LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The No. 7 team in the country on a good night was too much for the Jacksonville State men's basketball team on Monday, when the Gamecocks fell 88-39 at Louisville.
In front of the largest crowd to ever watch a JSU basketball game and the highest ranked opponent in the school's Division I history, the Gamecocks (0-2) struggled against the Cardinals (2-0) defense. They turned it over 20 times and shot just 28 percent from the floor to drop the second game of a tough three-game road trip to open the season. The crowd of 20,479 was 4,555 more than the previous largest crowd at Arkansas in 2004.
On the same day that Preseason All-American Montrezl Harrell was named the National Player of the Week by many media outlets, the 6-foot-8 junior showed why against the undersized Gamecocks. He went 6-for-9 from inside the arc for 15 points, many of which came with his hands clutching the rim.
Harrell led five Cardinal players in double figures, with Terry Rozier (13), Wayne Blackshear (12), Chinanu Onuaku (12) and Chris Jones (10) joining him in that group. Louisville, who boasts seven players at 6-foot-8 or taller on its roster, controlled the glass with a 60-26 advantage on the boards.
The Gamecocks got 11 points from
Darion Rackley, while junior
JaQuail Townser added eight points and five assists. Senior
D.J. Felder scored seven and led JSU with six boards.
The Gamecocks hung in with UL for the first nine minutes of the game, and a 3-pointer from senior
Avery Moore cut the Cardinals' lead to six at 19-13 with 11:54 left before the intermission.
Louisville was off to the races from there, scoring the next 13 to take a commanding lead and then outscoring the Gamecocks 31-7 over the final 10:07 of the first half. The Cardinals took a 50-20 lead into the locker room at the half.
JSU scored the first basket of the second half on a Felder jumper but went almost 11 minutes without another basket, while the Cardinals kept adding to the lead.
The Gamecocks wrap up the road trip on Wednesday at Cleveland State in a 6 p.m. CT game on ESPN3. The game will also be broadcast live on the Gamecock Sports Network.
