Jax State
WEST GEORGIA (exhibition)
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Georgia | 20 | 32 | 52 |
| Jacksonville State | 34 | 31 | 65 |
10/31/2013 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PHOTO GALLERY
JACKSONVILLE – Junior Darion Rackley scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to a 65-52 exhibition victory over the University of West Georgia at Pete Mathews Coliseum on Thursday night.
Junior Jamal Hunter added a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds in his debut for the Gamecocks, who overcame a late rally by the Wolves in the second half. Zach Taulien led UWG with 11 points while Emory Bernard added 10 points and eight rebounds as the Wolves out-scored the Gamecocks 32-31 in the second half.
The Gamecocks shot 56.5 percent from the floor in the first half while building a 34-20 lead at the break. Rackley had eight points while senior Nick Cook added seven points in the half as the Gamecocks limited the Wolves to a .259 field goal percentage in the half.
Leading 6-4 early in the half, JSU went on a 10-0 run to build a 16-4 lead. Senior Brian Williams sparked the run with a steal and a fast break layup. Williams would add another steal and fast break dunk to help JSU jump out to the early lead. Rackley then converted on a three-point play after taking the ball away from a UWG ball handler and racing the other way for a layup and foul to give JSU the 16-4 lead with 13:34 left in the half.
The Gamecocks would extend the lead to 17 with 2:23 in the half after Hunter blocked a one of his three shots in the game. On the Gamecocks ensuing possession, Rackley drove and found Hunter wide open under the basket for an easy layup for the 32-15 lead.
JSU opened the second half on an 8-1 run to build a 42-21 lead. Hunter scored the first bucket of the half before adding a tip in off a missed fast break layup attempt. Rackley would then connect on four free throws to build the 21-point lead. The Gamecocks connected on 13-of-14 attempts from the free throw line in the second half while finishing the game knocking down 20-of-26 attempts from the charity line.
Trailing 56-31 with 8:13 in left, the Wolves would go on a 14-2 run to cut the lead to 58-45 with 4:35 remaining. Taulien would connect on two three-point shots and Ryan Godfrey would add another three to cut the deficit to 13.
Rackley would then answer with a 3-point bucket off an assist from Williams before senior Rico Sanders would knock down two free throws to extend the Gamecocks lead to 18 at 63-45 with 3:28 remaining.
UWG would again cut the lead to 13 after a jumper by Bernard and a three point shot from Taulien with 2:07 remaining to cut the lead to 63-50. That would be as close as the Wolves would get as junior D.J. Fielder's tip in would give JSU a 65-50 lead.
Deontre Brown's layup with 1:02 cut the lead to 65-52 and would be the game's final points as the Gamecocks would run the clock out thanks to Williams' offensive rebound off a missed shot with just under 30 seconds remaining.
The Gamecocks will be back at home on Monday Nov. 4 for their final exhibition game with Martin Methodist. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. and admission is free.
