Box Score

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville State opened the 2011 Comfort Inn Holiday Classic with a 79-52 loss to FIU on Saturday on the North Florida campus.

JSU falls to 3-8 on the season, while the Panthers of FIU improved to 6-4 overall.  The two former conference mates were meeting for the sixth time on the hardwood with FIU owning a 6-1 lead in the series.

The Gamecocks struggled out of the gates offensively as they made just two baskets in the first 11 minutes of the contest and found themselves down 21-4 at the 9:04 mark after FIU guard Jerica Coley knocked down one of her six shots in the first half.  Coley, averaging 24 points per game, almost reached that mark by intermission as she scored 17 of her final 35 points in the first 20 minutes.  Coley finished the game 13-of-19 from the field and connected on 4-of-7 from behind the three-point arc.  JSU started making shots with five minutes left in the half as it trimmed the lead down to 13 points at 25-12 with 4:51 after a Miranda Cantrell layup.  FIU pushed the lead back out to 17 points down the stretch of the half before taking a 34-20 lead into the halftime break.  Jax State hit just 8-of-29 from the field in the first half and knocked down 12 shots in the final half. 

FIU continued to mount its sizable lead in the second half thanks to 69 percent shooting from the field.  JSU had no answer for the tandem of Coley and Fanni Hutlassa.  Coley carded 18 points in the second half, while Hutlassa scored 13 of her 15 in the second half. 

Jax State trimmed the 13-point halftime deficit down to 11 points on two occasions in the first seven minutes of the final period.  FIU held its first 20-plus point lead at 12:01 at 51-31.  The Panther lead expanded to a game-high 28 points with 5:34 left in the contest.  FIU, who had 22 turnovers, scored 23 points off of 20 Gamecock miscues.

Four Gamecocks reached double figures in the scoring column, led by freshmen Candace Morton and Miranda Cantrell.  Both came off the bench to post 12 points each.  The 12 points by Cantrell is a season-best for the College Park, Ga.-native.  She also grabbed five rebounds in the setback. 

Senior Brittany Manning, who re-joined the team after receiving her undergraduate degree from JSU at the institution's Graduation ceremonies at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Friday night, shook off her travels to score 11 points.  Manning was also credited with four steals and a pair of assists.  Freshman Briana Morrow added 10 points to the JSU cause.  It marked her fifth-straight game with double digits in points.  In the first game of the Florida trip, she posted 25 points against Jacksonville.

JSU claimed the edge on the boards, 37-32, and registered 10 steals. 

JSU wraps up its stay in Jacksonville, Fla. on Sunday as it faces host-UNF at 3:30 EST.  Jax State will conclude its pre-Christmas schedule at home on Tuesday, Dec. 20 as it faces Ohio Valley Conference foe Eastern Kentucky.  Tip off is set for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for just $1 for the EKU and Georgia State match up on Dec. 28.