FINAL STATS  |  PHOTO GALLERY

JACKSONVILLE – A late spurt by the Jacksonville State men's basketball team put Oakwood away on Monday, when the Gamecocks earned a 77-57 win over the Ambassadors in their final exhibition game before starting the 2011-12 season on Friday.

Clinging to just a six-point advantage with 12 minutes to play in the game, the Gamecocks scored nine in a row to spark a 17-3 run that put the Ambassadors away. On a night that saw JSU struggle from the perimeter, the Gamecocks took to the inside to outscore OU 42-24 in the paint and control the boards by a 44-32 advantage.

Junior Rinaldo Mafra, a transfer from Southeastern Community College in Iowa, led the way insode for head coach James Green and the Gamecocks. The transfer and Recife, Brazil, native notched a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. His junior college teammate and junior guard Mason Leggett grabbed 10 rebounds from the backcourt for JSU and was a point away from joining Mafra in the double-double category. A native of Zachary, La., Leggett was 3-for-5 from the floor and 3-for-4 from eth charity stripe, while also dishing out four assists.

The Gamecocks shot 47 percent on the night but put together a 52 percent shooting effort from inside the 3-point line. They connected on just four of their 14 3-point attempts, two of which came on freshman Darion Rackley's six attempts.

Sophomore Nick Cook was a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor, all of which were attempts from inside the paint, to join Mafra with 14 points. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native also pulled in five boards in just 20 minutes of action off of the bench. Senior Stephen Hall pitched in nine points and pulled down eight boards to add to the Gamecocks production in the post.

The Gamecocks took advantage of a suffocating defense that forced the Ambassadors into 20 turnovers that led to 32 JSU points. They limited Oakwood to a .389 field goal percentage after the Ambassadors got off to a hot start.

They created an early six-point lead and held until the final six minutes of the first half, when the Gamecocks took the lead for good. A pair of Cook buckets sparked a 17-5 run that gave JSU a nine-point lead in the final minute of the first half and it never looked back.

Junior Ronnie Boggs, another of JSU's seven transfers on this year's roster, pitched in eight points while grabbing five boards and tossing out five assists.

Oakwood was led by Lanardo Bryant's 22 points, an output that came from an 8-for-18 shooting night. Timmy Wright added 15 points.

The Gamecocks will open the 2011-12 regular season on Friday, when they face Miles College in an 8 p.m. game at Pete Mathews Coliseum that will immediately follow JSU's home volleyball match with Morehead State.