RICHMOND, Ky. – The Jacksonville State's men's basketball team matched preseason Ohio Valley Conference favorite Eastern Kentucky blow-for-blow for much of the night on Saturday before a late spurt and clutch free throw shooting pushed the Colonels to a 60-56 win over the Gamecocks.

Senior Brian Williams scored 16 and junior Darion Rackley added 12 for the Gamecocks (9-13, 3-4 OVC), but the Colonels (13-6, 4-2 OVC) needed every bit of Eric Stutz's 20 and Glenn Cosey's 17 to hang on for their 10th win over JSU in as many games at McBrayer Arena.

On a night that saw 10 ties and 12 lead changes, nine in the second half, the free throw line proved to be the difference for EKU. The Colonels converted on 27 of their 31 attemots from the stripe, including a second half that saw them go 18-for-20 and make 13 of their last 14. JSU got to the line 24 times but made just 16, including an 11-for-19 (.579) second-half effort.

JSU limited the Colonels' main threats from the floor, forcing leading scorer Glenn Cosey and second-leading scorer Corey Walden to a combined 3-for-16 night from the floor. The duo got to the line, though, with Cosey making 11 of his 12 attempts and Walden going 5-for-7 in the game. Walden's seven points were the fewest by the junior since Nov. 22, but Stutz stepped in and made up the difference.

He went 6-for-7 in the post and 8-for-8 at the charity stripe to lead all scorers, while Tarius Johnson went 3-for-4 from behind the arc to account for most of his 12 points.

Williams had a big night for the Gamecocks, putting the team on his back at times en route to 16 points, five boards and six assists. The Lawrenceville, Ga., native was 5-for-8 from the floor, while Rackley was 3-for-5. Both players were 5-for-7 from the free throw line.

Williams' five boards led his team on a night that saw the Gamecocks struggle on the glass. JSU had just 17 rebounds to the Colonels' 24, including no offensive rebounds to EKU's seven.

Senior Nick Cook added eight points in the post but didn't pull down a rebound in the loss.

The Gamecocks got off to a quick start from the floor, thanks to a 1-for-7 start from the floor by the Colonels. Despite four early turnovers, JSU raced to a 9-3 lead before an 8-0 run from the Colonels and a 6:00 field goal drought watch EKU claim its first lead of the night at 11-9.

Jax State slowly battled back and tied the game on a Nick Cook three-point play with 4:37 on the clock before Undra Mitchem faked left and drained a deep 3-pointer with 3:54 left in the half to put his team up 21-18.

A pair of Rackley free throws was answered y a Tarius Johnson trey that sent the game deadlocked at 23-23 into the half. Williams eight led the Gamecocks, while Johnson's eight led the Colonels.

The second half saw both teams match each other blow-for-blow from the start. They exchanged leads nine times and were tied seven times over the first 16 minutes before a pair of Walden free throws and a Marcus Lewis dunk gave the Colonels a 50-46 lead, their largest of the night to that point.

Rackley went to the basket and drew a foul for a three-point play the old fashioned way cut EKU's lead back to one. Cosey's second field goal of the night was a big one on the ensuing possession, when we knocked down a long 3-pointer from well beyond the left wing to push his team back up by four at 53-49 2:39 0n the clock.

The Gamecocks were able to pull within a basket a few times but EKU wouldn't give them anything else, making 13 of its last 14 free throw attempts to hold off a JSU comeback attempt.

JSU will continue its four-game road swing on Thursday, when the Gamecocks travel to Clarksville, Tenn., for a 7 p.m. CT game at Austin Peay.