Box Score

Final Stats

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville State returned from its ten-day break and turned in its best showing on the road, but fell short to Jacksonville University, 87-74, on Thursday night at Veterans Memorial Arena in downtown Jacksonville, Fla.

The Gamecocks fall to 3-7 on the season, while JU earned its first win of the season after starting the season with eight-straight losses.  Jax State will remain in Jacksonville, Fla. throughout the weekend as they take part in North Florida's Osprey Holiday Classic.  JSU draws FIU on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST before wrapping up the trip on Sunday against host-UNF at 3:30 p.m. EST.

JSU, who has struggled scoring away from its home facility of Pete Mathews Coliseum, posted a season-high 74 points on the road in the setback, could not find enough stops on the defensive end to pull out a win on the road.

The Dolphins led from the opening tip to the final buzzer and withstood a pair of JSU scoring runs in each half to pull away late for the 13-point win.  JU mounted multiple nine-point leads in the game's first 12:51.  The Green and Gold took its first double-digit lead of the contest at 26-15 with 7:49 left in the half.  Jax State rallied over the next four minutes with a 12-2 scoring run to trim the JU deficit to 28-27 at the 3:17 mark.  Freshman Bria'unna Buckner came off the bench to drain back-to-back three-pointers followed by a Brianna Morrow bucket to get within a point.  JU quickly responded to close out the half on a 14-4 scoring spurt to push the deficit back out to 11 points before the halftime break.  Jax State's Danielle Vaughn's lay up as time expired sent the Gamecocks into the dressing room down nine, 42-33.

After JU opened the final half by extending the lead out to 12 points at 49-37 with 17:34 left on the clock, JSU took charge of the next two minutes with a strong defensive effort that turned into points.  The Red and White strung together a 14-4 run to get within a basket at 51-49 on a Morrow layup at the 15:12 mark.  JU extended its advantage back out to seven points before a pair of Vaughn baskets and two free throws from Brittany Manning got the Gamecocks within a point, 56-55 with 11:42 left in the game.  JSU stayed in striking range before the Dolphins pushed their lead back out to double figures late in the game.

The Gamecocks' post boosted the offensive attack as they scored 50 of the 74 points in the paint.  Morrow, who was named the Ohio Valley Conference's Freshman of the Week after her last two outings, led all scorers with 25 points.  The Nashville, Tenn.-native finished the night 12-of-17 from the field and pulled down eight rebounds.  Vaughn returned to her old form as she registered her fourth double-double of the season and the 11th of her career.  The Huntsville, Ala.-product posted 15 points and 13 rebounds.  Vaughn filled the stat sheet in the second half with ten points and nine rebounds in the second half alone. 

Destiny Lane was the third Gamecock to reach double digits in the scoring column.  Lane, JSU's leading scorer, added 11 points and six rebounds.  The Ashville, Ala. senior also had a career high five assists and four steals.  Freshmen Candace Morton and Buckner chipped in eight points.

JSU claimed the rebounding edge, 41-29, and shared the basketball with 17 assists.

JU placed four in double figures, led by Jade Cargill's 21-point effort.  Crystal Bell came off the bench to score 14 points, while Maggie Wilson and Ciara McLee both finished with 13 points.