Jax State
1-5
DALTON STATE
8-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dalton State | 34 | 27 | 61 |
| Jacksonville State | 38 | 47 | 85 |
11/22/2013 3:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
JACKSONVILLE – Junior Darion Rackley tied his career high with 27 points to help the Jacksonville State men's basketball team overcome a slow start to pull away for the 85-61 victory over Dalton State on Friday afternoon at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
Rackley finished with 20 points in the first half to help JSU (1-5) overcome a slow start to claim the Gamecocks first victory of the season. The S. Louis, Mo., native previously scored 27 points against Martin Methodist on December 11, 2012. Dalton State opened the game connecting on 5-of-7 from the 3-point line before finishing the game shooting just 7-of-22 from behind the arc to fall to 8-2 on the season.
Freshman Undra Mitchem set a new career-high with 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half while junior Grant White finished with 11 points. The Gamecocks finished the game shooting 26-of-47 from the field after going 16-of-24 from the field in the second half.
Juniors Jamal Hunter and Teraes Clemmons and senior Nick Cook each finished with seven rebounds to lead the Gamecocks. Hunter also added eight points and a season-high four blocks while Cook added nine points and one blocked shot.
Demetrice Jacobs led three players in double figures for Dalton State with 14 points. Preston Earle added 13 points while Ricky Sears added 11 points. Desmond Phillips finished with five rebounds for the Roadrunners, who were outrebounded 42-25 by the Gamecocks on the night.
The Roadrunners built an early 19-10 lead in the first half thanks to a 16-5 run that saw DSU knock down four 3-point shots. Dalton State managed to connect on 5-of-7 3-point attempts in the games first nine minutes. JSU then limited the Roadrunners to just 1-of-7 shooting from downtown for the rest of the first half.
Rackley then scored 17 of his 20 first-half points while helping JSU finish the half with a 38-34 lead. The junior guard would finish the first half 5-of-9 from the field and 8-of-10 from the free throw line. Rackley would knock down a pair of free throws with 4:52 remaining in the half to tie the game at 28-28.
The Gamecocks would then go 8-of-10 from the free throw line over the final four minutes of the half to take a 38-34 lead into the locker room. Overall, JSU finished the half 15-of-20 from the charity stripe while knocking down 10-of-23 shots from the field. DSU on the other hand shot just 11-of-29 from the field while finishing 6-of-10 from the free throw line.
Mitchem then scored eight of the Gamecocks' first nine points to start the second half as JSU opened up with a 23-3 run to build a 61-37 lead with 11:40 to go. The Roadrunners were just 1-of-12 from the field during the run while shooting just 18-of-58 from the field in the half.
Mitchem's third 3-point shot of the half gave JSU a 71-41 lead with nine minutes to play. The Gamecocks would manage to stretch the lead to 31 points with a layup from White to give JSU a 85-54 lead with 4:20 remaining. The Roadrunners would then managed to close the game on a 7-0 run to cut the final score to 85-61.
The Gamecocks will next travel to Huntsville on Monday, Nov. 25 to take on Alabama A&M at 7 p.m. before returning home to host Fort Valley State on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at noon.
