BOX SCORE

JACKSONVILLE – A second-half surge carried the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to an 89-67 win over Georgia Southern on Saturday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

Junior Trenton Marshall scored all of his game-high 19 points in the second half to help the Gamecocks (2-1) outscore the Eagles by 21 points in the final 20 minutes. The Garyville, La., native was 8-for-9 from the free throw line, blocked two shots and swiped three steals in just his third Division I basketball game. He overcame an 0-for-5 first half from the floor to lead all scorers in scoring.

Marshall led five JSU players that scored in double figures on a night that saw the Gamecocks shoot 57 percent from the floor and drain six of their 12 attempts from behind the 3-point line. They used a second-half effort that included a 71-percent shooting percentage and 34 points in the paint.

Junior Jay-R Strowbridge also had a big night for the Gamecocks, pouring in 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting. The Huntsville, Ala., native had 12 in the final half to finish the game one point shy of his career high. The Nebraska transfer was 2-for-3 from behind the arc and picked up two steals and two assists.

Junior Nick Murphy, who missed the season opener due to injury and played limited minutes to foul trouble in the team's second game of the year, returned to form in the win. The Bronx, N.Y., native was 5-for-5 from the field en route to 13 points and grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Senior Amadou Mbodji added 11 points and five boards for JSU, while sophomore John Barnes used a 4-for-4 afternoon from the floor for his 10 points.

The Gamecocks outscored the Eagles in the paint, 50-24, and scored 24 points off of 19 GSU turnovers. The Eagles also had five players score in double figures, led by Antonio Hanson's 18 points. Their 32 rebounds were seven shy of the 39 the Gamecocks hauled in.

A sloppy first half saw JSU inch out to an eight-point lead in the final four minutes, only to watch the Eagles tie it up before trailing 29-28 at the intermission.

GSU kept it close early in the second half before a 16-1 Gamecock run turned a three-point advantage into a 55-37 lead with 11:55 to play. The Eagles never pulled to within 15 the rest of the way, and JSU closed its three-game homestand to open the year with two wins.

The Gamecocks will now take to the road for the first time in 2009-10 for two matches over the next week. They will face Southeastern Louisiana in Hammond, La., on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before traveling to Athens, Ga., for a Friday meeting with the University of Georgia. Both games will be broadcast live on the JSU Radio Network with Mike Parris calling the action.