Gamecocks Defend Their Way to 50-48 Win Over Northern Arizona - Jacksonville State University Athletics

Friday, November 23

Las Vegas, Nev.

2:30 p.m.

Jax State

4-2

Northern Arizona

1-3

Team	1	2	F
Jacksonville State	31	19	50
Northern Arizona	19	29	48

11/23/2012 5:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

LAS VEGAS – Some key defensive stops for the Jacksonville State men's basketball team propelled the Gamecocks to a 50-48 win over Northern Arizona in Friday's opening round of the Global Sports Classic at UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center.

Senior Tarvin Gaines and sophomore Darion Rackley, two players that were playing for the first time since becoming ill earlier in the week, were the only two players to score in double figures but it would be all the Gamecocks (4-2) needed. Their defense held the Lumberjacks (1-3) to more than 22 points under their season average in the win.

The Gamecocks used a stingy defense to spark an 11-2 run late in the first half and then they held Northern Arizona without a field goal attempt in its final three possessions of the game to preserve the win. At 4-2, the Gamecocks are off to their best start since the 2008-09 season, head coach James Green's first at JSU.

Gaines scored 12 in 22 minutes off the bench, while Rackley got all 10 of his points from the free throw line on a night that saw him go 0-for-5 from the floor. Sophomore Nick Cook scored seven points and tied Gaines' team-high seven rebounds that helped JSU to a 31-28 advantage on the glass.

The Lumberjacks shot 46 percent from the floor but turned it over 20 times to the Gamecock defense. They got 40 of their 48 points from three players, whith Gabe Rogers scoring 22 of them. DeWayne Russell added 10, while Ephraim Ekanem pitched in eight.

JSU shot just 2-for-10 from behind the 3-point line but swiped 10 steals that led to 26 points off of turnovers.

The Gamecocks and Lumberjacks battled back-and-forth for much of a physical first half. Twenty-two fouls were called and 22 turnovers were forced, but JSU's defense turned it up a notch to run into the half with a 31-19 lead.

An 11-2 run by the Gamecocks closed the half and was keyed by six first half points from Rackley and five apiece from four other JSU players.

The Lumberjacks took the early momentum in the second half, rattling off an 11-4 run that cut JSU's lead to five at 35-30. After a pair of Tarvin Gaines free throws cut the run momentarily, Rogers scored five in a row to make it a two-point game at 37-35 with 14 minutes remaining.

Rogers continued to drive the Northern Arizona comeback effort, scoring 13 straight points for the Lumberjacks to cut the Gamecocks' lead to 41-40 with just over nine minutes remaining. A Jordyn Martin lay in with 8:30 to play cut Rogers' streak and gave NAU its first lead since going up 6-4 with 14:14 left in the first half.

They would score again to take a 44-41 lead before Tarvin Gaines snapped a field goal drought with back-to-back buckets that gave the Gamecocks a 45-44 lead with 4:19 to play. The Gamecocks got two more free throws from Rackley to take a 3-point lead.

A pair of Russell free throws cut it back to one, but a Gamecock defensive stand forced a shot clock violation and opened up a dunk from Cook put JSU up 49-46 with 12 ticks on the clock.

Two more Russell free throws cut it back to one and a foul on Gaines sent him to the line to shoot a pair with six seconds to play. The senior made one of them, giving the Lumberjacks a chance down by two.

They got the ball into Rogers' hands, but a heads up play by Brian Williams stripped the ball and the Gamecocks didn't allow Northern Arizona to get a shot off before time expired.

The Gamecocks advance to Saturday's title game against North Carolina A&T at 3:30 p.m. CT. The Aggies defeated Campbell, 85-60, earlier on Friday. The game will be broadcast live on the JSU Radio Network with airtime at 3 p.m. CT.