Box Score

JACKSONVILLE – Four Gamecocks scored in double figures and the Jacksonville State men's basketball team improved to 3-0 with a 79-61 win over Alabama A&M at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday.

The Gamecocks shot 51 percent from the floor and held their in-state foe Bulldogs (1-2) to a .368 shooting percentage to start a season with three wins for the first time since moving to Division I for the 1995-96 season.

JSU controlled the game from the inside, grabbing 50 points in the paint and outrebounding the Bulldogs 44-33. Senior Ronnie Boggs led the Gamecocks on the glass with eight rebounds, while he and fellow senior Tarvin Gaines each had a team-high 15 points.

Boggs, a native of Kansas City, Mo., went 7-for-13 from the floor, while Gaines, a West Memphis, Ark., native, made five of his eight attempts. Gaines was 4-for-4 from the free throw line and also grabbed six boards. Junior Nick Cook was 4-for-6 from the field to add 10 points and pulled in six rebounds, while senior Rinaldo Mafra pulled down eight boards.

In the third game of a season that has seen mostly veteran production in the scoring column for JSU, redshirt freshman Chris Deanes provided a spark for JSU. The Memphis, Tenn., native made all four of his attempts from the floor and was 4-for-6 from the charity stripe to score a career-high 12 points. His first double-digit scoring game aided his four assists and one steal.

Against a taller AAMU roster, JSU attacked the basket and scored all but 10 of its points from the floor inside the paint. The Gamecocks blocked six shots and grabbed 13 offensive boards that led to 14 second-chance points. They also scored 21 points off of the Bulldogs' 14 turnovers.

AAMU got a game-high 18 points and 14 rebounds from Demarquelle Tabb, while Jeremy Crutcher added 14.

The Bulldogs took advantage of a slow start by JSU and scored the game's first five points. They would lead by five as late as the 13:25 mark of the first half, only to watch the Gamecocks make a run. They would grab the momentum and finish the half on a spurt that gave them a 38-31 lead at the intermission.

JSU stretched the lead to double figures in the first six minutes of the half before a 13-0 run gave the Gamecocks a 64-41 lead and put the game in hand with 8:09 remaining. They would lead by as many as 25 before the Bulldogs put in nine of the game's final 11 points.

JSU, who has now won its last six regular season games, will now travel to Las Vegas for a Saturday matchup with No. 18 UNLV. The game will tip at 9 p.m. CT and will be carried on the JSU Radio Network.