with 10 points and four blocks.
#18 MISSISSIPPI STATE 95, AUSTIN PEAY 67
STARKVILLE, Miss. - Austin Peay State University men's basketball team got a chance to measure itself against a top-25 program in 18th-ranked Mississippi State. The still-youthful roster got a valuable learning experience in the 95-67 loss, but showed their mettle against one of the SEC's darkhorses.
Austin Peay didn't just hold their own through most of the first half—the Govs gave as good as they got for much of the first 20 minutes, limiting Mississippi State's number of quality looks. The Govs were particularly stingy when the Bulldogs tried their luck from beyond the arc—Mississippi State hit just 26.7 percent from deep in the first half.
At one point, the Governors looked poised to overtake their hosts, getting to within four points on a pair of free-throws from senior Chris Porter-Bunton with 4:37 remaining in the half. However, Mississippi State ripped off a 19-7 run to close the half, putting the Govs at a 50-34 deficit heading into the locker room.
Sophomore Terry Taylor (nine points) and senior Steve Harris (eight) combined for half of Austin Peay's first-half output, hitting a combined 7-of-14 from the floor, and Austin Peay actually outrebounded the SEC giant, 17-16, over the first 20 minutes.
Early in the second half, the Govs were able to whittle the Mississippi State lead down to 10 on a five-point burst from Taylor, but they were never able to get the deficit back to single-digits again. Harris (five points) and sophomore Dayton Gum (eight) scored 13 of Austin Peay's final 17 in a second half that went firmly in the Bulldogs favor.