MARTIN, Tenn. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team's comeback attempt came up just short on Saturday, when the Gamecocks erased a big deficit before falling 55-52 at UT Martin.
 
Senior Avery Moore and freshman Malcolm Drumwright each scored 17 points and were key in helping the Gamecocks (8-12, 1-4 Ohio Valley Conference) erase a 21-point Skyhawks (11-6, 3-1 OVC) lead with 15 minutes to play.
 
Jax State outscored UTM 26-5 over a span of 14:43 to tie the score at 52-52 with just under three minutes to play. Both teams made defensive stops before a Deville Smith runner fell with 53 seconds left to put the Skyhawks up. The Gamecocks had chances to try and take the lead or tie from that point but couldn't get a shot to fall.
 
Moore, a guard from Tallahassee, Fla., went 5-for-10 from behind the arc to account for much of his 17 points. A transfer from Florida A&M after his first two seasons, he ran his career total to 996 points at the Division I level with his big night and also had three boards and a pair of steals in the game.
 
Drumwright, a true freshman from Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., came off of the bench to go 6-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-5 from behind the arc to post his first career double figure scoring game. He also had a pair of steals and two rebounds.
 
Senior Jamal Hunter led JSU on the boards with six rebounds, and he also had two blocks.
 
The Skyhawks got 17 points from Marshun Newell, while Twymond Howard had a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds.
 
Moore was the Gamecocks' main catalyst in the first half, when the senior went 3-for-4 from behind the arc to account for most of his 11 points before the intermission. He would end the half with half of JSU's points in a 34-22 score at the intermission.
 
The Skyhawks scored the game's first bucket and the two teams exchanged leads twice before a 5-0 UTM spurt put the home team up for good.
 
The Skyhawks started the second half on a run, building a 21-point lead with just over 15 minutes left in the game. JSU answered with a 12-2 run from that point to cut the UTM lead to 11 at 49-38 on Moore's fifth 3-pointer with 11:04 to play.
 
A Martin basket by Javier Martinez stopped the bleeding for a moment, but the Gamecocks came right back with 14 unanswered to tie the game at 52-52 with 2:49 on the game clock.
 
The Gamecocks return home for a pair of OVC games next week, beginning with a Thursday game against Eastern Kentucky. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pete Mathews Coliseum, and JSU students and all fans ages 18 and under get in free.