Box Score

LAS VEGAS – Senior Tarvin Gaines scored 14 of his 17 points after halftime and the Jacksonville State men's basketball team escaped UNLV's Thomas & Mack Center with a 54-50 overtime win over North Carolina A&T and the title of the early bracket in the Global Sports Classic.

The Gamecocks (5-2) a pair of free throws from junior Brian Williams with 46 seconds left in the extra period that gave them a 52-50 lead and then got a big defensive stop that denied the Aggies (2-5) a chance at a winner.

Junior Nick Cook, who left the game with an ankle injury with 8:41 left in regulation, checked back into the game after Williams' charity shots and then came up with a key block of Lamont Middleton's attempt to tie just 20 seconds later. Sophomore Darion Rackley came up with the rebound and Williams went to the line to put it away.

Gaines, a native of West Memphis, Ark., had just three points at the half but made his way to the free throw line in the second half, where he went 6-for-6 to account for a hunk of his production. He led all scorers just one day after he led the Gamecocks with 12 points in a win over Northern Arizona. His back-to-back games came right after missing Monday's game and much of practice during the week because of an illness.

Rackley, a native of St. Louis that missed the same time as Gaines with the same illness, also scored in double figures for the second-straight day with 14 points. He went 6-for-7 from the free throw line and 2-for-3 from behind the arc in 35 minutes of action.

JSU made seven 3-pointers as a team after coming into the game averaging just 2.5 makes per game from outside the arc. The Gamecocks were 7-for-19, with Gaines and Rackley each connecting on two apiece.

The Gamecocks also made a change after a first half that saw them attempt no free throws. They went to the line 22 times in the second half and overtime and made 19 of those shots for an 86 percent success rate.

The Aggies got 11 points each from Adrian Powell and Jean Louisme, while DaMetrius Upchurch scored nine and grabbed nine boards to lead NC A&T to a 32-27 advantage on the boards.

The Gamecocks used a 10-0 run early in the game to turn a 4-2 Aggie lead into a 12-4 JSU advantage with just under nine minutes to play before the half. NC A&T answered though, scoring 12 of the last 17 points before the intermission to cut the Gamecocks' advantage to 17-16 at the half.

The Gamecocks forced a turnover on the Aggies' first three possessions of the second half and got back-to-back 3-pointers from Gaines and Boggs to open up a 23-16 lead just minutes after the break. They kept staving off Aggie threats until a 15-4 run gave North Carolina A&T a 40-35 lead with 6:05 to play.

The run started after a 5-0 JSU run gave the Gamecocks a 31-25 lead at about the midway point of the second half. A technical foul on the Gamecock bench turned momentum in the favor of the Aggies, who used it to open their first lead of the second half.

JSU reclaimed the lead after Rackley banked in a three from the left corner and Gaines connected on three free throws that put the Gamecocks up 41-40 with just under four minutes remaining.

Both teams exchanged two-point possessions before a Louisme 3-pointer with 1:16 to play gave the Aggies a 45-43 lead.

Rackley tied it back up with 42 seconds left, thanks to a pair of free throws that set up a defensive stop for the Gamecocks on the other end. With the score tied 45-45 with 4:24 Williams found Gaines driving across the baseline but his attempt didn't fall, sending the game into overtime.

Rackley started the extra period with a three-point play the old fashioned way that gave JSU a 48-45 lead. The Aggies wouldn't go away, though. They battled to tie it at 49-49 and then again at 50-50, but the Gamecocks got the final four points, all from Brian Williams at the free throw line, to escape with the win.

JSU will return to Jacksonville for the first time since Nov. 16, when the Gamecocks left for the first leg of this trip. They will return to action on Saturday at Alcorn State in Alcorn, Miss. The game will tip at 3 p.m. CT and will be broadcast live on the JSU Sports Network.