FINAL STATS

MURRAY, Ky. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team had another meeting with Murray State slip through its fingertips at the Regional Special Events Center on Saturday night, when the Racers escaped with a 57-54 win in Ohio Valley Conference action.

The Gamecocks (11-14, 5-11 OVC) were able to erase a 10-point Racers (14-10, 9-5 OVC) lead and even pull ahead in the second half, but a late Murray run put them back up by six in the final minutes. JSU pulled to within one point twice down the stretch, but the Gamecocks couldn't make a play to claim the lead. They dropped their 11th in as many meetings in the all-time series and their fifth in Murray, all of which have been by 10 points or less.

Senior Jonathan Toles and freshman Brandon Crawford, both Montgomery, Ala., natives, were the only two JSu players that scored in double figures, with Toles leading the way. The 6-foot-2 guard had 17 points in the game, thanks in large part to an 8-for-8 effort from the free throw line. Crawford added 11 points in the loss.

JSU edged the Racers in the battle on the glass, 33-31, but 15 Gamecock turnovers led to a 22-10 MSU advantage in points off of turnovers.

The Racers got 14 points from Tony Easley, who scored their first eight points. Danero Thomas added 13 points, while Easley led all players with seven rebounds.

The Gamecocks were sluggish in the first half, when they connected on just seven of their 26 (.269) attempts from the floor. The Racers shot 43 percent from the field to possess a 30-22 lead at the intermission. Toles and Crawford each scored seven for JSU, while Easley led all scorers inn the first 20 minutes with 12.

Jax State nipped away at the lead for much of the first 12 minutes of the second half until a Toles layup at the 8:34 mark gave the Gamecocks their first lead of the night at 43-42. The Racers answered by scoring the next seven points to take a 49-43 lead with just over four minutes remaining.

JSU would pull to within four as late as 53-49 with 2:03 to play and followed by forcing the Racers to turn it over on a shot clock violation. Murphy connected on an off-balance layup off of an Ivan Aska foul and converted the old-fashioned 3-point play to cut the lead to 53-52.

Another defensive stand for the Gamecocks set up a chance to reclaim the lead in the final minute. Toles dished it inside to Murphy, but the Bronx native was caught shuffling his feet and gave the ball back to the Racers. JSU fouled Jeffery McClain on the ensuing inbounds play, and he converted on both free throws to push the Racers to a 55-52 lead.

Toles made and easy layup to cut the deficit to one again with 8.8 seconds to play, and Danero Thomas missed both free throws off of the inbounds foul to give JSU a chance to win it. Crawford drove in on the right wing, but he tripped and fell to the ground, turning over the ball and the game on a traveling violation in the final seconds.

The Gamecocks return home to Pete Mathews Coliseum, where they will play host to Austin Peay on Tuesday at 7 p.m. JSU will be attempting to “White Out The Pete” presented by Martin's Family Clothing. The first 300 fans through the gates will receive a free T-Shirt, which will also be sold at the game. All benefits will go to the American Cancer Society.