MONDAY'S SCORES
Jacksonville State 85, University of Mobile 66 (Mobile, Ala.)
@Xavier 99,
Eastern Kentucky 96 (OT)
Chattanooga 62,
@Tennessee Tech 54
JACKSONVILLE STATE 85, UNIVERSITY OF MOBILE 66
MOBILE, Ala. - The Jacksonville State men's basketball team completed the sweep of the Goldie and Herman Ungar Memorial Tournament on Monday with an 85-66 win over the University of Mobile.
The Gamecocks (3-1) won the first-ever contest between the two programs on the shoulders of double-digit scoring efforts from Jalen Finch, Darian Adams, Brandon Huffman and Juwan Perdue. Finch posted a career-high 17 points, Huffman surpassed his single-game high with 14 points, and Adams and Perdue followed up with 16 and 11, respectively.
The shot caller was 5-for-8 from the field, hit seven of eight free-throw attempts and snuck in seven assists and six rebounds in the win over the Rams (4-2).
A tight game at the half with Mobile behind by just three, Jacksonville State pulled away and widened its lead to a game-best 20 points with five minutes to play. JSU held Mobile to 33 points per half, while the Jax State offense blew up for 49 second-half points.
Adams saw nine of his 14 points in the second come from the free-throw line. The grad transfer drew seven fouls throughout the contest, while Finch drew five for four trips to the line. In total, JSU shot a season-best 74.2 (23-for-31) from the charity stripe.
Jax State led by as many as 11 points with less than eight minutes to play in the opening half, but Mobile rallied back to trail by just three at the break. The Rams hit four 3-pointers in a five-minute span to keep the Gamecocks within reach, ending the first on a seven-point run. UM starting guard Jayven Humphrey was responsible for three triples through the first 20 minutes.
Perdue and Demaree King helped Jacksonville State maintain its lead at the horn. The duo each tallied nine points on 100-percent shooting. King was 3-for-3 with three 3's, and Perdue was 4-for-4 from the field with one bucket from long range.
At the final horn, the Jax State defense forced 16 turnovers for 22 points, while the offense turned the ball over a season-low eight times.
The win gives Jax State its first 3-1 start to a season since 2017-18, and pushes Harper's coaching record at JSU to 83-57 in five seasons. He trails former head coach James Green (eight seasons) by just six victories for the program's spot as the second-winningest Division I coach in Gamecock history. Mike LaPlante (eight seasons) holds the top spot with 95 wins.
XAVIER 99, EASTERN KENTUCKY 96 (OT)
CINCINNATI - Junior Tre King beat the buzzer with a three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team into overtime with Xavier on Monday night. However, the host Musketeers held on for a 99-96 victory at the Cintas Center.
Xavier (4-0) led by five, 81-76, when Jason Carter converted a free throw with 2:16 left in regulation. A three-point play by redshirt freshman Curt Lewis, however, cut the Musketeers’ lead to one, 81-80, with 40 seconds on the clock.
Kyky Tandy drained two free throws with 15 ticks showing to stretch Xavier’s lead back out to three, 83-80.
Freshman Wendell Green Jr. missed a three-pointer on EKU’s ensuing possession, but the Colonels collected an offensive rebound and called timeout. Head coach A.W. Hamilton then drew up an out-of-bounds play for King, who delivered with a step-back three-pointer to tie it and force overtime.
EKU grabbed an early lead in OT, when Green Jr. made a pair of foul shots to make it 88-85 with 3:30 showing.
Xavier responded with eight straight points and took a five-point advantage when a second-chance jumper by Zach Freemantle made it 93-88.
The Colonels pulled back to within three, 97-94, with six seconds left. Junior Jomaru Brown banked in a shot from the top of the key, but his foot was on the line, so it made the score 97-96. Tandy then sank two free throws with a second left to seal the victory for the Musketeers.
King led all scorers in the game with a career-high 25 points. He also pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds to earn his second double-double of the season. The junior from Lexington grabbed a team-best four steals.
Lewis finished with a career-high 20 points in the loss, to go along with four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Junior Cooper Robb posted 19 points – 14 of which came in the first half. Brown had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in his season debut.
Green Jr. collected nine points and a game-high seven assists.
EKU won the turnover battle on the night, 25-11.
Xavier led by as many as 13 points late in the first half. A turnaround jumper by Nate Johnson made it 47-34 with 2:10 on the clock. However, Eastern closed out the half strong, as Green Jr. came up with a steal in the waning seconds and served it off the backboard to a trailing King. King dunked it home and sent the Colonels into the locker room down by only nine, 48-39.
EKU carried that momentum into the second half and slowly chipped away at the deficit. A three-pointer by Lewis made it a three-point game, 69-66, with 8:18 left. A triple by senior Russhard Cruickshank tied it up, 72-72, with 6:35 left. It was the Colonels’ first tie since 8:35 left in the first half.
Freemantle paced Xavier with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
CHATTANOOGA 62, TENNESSEE TECH 54
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - A close-knit battle for more than 39 minutes, it was the experience and free-throw shooting of the visiting Chattanooga Mocs that was the difference Monday night as the Tennessee Tech men's basketball team fell to its in-state rival in the Hooper Eblen Center, 62-54.
The eight-point differential surely didn't do the contest justice, as neither side gained more than a five-point advantage until the 17-second mark in the second half, with the Mocs sinking five straight free throws to ice the contest.
The Golden Eagles, still playing without head coach John Pelphrey on the sideline (as he continued his recovery from COVID) and guards Jr. Clay, Tujautae Williams and Damaria Franklin (out due to COVID protocols), held a four-point lead with just under five minutes to play. But a cold stretch from the floor by the purple and gold over the final five minutes, however, saw the visitors from Chattanooga end the contest on a 14-2 run.
Tech's struggles from the free-throw line, finishing 7-for-15 on the night, proved to be a significant factor as well on the night. On the other side of the floor, the Mocs took advantage of their trips to the line, sinking 19-of-22 tries.
Still, despite the challenges, the Golden Eagles showed a lot to be excited about as the year goes on.
The competition showed in multiple efforts on the night. Sophomore point guard Keishawn Davidson paced the Golden Eagles once again, recording his second career double-double with team-highs of 12 points and 10 rebounds. He added six assists while flirting with a triple-double over 36 minutes of action.
Graduate transfer Shandon Goldman posted a season-high 11 points and snagged seven boards as well while freshman forwards Austin Harvell and Kenny White Jr. each scored some timely buckets down the stretch, contributing eight and seven points, respectively.
Hopkins was efficient in 12 minutes of action, scoring four points with four rebounds. Sylla, who battle foul trouble in the first half and was limited to 15 minutes, was a defensive stalwart when on the floor, blocking three shots, tipping passes and corralling three boards. Sophomore Dane quest added a career-high eight rebounds while scoring five points as well.