Box Score

JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team defended its way into next week's Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Thursday with a 69-59 win over Southeast Missouri at Pete Mathews Coliseum.

The Gamecocks (13-17, 7-8 OVC) held the Redhawks (14-14, 9-6 OVC) to a season-low 59 points and kept the third-place team in the league scoreless for a stretch of nine minutes and 57 seconds at one point to split the season series and secure a spot in JSU's second OVC Tournament in the last three years.

Sophomore Nick Cook pulled in a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Gamecocks to a 42-37 advantage on the glass over the oversized Redhawks and scored 10 points to notch his fourth double-double of the season and his second in the past three games. The Hattiesburg, Miss., native was 5-of-7 from the floor to join a group of six Gamecocks that scored at least nine points in the win.

Junior Ronnie Boggs had 13 points and pulled down four of his six rebounds on the offensive glass, while sophomore Brian Williams used eight free throws to help his get to a team-high 14 points on a night in which he went just 3-for-11 from the floor. Freshman Grant White added 10 points, while junior Tarvin Gaines and freshman Darion Rackley added nine apiece.

The game was a see-saw battle for the first 12 minutes, a stretch that saw seven ties and seven lead changes. A Tyler Stone layup with 8:28 left to play before the half gave SEMO a 17-15 lead, its last of the night.

Grant White answered 18 seconds later to start what would be a 15-0 run that watched SEMO fail to score again until another Stone basket fell with 18:31 left in the game. During the 9:57 stretch, JSU's defense clamped down and forced four turnovers while watching the Redhawks to go 0-for-9 from the floor and 0-for-4 from the free throw line.

JSU would stretch its led to as many as 16 as late as the 8:45 mark and held off any SEMO attempts at a rally. The Redhawks did put together a 7-1 run that pulled them to within six with 4:17 to play, but the Gamecocks answered with four in a row to push their lead back to double digits.

Stone struggled in a 5-for-14 night from the floor but managed 16 points and eight boards, while Michael Porter added 13 points off of the bench to join Stone as the only Redhawks in double figures. Guard Marland Smith grabbed eight boards but went 2-for-9 from the floor and scored just seven points. All-OVC forward Leon Powell managed just four points in a game that saw him play just 14 minutes due to foul trouble.

The Gamecocks are now tied with Austin Peay for sixth place with one game to play against UT Martin on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tip at 7:45 p.m. CT and anyone 18 and under will get in free. The eight-team tournament will get underway on Wednesday, with the fifth seed playing the No. 8 seed at 6 p.m.  and the No. 6 seed facing the No. 7 seed at 8 p.m. Fans are encouraged to purchase their ticket packages are available through the JSU Ticket Office by calling 256-782-8499. Fans may only purchase reserved seats for their team's games in advance through their school's ticket office. Only general admission seats will be available at Memorial Coliseum during the tournament.