Tennessee State Holds off Gamecocks For 70-65 OVC Win

Saturday, January 4

Nashville, Tenn.

7:30 p.m.

Jacksonville State University

7-11 (1-2OVC)

Tennessee State

2-14 (1-2OVC)

Team	1	2	F
Jacksonville State	30	35	65
Tennessee State	31	39	70

1/4/2014 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

NASHVILLE – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team got big performances off the bench from juniors Avery Moore and D.J. Felder, but Tennessee State fought off every comeback attempt the Gamecocks had in a 70-65 win over JSU on Saturday night.

In a game that never saw a double-digit lead, the Gamecocks (7-11, 1-2 Ohio Valley Conference) woes in the Gentry Center continued, and the Tigers (2-14, 1-2 OVC) grabbed their 11th-straight win at home over JSU. It was the fifth time in the last seven trips to TSU in which JSU has lost by six or fewer points.

Moore scored 13 and Felder added 14 off of the bench for JSU, while senior Brian Williams scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half. The Gamecocks trailed by five or more nine times in the second half and JSU pulled to within a possession four times but couldn't even it up in the loss.

Junior Darion Rackley, who entered as JSU's leading scorer and had led his team in the points column in four-straight games, scored just two points on a pair of second-half free throws, and Williams scored just two in the first half, leaving Moore and Felder to carry the load off of the bench. They combined for 25 of the team's 30 in the first 20 minutes, and Williams shouldered the load in the second half.

Williams went 6-for-7 from the floor in the second half, while going 5-for-7 from the stripe down the stretch to account for almost all of his team-high 19.

Patrick Miller, the OVC's leading scorer, scored 19 for TSU, while M.J. Rhett added eight to go along with 13 rebounds. The Tigers went 8-for-17 (.471) from behind the 3-point line after entering the night shooting less than 25 percent from behind the arc on the season.

TSU outrebounded the Gamecocks 35-28, but JSU grabbed 18 of the 32 combined boards in the second half. Felder led JSU with six boards, while Rackley pulled down five.

Miller also had five boards and dished four assists, while also grabbing four steals.

Moore and Felder were the story for JSU in the first half. While their teammates struggled to a combined 2-for-12 effort from the floor, Moore went 4-for-6 and Felder 5-for-6 to combine for 25 of the Gamecocks' 30 first-half points.

Moore had 13 behind a 3-for-5 half from behind the arc, while Felder scored all but two of his points in the paint.

The Tigers raced out to a seven-point lead as late as 24-17 with 7:26 to play in the half and held a six-point advantage until the final two minutes, before a Felder layup and a Moore 3-pointer from the left wing cut the deficit to 31-30 at the intermission.

TSU controlled the glass in the first half, outrebounding the Gamecocks 21-10 and 8-0 on the offensive glass. Rhett had six board in 10 first-half minutes, while Miller scored nine to lead his offense.

TSU scored the first five points of the second half and slowly pulled out to another seven-point advantage at 48-41 with just under 12 minutes remaining.

JSU pulled to within one twice at 48-47 and 50-49 before the Tigers got a dunk from Rhett and a 3-pointer from Jacquan Nobles that stretched their lead to 55-49 with 6:32 left on the clock. They would lead by as many as eight at 60-52 but an 8-2 JSU run capped by a Brian Williams 3-point play made it a 62-60 game with just under two minutes on the clock.

Miller put a dagger in JSU's comeback hopes on the ensuing possession, knocking down a long trey from the top of the key with 1:33 left that stretched the Tigers' lead back to 65-60.

The Gamecocks return home, where they will play their next three games. They will start the homestand on Thursday with a 7 p.m. tip against Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.