Box Score

NASHVILLE – A red-hot first half from Belmont proved just too much for the Jacksonville State men's basketball team on Saturday, when the Bruins handed the Gamecocks a 78-71 defeat in the finale of the 2012-13 season.

The Gamecocks (17-11, 8-8 Ohio valley Conference) had five players score in double figures for just the second time this season, but they couldn't overcome a first-half shooting performance by the Bruins (24-6, 14-2 OVC) that saw almost everything fall. Belmont connected on 68 percent of its attempts from the floor to build an early lead and then held on to win the OVC regular season title in its first year in the league.

Senior Tarvin Gaines led the Gamecocks with 19 points in his final game in a JSU uniform. The West Memphis, Ark., native was 5-for-10 from the floor and grabbed five rebounds to cap his senior season with an average of 16.4 points per game, the sixth-highest total in a season in JSU's Division I history.

Fellow senior Ronnie Boggs scored five late points to get 13 points for JSU, while junior Brian Williams and sophomore Darion Rackley also scored 13 points apiece.

Junior Nick Cook was the fifth member of the Gamecock lineup in double figures with 10 points, but his game-high 10 rebounds gave the Hattiesburg, Miss., native his first double-double of the season and the fifth of his career.

Belmont got a career-high 26 points from senior Kerron Johnson in his final game, while leading scorer Ian Clark added 13, despite not scoring for the game's first 19:59. Johnson led a 23-for-24 effort at the free throw line by the Bruins by connecting on all 12 of his attempts.

The Gamecocks fell behind the Bruins early on and then suffered through a 7:10 stretch without a field goal that allowed the Bruins to build a 12-point lead with just over seven minutes left in the first half. Belmont held a 32-21 lead when the first-half clock hit 3:00, but JSU rattled off back-to-back-to-back 3-pointers to cut it to 32-30 with 1:54 left. Williams and Boggs each hit deep treys before Williams capped the run with a pull-up from the left wing in transition.

Belmont threw the final punch of the half, though. Clark, scoreless for the first 19:59 of the game, knocked down a deep one of his own from the right wing at the halftime buzzer that gave the Bruins a 38-31 lead.

The OVC leader in scoring and field goal percentage made its looks count in the first half. The Bruins were 15-for-22 (.682) from the floor in the first 20 minutes to the Gamecocks' 40 percent shooting effort.

The Gamecocks slowly cut into the Bruins lead to start the second half and cut it back to a two-point game when Boggs' five-straight points made it 47-45 with 14:34 on the clock.

The Bruins answered again, scoring six in a row and holding JSU scoreless for almost three minutes to stretch their lead to 53-45 with 12 minutes remaining.

The Gamecocks couldn't get close enough down the stretch, cutting it to six a couple times, but Belmont always had an answer.