PEORIA, Ill. – Bradley built a slight first-half advantage and then held off the Jacksonville State men's basketball team to win the season opener for both teams, 72-65, on Friday at Carver Arena.

The Gamecocks (0-1) forced Bradley's go-to guy and the NCAA's active leader in career points Walt Lemon into a 2-for-13 start from the floor, but the senior keyed the late run that helped the Braves (1-0) create enough separation to hold off JSU and pick up the win in the first meeting between the two programs.

Junior Grant White led three Gamecocks in double figures with a 16-point night that saw him go 3-for-4 from behind the 3-point line. The Monroeville, Ala., native keyed a pair of JSU runs in the game with big 3-pointers, while fellow juniors Darion Rackley and D.J. Felder added 13 and 10, respectively.

Senior and Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference guard Brian Williams struggled from the floor on the night, going 4-for-13 to score eight points. He was one of three Gamecocks, joining junior Jamal Hunter and senior Nick Cook. Cook, a native of Hattiesburg, Miss., grabbed 10 rebounds to lead JSU to a 33-32 advantage on the glass.

Cook was forced to step up inside on a night that saw his counterparts inside sit due to foul trouble for much of the game. Felder added five boards and Hunter had four in 20 minutes of action. Williams and Rackley each dished three of the team's nine assists, while Williams played all 40 minutes in his 72nd consecutive start in a JSU uniform.

Lemon finished the night with 16 points but went just 6-for-20 from the floor. Omari Grier picked up the slack, scoring 17 points in a game in which he made the of his six 3-point attempts. Tyshon Pickett had a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

The Gamecocks tried to set the tone early on, working inside to build an 8-4 lead, but the Braves responded. With Lemon struggling to get things going offensively. They turned elsewhere and manufactured a 12-3 run that put them on top 16-11. They stretched the lead to as many as nine in the final four minutes with a 28-19 advantage with 3:47 to play.

White knocked down JSU's first trey of the night to answer the run and spark one for the Gamecocks. They scored eight of the next 10 to draw as close as three, but a late triple by Grier sent the Braves into the halftime locker room with a 33-27 lead.

Foul trouble was a big story early, forcing Rackley, Felder and Hunter to spend time on the bench. Rackley played 15 minutes in the half and scored seven, while Felder had six points and two boards in just seven minutes that saw him draw three fouls.

The Gamecocks were slow out of the gates in the second half, making just 2 of their first eight shots and watching the Braves build a 10-point lead at 43-33 with just over 14 minutes to play.

White led the JSU charge with an old-fashioned 3-point play and then a triple that cut the lead to six and started a surge that saw the Gamecocks get as close as one on a Williams jumper with 7:28 to play that made it 52-51.

Lemon had the answer this time, making his first 3-pointer of the night to stretch the lead back to four, as close as JSU would get.

The Gamecocks now travel to Champaign, Ill., where they will take on Illinois on Sunday at 5 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast live on the JSU Radio Network with Mike Parris calling the action and will also be streamed for free online through ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app.