SUNDAY'S SCORES
@VCU 93,
Jacksonville State 65
Montana State 52,
Tennessee Tech 39 (Greensboro, N.C.)
VCU 93, JACKSONVILLE STATE 65
RICHMOND, Va. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team dropped a tough 93-65 road contest to VCU on Sunday at the Stuart C. Siegel Center.
Senior guard Ty Hudson quarterbacked the Gamecocks (1-2) on both offense and defense, scoring seven points in a team-best 31 minutes of play, while sophomore De'Torrion Ware tallied a game-best 16 points and a career-high nine rebounds.
The Rams (4-0) "Havoc" defense kept the Gamecocks off the board through the game's first media timeout and forced a turnover per minute until the 14:00 mark. A Ware put-back basket and free throw got JSU on the board, making it a 16-3 game to that point.
VCU held the Gamecock offense to just nine field goals in the first period. Ware accounted for nine point on 3-of-8 shooting with a couple of 3-pointers, while Derek St. Hilaire totaled eight points on three baskets and a couple of free throws.
Despite hitting just nine baskets, all three of Jacksonville State's 3-pointers came within the last four minutes of the half and helped close out the period on a 6-0 run. Ware hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final minute to pull the deficit to within 20, while junior Martin Roub had the first at the 3:48 mark.
After finding themselves in a 16-0 hole to begin the game, the Gamecocks wouldn't go long without scoring to begin the second half. By the first media timeout, JSU had put 10 points on the board and held the Rams to 12.
Senior Jacara Cross helped the Gamecocks to a 41-point second half, scoring 11 points after being shut out in the first. The fourth-year forward as 4-for-7 with three free throws through the final 20 minutes.
The home team was too much to overcome, however, as the Rams put six in double figures. Starting guard Mike'l Simms led the attack with 13 points.
MONTANA STATE 52, TENNESSEE TECH 39
GREENSBORO, N.C. - A grueling, three-day test in Fleming Gymnasium on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro came to close Sunday afternoon, as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell to Montana State, 52-39.
On a weekend where the Golden Eagle offense struggled to find a rhythm and some consistency, the defense stepped up in a huge way in the contest, holding the Bobcats to just 52 points, 40 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from 3-point range. Montana State entered the contest shooting well over 40 percent from beyond the arc.
Tech also forced 15 turnovers in the contest, using the extra possessions to try and counter-balance its own issues with turning over the ball /on the day. The purple and gold also scrapped and clearly won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding the Bobcats 39-32, including a whopping 15-5 on the offensive side of the ball.
The defense truly kept the young crop of Golden Eagles in the contest early, as Montana State opened the game on an 11-0 run over the first six minutes. The lead expanded to as much as 17-4 early, in favor of the Bobcats, but almost like a light switch flipping on, the Tech defense locked it down. Over the final 11:25 of the first stanza, the purple and gold held their opponents to just five points, allowing the offense to bring the halftime deficit to a very manageable five points.
That same intensity and resolve brought Tech to as close as three points early in the second half, and kept the difference on the scoreboard under 10 points for the majority of the remainder of the contest. Some free throws and a couple of big triples from Montana State allowed the final score to reach 52-39, but overshadowed an otherwise inspiring display from the purple and gold.
Freshman Keishawn Davidson led Tech in scoring with nine points while sophomore forward Amadou Sylla paced the effort on the boards, snatching eight rebounds on the day.